Does anyone have any tips on how to save money on a flower budget?

We're doing in-season flowers (easy since it's June) and we're trying to go with cheaper blooms but I'm having a terrible time trying to keep the budget down while having everything look nice.

I went to 3 different florists to get ideas of pricing and see what they could offer at certain prices. In the end I went with the florist who right off the bat seemed like she was very understanding of just how expensive weddings are. She seemed like she really wanted to work to give us something beautiful but practical, price wise. The great thing about her is she has worked at our reception hall before and loves the space so she had lots of great ideas of how to make use of that space at an affordable place. For example, it's a very new hotel with a modern, artsy feel to it, so she recommended something like this: http://wedding.viedka.com/wp-content...rpieces-06.jpg
Still beautiful, but not overwhelming with flowers that's gonna break the bank. Then to save even more, she recommended doing these centerpieces on every other table and then on the other tables we can do a low, understated centerpiece. In the end, she was able to come in about $600-700 cheaper than the other quotes we got.

So really, my best advice is to shop around, talk to different florists and see what creative solutions they can offer you to give you the most bang for your buck.

If you have the time and energy to DIY, depending on where you live, you could go to a floral wholesaler, pick your own, go to a local college with a horticulture program and have someone arrange them for you or do the arranging yourself.

Thanks for the help everyone!

lovespink, we're meeting with a florist in one of the tiny suburbs around Milwaukee who looks promising so I'm hoping she can help us out.

This is total true. What I think we may end up doing are ONLY centerpieces (like this) and three boutonnieres for the Ushers.
http://blameitonthetoes.blogspot.com...hydrangea.html

Has anyone used online floral ordering? We found a combo of two packages that is perfect. One of them is the following:

[IMG]file:///C:/Users/admin/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot-2.png[/IMG]http://www.bridesign.com/Wedding-Flo...-Romantic-Rose

The reviews on theKnot were pretty good overall, but some people have horror stores about the flower order being canceled four days before the wedding.

*AGREE*

My plan was to work during my lunch break... then I got sidetracked ... and I'm pretty sure I'm just going to sit and stare at the screen imagining what I would loook like walking down the aisle with this.

http://media-cache1.pinterest.com/up...DPJulAoV_f.jpg

Love dahlias.

My highly rated, interviewed and vetted florist had a death in the family 4 days prior to our wedding, and no one to cover for her. So, six in the one hand, half dozen in the other.

I have been writing a little treatise on weddings, and will be posting it soon!

Ugh. That's awful. So sorry!

I actually managed to find a florist we both absolutely love who can work in our price range. She is a genius with repurposing ceremony flowers and is able to do our wedding for about the same price I had worked out with online ordering! We came across the company at a bridal show and she is just fabulous. I'm really happy.