Brides and vendors alike have more opportunities to be inspired these days more than ever before. Wedding blogs, magazines and the ever-expanding collection of images on Pinterest have everyone collecting tidbits of prettiness for their next project. But there’s a downside to having all this information, isn’t there? It’s not uncommon that brides find the perfect bouquet online, bring their inspiration to a professional and realize their ideas must fall a little short of reality due to pricing and availability. We at The NotWedding take a lot of pride in introducing brides to inspiration and concepts that are attainable from regional vendors who know a town, its style and are familiar with the budgets of local brides.
That being said, we thought it would be an interesting challenge to see if we could take one of the most wonderful, and sometimes challenging, parts of planning a wedding – flowers – and have a little budget-friendly fun. One of our Production Managers, Allie Webber, works on getting vendors ready for NotWedding events in the Northeast… but she was born and raised a Georgia girl. During our last Atlanta event, she came home to her mother and grandmother’s gardens and did a little clipping! Hayley Bidez Makeup Artistry gave her a fresh look, and Haley Sheffield took these amazing pictures below. Allie was able to create two beautiful bouquets out of things she picked in her yard alone, and anyone who’s been in a Southern garden in August will recognize a few things!
The best part of this recipe is that it will be different for everyone, depending on what’s in your yard. And of course, if you don’t all have grannies with gorgeous flower beds, you can talk to your florist about purchasing flowers that are seasonal, local and inexpensive and still have a killer bouquet! Here’s what Allie dug up:
The first bouquet Allie made is a show-stopper, filled with vibrant colors from the garden. Hot pink knockout roses and cheerful black-eyed susans pair with the purple sprays of color from butterfly bush and liriope. The last hydrangea bloom on the bush adds some green color with herbs like sage and rosemary.
This next little bouquet would be perfect for a more muted color palette. Delicate panicled hydrangeas add in some white, while a species of honeysuckle – abelia – throws in a soft pink. Foliage from around the garden, like geranium leaves and sage, fill in the rest – and one yellow dahlia serves as a focal point.
We love how these bouquets provide a break from the norm, especially because they have the potential to be so easy on your budget and special to you and your family if the flowers do come from family gardens. There are some things to keep in mind – some of these garden flowers are not often recommended by florists because they’re delicate and don’t have as long of a vase life as your standard roses, tulips, etc. If you’re going to make your own bouquet, tie it together the day you’ll be using it so everything is fresh. If picking and arranging flowers for a bouquet doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, talk to your florist about how you can use more local greens, flowering bushes and grasses to add interest to your bouquet without having to break the bank!
