Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Ok I went a little over buget...


But it was worth every penny! When I originally started reviewing our wedding budget with my dad we allotted $200 for flowers. I know some of you are the "WHAT!?!" Well the thing is Mr. Butterscotch and a few of our other family members are very allergic to pollen and even have a skin reaction to grass and flowers. So I didn't really see a need to have a large floral budget. I thought I would find some practical alternative. Well after a few months of looking into other ideas I decided to at least see what a florist had to offer. I went into each meeting with only one request, my bouquet had to have Iris's in it. I met with about 6 florists and while their ideas were great, either the price was all wrong (i.e. too much) or I just didn't really click with them. Since we originally didn't have a large floral budget we decided to reviewed the estimates thus far, I had quotes ranging $1400-$5000. Based on my needs we agreed $2000 was more than enough to allot to flowers but of course I was going to do my best to come under that.
My last florist I had to meet with was Kendra at Loves me Flowers www.lovesmeflowers.com. At this point I was ready to resume my alternative ideas search. But once I sat down and talked with her, I had hope again for flowers. Kendra was very knowledgeable of the different types of flowers and what I could or could not get away with for allergies. Bonus for me was Kendra was familiar with our venue she came up with centerpieces that would compliment the room and incorporate iris and hydrangea! She is also very nice, I can easily say she was the nicest florest I met with and wasnt the least bit turned off when I really did not have many ideas of what I wanted. She was more than happy to help guide me to what she thought would work with the room and our colors.
Her final estimate was very affordable and she was willing to work with me if that wasn't within my budget. But her quote was well within our budget and as soon as I had the "ok" I speed dialed Kendra to book the date! :)
On the wedding day Kendra was right on time and as soon as she brought in my bouquet at the church I knew I had made the correct choice in having Kendra do my flowers. It was breathtaking!
Here are a few shots of the flowers by Tor Clausen.
My bouquet had white Iris and white roses.


I just loved how the flowers are so striking against their dresses.



The groomsmen and my brother/usher wore the purple iris

My brother aka the usher

The groom, my dad and grandma wore all white iris. His Mom and Dad white orchids. This picture is funny because my grandma was cold so she left her sweater on, it was like 80 degrees out. Gotta love the Grandma!

So for under $2000 I was able to get
1 Bridal bouquet
5 Bridesmaid bouquets
8 boutonnieres
16 centerpieces
cake flowers
tea lights for all the tables
and Kendra was even nice enough to throw in a gift table arrangement!
My guest were able to take the centerpieces home which was a huge hit!
Here are a few candid shots at the reception so you can see the centerpieces.


Our ring bearer at the gift table before the reception started with our complimentary bouquet. P.S. Check out my last minute DIY card box!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

thanks !! very helpful post!