hey brides! I have new insight into the problem that plagues Ontario brides that want to do their own flowers, with no wholesale or flower markets within reach.
i’ll offer some back story, although it’s probably unnecessary.
I’ve been desperate to my own flowers, mainly (let’s be honest) because of my budget. I am blessed with a mom and a sister who share my own artistic/modern eye, and I was sure that with the rustic look I’m going for, we would be able to achieve a simple but clean (and still beautiful!) look on our own. I’ve scoured flea markets for lots of neat old apothecary bottles and have accrued a TON of old mason jars that i plan to use as vessels. each table will have around 8 bottles scattered (across a long table that seats 8) and there will also be a lot of votives that i picked up at IKEA on the cheap. I want a lot of white flowers, with green to keep things wild and garden-y, and the ocassional pop of purple, which is one of my colours (i didn’t want to be heavyhanded with it).
so i’ve spent A TON of time looking around, and i finally discovered MY LUSCIOUS BACKYARD. google it, there is a ton of press about it. it’s basically this woman who has started her own business growing flowers and expanded it across gardens in her Parkdale neighbourhood.
i emailed her and we discussed my plans, and we met recently — she was lovely, and had lots of advice and suggestions about flowers (mainly what is seasonal and gorgeous) which i readily accepted. i loved how enthusiastic and passionate she seemed, and she was just generally warm and friendly. at this point, we hadn’t talked price yet and i was so reluctant to ask because i was beginning to think i was in over my head.
but i was VERY happy with my quote — $400-450 for a very good amount of flowers (about 400 stems). I upped it to $500 because I wanted an overabundance. but each centerpiece requires 25 flowers, and the little bottles will have two or three stems… so lets say 30 stems per table, to be safe. i have 11 tables, so i only need 330 stems. but now i have more than enough to decorate other spaces, and even make my own bouquets (it’s just me and a maid of honour, so this seems reasonable).
anyway, I really suggests you guys check out this option! my wedding hasn’t happened yet, but I’ll be back to let you guys know if i was satisfied with my flowers. Sarah seemed really great, so I’m totally confident that things will be amazing.
Hope that helps!