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Flowers can definatly be tempermental so I think that "C" is your best choice...if you however want try what you did again, get a large box that will fit your flowers, line it with styrofoam, and add some ice packs to keep it cool, then every hour or so pull over and check on them...my cousin did this on a 10 hour drive and it worked great
Im not sure how huge or small your guest count is but if it's fairly small, I vote for A. If you're flexible with the kind of flowers that would go into your bouquets/centerpieces Im sure $800 will be sufficient-- maybe you'll get to spend less. And you wouldnt have to worry about flowers dying on you on the day of your wedding!
did you have the flowers sitting in buckets of water for the drive? that might help. but i also agree with everyone else on c. it's worth spending a little money to not have to stress about it.
If you think about it, going only 2 hours in option B would save you big time on gas and time, so it may be worth the extra $100 you would spend on flowers especially if you can go to a reputable flower vendor in a larger market like San Fran. :) Good luck! :)
Were the flowers in buckets of water? Was your AC on? I would think they'd be ok if that were the case. Without water they will die quick, especially in the heat.
I'm assuming the 7 hours is from your home, so you'd be making the drive no matter what. If not, then I'd definitely spend more money for a shorter drive, but the flowers will still need to be in water.
Okay I vote A simply because I think this project is stressing out to the point where you are becoming a little frantic and you are still weeks before your wedding and when it is the week and day of your wedding you do not need this kind of stress. Talk to different florist find some more affordable options and remember that the $600 is an investment in your sanity.
I would suggest going with C. I have a friend that owns a little chapel and does flowers for the wedding, she orders flowers from Sams all the time! they come out perfect!
I definitely say C, but have you checked around at local florists to see if they will work with you? I was going to DIY my flowers until I realized we didn't have a flower mart that was open to the public. I found a florist that was just starting out in weddings and I lowered my flower expectation to something more affordable and made the centerpieces smaller and it was as much as if I had done it myself by ordering the flowers online. Definitely check around!
I used to work in a shop that got flowers shipped in from a wholesale market once a week. Most places outside a major centre rely on shipped flowers, and they really do hold up pretty well in the big shipping boxes.
The wholesalers know how to pack them to reduce damage, and even when they're put on a plane they don't seem to arrive all banged up.
So for option B---- would this be driving from your venue? I'm assuming not 2 hours to SF, 2 hours back and then 7 hrs to the venue since that doesn't seem to help anything.
The thing with boxed flowers is that you want them to arrive 1-3 days before your wedding so they have time to re-hydrate and open, so if you have them delivered directly to your venue's area (which is probably the best bet with transport etc.), you'd have to be there or have someone there to receive them a few days before the wedding--- I don't know when you plan to be in the area. Most companies have good reviews for their quality and delivery, so if that would work for you I think it's your best bet.
I originally planned to do our wedding flowers myself (just bouquets and maybe one or two arrangements for the bar & escort card table), and my mom talked me out of it. She said doing them the day before my wedding would be too stressful. We ended up ordering bouquets from a florist and it stressed me out even more! I HATED seriously overpaying and then not having control over what they would look like (in the end, my bouquet was gorgeous but the BM bouquets were the wrong color and a complete rip-off). Plus, the day before the wedding I went and got a couple of bunches of flowers from Whole Foods and made arrangement for our rehearsal dinner, so I was doing florals the day before my wedding anyway :) And it was actually kind of nice having something to do with my hands to keep my stress level down.
Sorry, this is getting long! My main advice I guess is to know that you will figure something out and it will be fine in the end. Personally, I think option C is your best and probably most cost and time effective bet, but what's most important is that you choose something that will help you feel calm and in control. So if ordering flowers from fiftyflowers or whatever is going to keep you up at night, do the drive to SF and back-- I think either way you will get great florals.
A) I agree florists can be overpriced, but that really may be a small price to pay for your sanity! Plus its one less thing for you to deal with on the actual "day of". A lot of them also have creative ideas that you may not have thought of (ie, less expensive flowers, etc).
B) a 2 hour drive one way is still a lot of your time and still a lot of time for the flowers to be transported.
C) There are a lot of positive reviews about ordering online through something like that. If you really want to do your own flowers this is the option I would suggest.
Hi! I would like to offer my services to you. I make custom bouquets and wedding flowers, centerpieces, etc. They are made with silk, and real touch flowers. Look at some sample bouquets on my blog. www.budgetbridalbouquets.blogspot.com I work with any budget. You can get your flowers ahead of time and not have to worry about them dying. That will be one less thing you have to worry about on your big day. Please email me directly for a free quote. I need to know what you need and what colors/type of flowers you want to use. Budgetbouquets@gmail.com
Thanks:)
I would go with C. You can also do 1 order from Costco ahead of time to see the qualtiy of the flowers and go from there.
Maybe you can try contacting an independent florist who doesn't have a shop thus less overhead.
I'm a truck driver that occasionally has to deliver flowers to florists. The flowers are kept chilled at 37 degrees and some even come in buckets with water. Once at the florist they are kept refrigerated in giant coolers. The purpose is to keep them sleepy. It can be several days before flowers even arrive to market as most are flown in from South America or Holland. Plus, once the flowers are "woken up" the wilting process accelerates. I would suggest finding a wholesaler closer to home or ordering them online. You might even try calling florist directly and see if they can order just the bulk flowers for you. Hope this helps.
Oh and by the way...all flowers arrive in boxes....believe me I've unloaded a whole tractor trailer rig full of them.
Do you have a flower vendor at your local farmer's market?
I DIY my flowers and ordered them from Costco. They were absolutely perfect, and the really good thing with Costco is that if they aren't right or are wilting or anything you can take them to any costco when they arrive and they'll exchange them (but I didn't have to take them up on that policy thank goodness)
I would highly recommend going with option C, if you couldn't already tell :)
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Ok so i am so stressed over my flower situation. I was planing on buying my flowers at a flower mart where i was going to get all the flowers i needed for about $200 and i was going to drive 7hours to my wedding location, refrigerate them when i arrive and they get them all ready for my wedding.
BUT
i made a trial run the other week. I went to a florist and bought some flowers that i was going to use for the wedding. After driving to the location i realized the flowers ran out of water fast.So the flowers were DEAD. ugh. so idk why they died. It could have been pressure?elevation change? heat?lack of water? I mean i just dont know :/
Anyway.. now im scared to try this for my wedding because i cant risk them dying like this.SO i have to think of a different plan. these are my options now
A) go to a florist and spend about $800 <----this is obviously the easy way..but we are on a very tight budget :/ and going with this option would mean really really stretching our budget. plus i feel florist charge too much.
B) Drive 2 hours to san francisco flower mart and get the flowers there. And then drive 2 hours back home.Idk how much this would cost. But im guessing $300 in flowers
C) Order them through sams club or costco and spend about $400. idk if this is a good idea though. iv heard bad things about flowers in boxes. but they do have good reviews online so idk.
ughhh as you can tell i am going nuts here. My weddings coming up in like 2 months and i still dont know this. please help me!!! ALso... to make things worse i cant even go to places and try them out because i live 7hours away 4m where my wedding will be.