{DIY} How I Made My Own Wedding Centerpieces and Saved Money

Flowers are expensive, especially wedding flowers. I remembered when I was planning for my wedding, I was a bit overwhelmed by the costs of wedding things. Will and I wanted to find out how much it would cost us to have fresh flowers as décor and for our centerpieces. So, we consulted with several florists and wedding decorators. And, we found out it could cost us a good couple thousand dollars for fresh blooms that fit my our wedding vision. Not only they costed more if I wanted a particular kind aka the “premium flowers” (like the name suggests, you’d have to pay a premium for these). And, if they weren’t in season for your wedding day then shipping them overseas could also cost another arm and leg.

Luckily, Will and I shared the same values and would rather spend more money on things that are important to us. And, we thought centerpieces were something that we could both tackle ourselves to save money. We really couldn't justify the price tag for something that would only last us a day and used as backdrops.

Consider Faux Flowers as an Option

In my culture, having fresh flowers are not that important and not a necessity. Yes, fresh flowers look nice and could make your wedding look luxurious but you could achieve the same results with faux flowers and spend less. Not to mention, you have flexibility to use flowers that are not in season!

I wanted my centerpieces to match the whimsical and romantic feel of my wedding. After doing my research (thanks to Pinterest!), I had a general idea of the kind of flowers to gather - Peonies, Hydrangeas, peach roses and some greenery accents.

My first stop was to check my favourite craft and supplies store, Michael's. They have a huge selection of faux flowers and almost always have promotions (look for their online coupons on their site!). I went almost every week to check their stocks and deals before I swept their entire selection of hydrangeas and roses during their buy one get one free!

But I was still missing the star of my centerpieces and that was the Peonies. Michael's didn't carry any in-store so I had to look elsewhere. Good thing was I had sufficient time for this project so I could look for some options online and shipped them over. I found some pretty nice peonies from a site called, DHgate. It took 3 weeks to arrive but the price and quality were amazing. Definitely worth the wait!

After I gathered all my flowers, it was time to arrange them into a bouquet. This was as simple as these few steps:

1. Cut out the individual branch from each flower bunch and arrange different kinds into a bouquet.

2. Tie them tightly together with a plant wire tie or plant tapes that you could easily find from any dollar store or home hardware store.

3. Insert them into your vases and you’re done!

Mason Jars Serve Good Vases

When looking for vases, their cost and look are two of the main factors. I wanted something that wasn’t plain yet wouldn’t cost me a fortune if I purchased 30 of them. I loved the look of mason jars and the embossed prints on them that make them more embellished as vases. And I knew we could save some money by buying them in bulk at places like Canadian Tires. Originally, I wanted to spray paint the jars to get a gold, mercury glass look. But after checking for prices of the spray paint that came only in small cans, I realized it would be much wiser if I just paint them in metallic gold. I thought my vases turned out pretty good. I decorated them further by adding a ribbon in one of the colours from my wedding palette and I was set.

Re-purpose for Something Else

Another great thing about using faux flowers is that they are very versatile and easily transportable. Besides using them as table centerpieces at the reception, I also used the same arrangements as aisle decorations for my church ceremony in the morning. Because they were faux, I didn’t have to worry about keeping them alive and could tucked them into the pew bows that I had along the aisle. After the ceremony was over, my bridesmaids removed the bouquets and put them into the vases before the reception starts. Having this dual purpose with my flowers is like killing two pigs with one bird!

In the end, I saved a bundle by making my own centerpieces and being resourceful. And, to add to that? My guests even took the centerpieces home to keep and that was something I’m most proud of.

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