Post # 1
Member
287 posts
Helper bee
I’ve gone through six florists all of whom wanted to charge me an arm and a leg for three bud vases on table rounds and my bridal party. Also, I am just not finding someone who has work that I could really get behind.
Ive been on the fence about doing most of the flowers with artificial ones from Save on Crafts. The wedding is woodland but very whimsical and I think I’ve found combinations that work (although it’s so hard to tell without seeing them and matching each flower next to each other). I am sort of ready to take the plunge though as I really like the idea and it will save us tons. I can buy them and return them if they are not right but there’s only 39 days before my wedding and it would be hard to find a florist then. However our wedding is across the country and not many people would be able to go home with fresh flowers and I think it’s a waste (just me 🙂
Anyone else going this route or has used Save on Crafts for flowers?
Post # 3
Member
521 posts
Busy bee
I have order an item from save on crafts and had no problem (but not much to compare it too because it was only one order as of right now)
Um, I know you Dollar stores have fake flowers as well so I would compare prices.
I have seen a lot of artifical flowers at wedding and somtimes have a hard time telling if they are real or not!
So I say take the plunge; you shouldn’t regret it esp with all the money you will save ;D
Post # 4
Member
37 posts
Newbee
I ordered some Eucalyptus from Save on Crafts. The it arrived well packed and was lovely quality, but was unfortunately dyed, it was a natural looking dark green and not the natural actualy colour of Eucalyptus grey green I was after.
I have gone the silk flower route, mainly because I am a big old control freak and to save money. I ended up buying a lot of my flowers at Hobby Lobby. The prices were compatitble to Save on Crafts at the time as they were having a 50% off sale on artificial flowers. I got some lovely roses that were made out of a sort of rubbery material and feel very real, it is only when you turn them over and look really closely you can be sure they are not. I got these for my bouquet. For the centre pieces I have used cheaper silk ones.
I would say pop into a Michaels or Hobby Lobby first I spent an lovely hour walking around with a bunch of roses adding and taking away different accents in the store and ended up completely changing my mind about what I wanted in a bouquet when i saw what was available. Our local Michaels also has a “florist” in store that makes artificial flower arrangements you can buy or order and he is very good and is well worth asking LOTS of questions of. It might even work out cost effective for you to get them to make your arrangement for you.
Post # 5
Member
36 posts
Newbee
I just ordered an artificial bouquet from them and it came to me DIRTY!! I have to call them Monday and will let y’all know the results.
Post # 6
Member
81 posts
Worker bee
If I remember correctly, Mrs. Quiche got your bridesmaids’ bouquets from Save on Crafts and really loved them. Check out her more recent posts…she talks about her experience ordering there as well as the quality of the flowers.
Post # 7
Member
7975 posts
Bumble Beekeeper
I don’t know what Save on Craft’s prices are like, but have you considered just getting wholesale fresh flowers? If all you want is bud vases, I would think fresh wouldn’t be much more work than fake…
http://www.wholesale-wedding-flowers.com/roses.php has pretty good prices, assuming you need a lot of flowers (we’re doing a variation of bud vases too, only using test tubes in custom made racks, since J is a science teacher!) and will be buying our flowers wholesale, then stripping the clipping them ourselves. 🙂
Post # 8
Member
383 posts
Helper bee
I ordered some freeze dried purple orchids from Save On Crafts for my escort boxes; they came in good shape. I don’t know that I would recommend them for other things, though, you may be “saving” on the price of the merchandise but you will notice a swift kick in the shipping prices! Had I not been in such a bind and waited until the last minute for a few things I purchased from there (candle holders, cake stand) I would’ve never bought through them. I think I ended up paying a $80 (YES!) dollar shipping fee. Makes me sick thinking about it… I was so desperate.
Post # 9
Member
15 posts
Newbee
ditto daydreamwanderer, I did wholesale roses for an anniversary party last year, and will probably do the same for our wedding. It was SOOOO much cheaper than going through a Florist.
We used http://www.FloralSupplier.com, they also sell a lot of wholesale glass pieces for centerpieces, etc. They sell them by the case.
good luck!
Post # 10
Member
1514 posts
Bumble bee
I ordered calla lillies from them and used them in my bouquet. I also bought roses from Hobby Lobby, it was kind of nice to be able to see them in person and mess around with them before I purchased them. I agree with the other posters that their sales and if you have a coupon is pretty much the same as Save on Crafts. All of my loose flowers I ordered from Sam’s Club. They were really cheap and they were beautiful. Way better than I imagined. They lasted forever too – the roses at least did. They were delived on Thursday before my wedding and they were still hanging on a week and a half later when I got home from my honeymoon.
Post # 11
Member
1205 posts
Bumble bee
I bought the bulk of my flowers from Hobby Lobby, but did buy some from Afloral.com. Had a great experience with them and by joining their mailing list, I got a few coupon codes. I ended up returning a few items (my fault, not theirs) and it was very easy.
Post # 12
Member
388 posts
Helper bee
I ordered some of my florals from save-on-crafts. I was pleased with some of them, but others looked fairly cheap. I would do a “test order” and then if you like what you see go for it.
I’ve heard great things about Hobby Lobby, you can find some great things in the clearance section of Michael’s, and Walmart also has some nice flowers for cheap.
Post # 13
Member
948 posts
Busy bee
Post # 14
Member
25 posts
Newbee
I purchased mine thru Hobby Lobby at 50% off and its going to save me a TON of money by using artificial. At first I was hesitant but when I saw the savings it was a no brainer. Here are some pictures of what I have done so far.
Post # 15
Member
81 posts
Worker bee
Does anyone know how the artificial flowers sold on saveoncrafts.com compares to what you can find at Hobby Lobby? Just don’t want to spend so much on shipping if they are comparable to Hobby Lobby, where I can just drive to.
Post # 16
Member
2285 posts
Buzzing bee
I get most of my arts and crafts supplies from Joann’s. I get coupons in the mail, online, and with a smartphone app. I usually save at least 40-60 % every time. And their quality is great.
