The right floral display at your wedding will completely transform the setting – it will amaze your guests and look fabulous in your photos. However, wedding flowers are expensive and if you’re on a tight budget, you might feel like your options are limited.
We asked London’s leading luxury wedding floral designer, Yasmin Shawkat of London Flower Studio, for her expert advice on how to create lavish floral displays for less.
Read more: How to plan a wedding with a £15k budget
“Every bride-to-be (and plenty of grooms as well!) will dream of having luxurious and gorgeous wedding flowers on their special day and so they should too! As the Founder and Design Director of London’s ultimate luxury wedding floral design company with over 25 years of design experience, I’m going to share some tried and tested tips and and advice to help couples achieve that luxury designer wedding floral look for less,” explains Yasmin.
“I hope those of you who are on a tighter budget might find this helpful. There are many simple yet effective floral design tips available and given the challenging times we now face with this pandemic, I’m happy to be contacted on the phone or by email for more tips, advice and guidance on how to create that gorgeous luxury vibe at your wedding with floral designs.”
How to Get Luxury Wedding Flowers for Less
Dream Big
It’s your special once in a lifetime event; dream big, envisage exactly what you always dreamt of having and think luxurious!
Reflect on the most important features for your wedding flowers and make sure you have a general idea of what you’d like your flowers to express as a reflection of you and your partner.
Read more: How to match your wedding flowers to your venue
Choose Your Florist Wisely
Research and choose your florist wisely – make sure you simply love their work and approach to pricing and designs. London Flower Studio operate a pricing by design policy, this makes us more approachable and adaptive for couples on tighter budgets, especially during these unprecedented times.
Make sure you feel comfortable in your communication with your floral designer and that you are involved in the process. Our approach is very simple: we believe your wedding flowers should reflect who you are, it must reflect moments of your love and your commitment to each other.
Read more: Choosing the right bridesmaid bouquets
We believe you are the centre of our design inspiration. Just as it’s important for you to find the right florist, it is equally important for me to know that we are the right florist for our clients before we take that first step and immerse them into our world of beautiful flowers.
Be Upfront About Your Budget
Call your florist or meet them for a consultation before you do anything else. Discuss your budget with your chosen floral designer and be as open as possible.
A wedding floral designer is there to give you their professional expertise and advice. They are experienced in this field and they will be best-equipped to tell you what is and isn’t possible within your maximum budget.
Read more: Savvy ways to boost your wedding budget
They will be equally transparent if you lead the meeting with your maximum budget. This is an essential starting point for all couples, a time to go through your dream vision, your favourite flower types, colour palette, the must-have items and the lower priorities.
For example, if you want your dream bouquet, or particular centrepieces and tablescapes, you could cut down on corsages or bridesmaids’ bouquets to balance out the cost. At London Flower Studio, we approach each couple and each project as a unique pathway to creating their dream vision.
The Difference Between a Florist and a Floral Designer
A professional luxury wedding floral designer is very different to a florist who will supply you with flowers or make them up as you direct them to.
Read more: The most Instagrammable wedding flowers in the world
Choose an experienced floral designer who is well versed in the art of designing. There are many elements we use as designers and we know how to combine and bring these elements together harmoniously and effectively. A good wedding floral designer will be transparent and honest and tell you what is possible and what isn’t possible within your budget.
In my experience, being creative with design can make things more possible and attainable for my clients on tighter budgets.
Centrepieces & Tablescapes for Less
There are ways to get impressive centrepieces and tablescapes for less. For example, very tall clear glass cylinder vases will elevate your tablescape. The clean and minimalist look is chic and luxurious.
Candelabr’s dressed with flowers in a balanced way can look very decadent too and can be done affordably. Candles on the table in clusters with budvases filled with off-cuts or leftovers from the main arrangements can add volume to your luxury wedding vibe.
Read more: How to preserve your wedding flowers
Use More Foliage
Use tonnes of it! I would advise you to have more foliage than flowers because the right type of foliage used abundantly in the right places can add volume, depth and lushness to the whole floral theme.
Size Up Your Flowers
Focal flowers can be the more expensive elements in a floral design. I would advise my clients on a tight budget to have less focal flowers and more transition or filler flowers if they are looking for volume.
Your dress will also be a factor in influencing the size of your flowers, as well as what the bridesmaids are wearing, and what the venue looks like. If you’re wearing a large gown, a smaller bouquet may get lost, whilst having your reception in a venue with low ceiling and intricate interior decorations means more minimalist arrangements would suit. There are a lot of things to consider but your floral designer will help you navigate it.
Consider Flower Types
Substituting the main flowers with a similar but less expensive ones is a great way to reduce the cost overall. Your floral designer will guide and advise you on the options.
Read more: Wedding flowers by season
Seasonal Blooms vs Imported
Whenever possible, I always recommend using flowers that are in season in the month of your big day. There are two reasons for this: firstly, flowers show off their ultimate beauty and grace when they are in season, not out of their season or imported and secondly, they will always be less expensive, so you get more value for your money with seasonal offerings!
If there is a particular flower you must have then import is fine but use it sparingly – perhaps only in your own bouquet – as it will drive up the costs.
Think About Additional Floral Items
Decide which items are absolute must-haves and which you can do without. Depending on my client’s budget and the theme we are creating, I would advise them on items that make a wedding look high-end, such as dressing up an entrance or an archway with loads of foliage and some blooms, rather than giving out corsages or buttonholes to lots of your wedding party.
For more ideas, why not read our edit of the most beautiful floral arches for your wedding?
