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Wholesale Wedding Flowers, Arrangements and Centerpieces

Doing a lot of the work for your wedding and want to tackle floral design as well? I am going to start out with a warning, because there is a huge difference between DIY place cards and DIY flowers. For one, place cards (and card boxes, and favors, and other inanimate objects) can be done well in advance of the wedding day. In addition to that, you cannot be guaranteed that the flowers will come in the exact shade, size, or quality that you envision - no matter which vendor you use (Costco and Sam’s Club also offer bulk/DIY flowers).

Those two variables are enough to make any bride a little nervous the week before the wedding. Add in shipping issues and time constraints (will you really have time to assemble bouquets the night before or the day of?) and honestly I do not recommend doing the flowers yourself. However, I know a lot of brides are on a tight budget - so here is a vendor that does do quite a nice job of supplying bulk floral for weddings - Fifty Flowers.

Fifty Flowers offers free FedEx shipping on all wedding flowers. They provide a flower care and preparation guide as well, where pictures and descriptions explain what to expect, and how to prep, hydrate and bloom your flowers. Depending on the type of flowers you order, there can be a substantial visible difference in the appearance of the flowers after they have time to hydrate and bloom.

The Wedding Report often send out data on wedding trends, and I thought it would be fun to highlight a few now that the year is coming to and end!

For 2008, the number of ceremonies held indoors was 52% vs. 48% outdoors. Now, this is of course nation-wide data, and Michigan does see fewer outdoor ceremonies and receptions! Non-traditional indoor venues are more popular though, with couples choosing locations such as the reception hotel, museums, galleries, theaters, and alma maters for a more unique indoor ceremony site.

Turning to receptions, 69% nation-wide were held indoors, vs. 31% outdoors. Tented weddings are wonderful, as they still keep out most of the elements (and in Michigan, that’s a plus!).

For 44% of couples, the ceremony and reception take place at the same venue. This is great for those looking to cut down on costs: typically, the ceremony is included or deeply discounted if you also hold the reception at a given location. There is often no need for a limo or shuttle service since everything is happening at the same place. Delivery fees are reduced for flowers and decor, and often the DJ can play ceremony music as well if string instruments are out of the budget!

Speaking of the economy, there is one trend that is disheartening. A total of 62% of couples are forced to cut their wedding budgets due to the economy by an average of 32%. Even worse, 16% of couples are postponing their weddings an average of 10 months. This results in a loss of deposits, a struggle to keep on budget as usually this decision is made after the venue has been booked (and therefor couples are stuck with certain minimums and/or food costs).

With so many couples trying to save on cost, the need for someone to help coordinate, budget, negotiate contracts, and set up DIY items becomes even greater - which is one of the reasons why I think my business is continuing to grow! 2009 is going to be a great year, I have so many exciting weddings coming up that I can’t wait to help unfold, and a couple for 2010 already in the works. I also have plans to add a “timeline only” service to couples who cannot afford a planner but need help organizing the day in a way that they can understand and that will make them more comfortable going into the big day!

Sandals is one of the partners of the Association of Bridal Consultants (ABC), which is the organization through which I have received the Professional Bridal Consultant designation. Once in a while, they do familiarization trips for members so that those who want to help clients book Sandals honeymoons and vacations know what they are talking about (great idea!). This January 12-15th, I will be going to the Bahamas for this very purpose! All I had to pay for was the flight - everything else is included! I will be sure to take tons of pictures while I am there, I just wanted to say how excited I am to get out of the cold that is Michigan in mid-January!

Or looking for a unique favor for your winter wedding? These ornaments double as place cards to give guests something to remember you by every year as they hang this ornament on their tree! You can order them online through my Kate Aspen favor shop! DIY brides for next winter may even want to just wait until the holidays are over, buy up bulk bulbs in their colors, and copy the look! At just over $1 each however (when ordering 24 or more), they really won’t break the bank!

After opening the newest issue of Brides magazine yesterday, I found this dress - and I fell in love! In my opinion, Vera Wang makes some of the most beautiful wedding gowns out there, and this has now topped the list as my favorite! There is also a Vera Wang bridal registry available on her site, which allows you to register for her china, flatware, barware, stemware, home fashionsand even mattresses!

Yesterday was the final 2008 meeting for Michigan’s Association of Bridal Consultants, at the beautiful home of state coordinator Dottie Ottman. The meeting was catered by Jason from Big Rock Chop House (phenomenal food), with linens and chivaris provided by Chair Covers & Linens. I spoke at the meeting about the Association of Bridal Consultants conference in Newport Beach, CA and showed some of the pictures I took while there. Next year’s conference is in Indianapolis, so hopefully Michigan can send a larger contingent for that one!

Other great vendors who attended the meeting included Bill from Fabulous Events, The Lighting Guy, A1 Video, Enchanting Creations, and La Donna Wedding Officiating.

Looking for a unique venue for an intimate wedding, anniversary party, rehearsal dinner, or company dinner meeting? The Pierre Paul Art Gallery in Ann Arbor, MI is a beautiful location right on Washtenaw. They recently moved here (above Mimi’s Bridal) from Arborland, and the new venue is perfect for smaller gatherings. There is a nominal rental fee attached to the Gallery, but from there you can bring in your choice of vendors - or even do all the cooking yourself! TwoFoot Creative can assist you in finding the perfect caterer, musician and anyone else needed for you event - and to tie it all together for you!

Halima and Ben had a beautiful ceremony at the Michigan Union Pendleton Room yesterday at 4:30pm. The bridesmaids wore black dresses of their choosing, paired with hot pink heels and bouquets. The groomsmen wore black tuxes and hot pink converse shoes to match - it looked phenomenal! For the ceremony, I set up hand made pomanders on every other row, the unity candle and arrangement, and assisted in pinning on the bouts. After running through the cues with the musician and pastor, the bridal party was sent down the aisle on time to listen to the bride and groom exchange vows in front of over 150 of their closest family and friends.

Halima spent the week of the wedding with the bridal party in order to get everything done on time - including making truffles, chocolate covered apples and pretzels for the candy table, as well as making programs, table numbers, place cards, pomanders. Halima ordered her flowers whole sale and assembled not only the centerpieces, but also the bouquets and bouts herself! I am amazed when brides pull this off, especially with all the risks involved (shipping, weather, color, quantity, time!). It all looked great though, and definitely cut down on costs! The cake was done by Weber’s Inn, which is where the reception was held later on that evening.

Halima used friends and family for a majority of the vendors at the wedding - the photographer, DJ, musician and pastor are all a part of the couple’s lives. At the reception, my assistant and I set up centerpieces, bathroom baskets, votives, place cards, guest book, gift table, candy (favor) table, kids table, and vases for the bridal party bouquets. Halima’s boss celebrated his birthday that day, so she had a cake brought out for him after the formal dances. Later on in the evening the chocolate fountain came out, and it was such a hit that I had to have them re-fill the chocolate! It was a great party, everyone was out on the dance floor all night long to a variety of music from oldies to top 40 to Algerian music to country!

Halima and Ben - congratulations on a beautiful wedding day! We wish you the best of happiness in your future together!