Stop and Smell the Roses (and Peonies!)

When it came to flowers, I knew exactly what kind of look I was going for. I also knew I'd like to be involved in the arranging of our bouquets, boutonnieres, corsages, etc. When I found out about DIY option that the Flower Factory in Wichita offers, I was excited to check it out! Basically, they allow you to order flowers through them and then use their facilities and either buy/rent supplies and containers from them or bring in your own. I went into the consultation with pictures of three different bouquets that I loved and a copy of our inspiration board.


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So basically, bright pink roses and peonies. My parents actually have a row of about 8 peony bushes in front of their house (which I think is part of the reason I like peonies so much!), and Pam, the owner of the Wichita Flower Factory who I had my consultation with, said I could bring some in for my bouquet.



They usually bloom in mid-May, so we're hoping for a cool spring so they bloom a little later and we can hopefully refrigerate some of the buds for a couple weeks before the wedding. Unfortunately, we didn't think of it in time to try it this past May and make sure it would work.

Anyway, the estimate for my bouquet which would include the peonies I'd supply and some garden roses and a few hot pink roses would be $210.00. Uh, what?! And the DIY option for my bouquet would be $175.00. A toss bouquet would be $25.00. My MOHs bouquets, which would consist of 6 roses, were priced at $40.00 each. My bridesmaids bouquets, which would consist of 3 roses and some fillers would be $15.00 each, and my jr bridesmaid's single rose would be $7.50. It would be another $205.50 for all of the corsages and boutonnieres (moms, grandmother, groom, best men, groomsmen, jr groomsman, ushers, ring bearer, fathers, and grandfathers). It came out to $643.00 (+ tax) for them to do everything and $550.00 (+ tax) for the DIY option. I'd made up my mind before we left the shop that I'd be doing all of my own flowers.

I'm a little nervous, but I actually really enjoy making flower arrangements and have made a bouquet before. My mom made all of David's boutonnieres for homecomings and proms, and they always looked great. Although, I'm still debating about even doing boutonnieres for the groom and groomsmen - Would pocket squares be enough? David is totally fine with just doing pocket squares, but we're still undecided. I think we'll order roses from either Sam's Club or Costco. My mom and I have always been really happy with Sam's flowers, but we don't have a Costco in Wichita so I'm not sure of their quality. Costco does have an assortment of 100 hot pink and light pink roses for $100, though! If we go with Sam's, they'll have to be all hot pink, but they have 125 stems for under $85.

My mom and I did pick up a few artificial stems from Hobby Lobby when she was in town a few weeks ago because they were all 50% off, so I'm think the bouquets at least will be a mix of real and artificial flowers. I'll keep you updated on our progress and any trial runs!

Are you attempting to DIY your flowers? If so, do you have any other recommendations for ordering flowers in bulk?