I’ll admit my bias up front: I love flowers. And not just any flowers, I love expensive flowers. Peonies, burgundy cymbidium orchids and mini calla lilies are among my favorites. When I was planning my own wedding, I tripled this area of my initial budget. Several brides share my love of flowers and that makes it all the more difficult to stay on budget. Even brides that do not share my extreme love for flowers want beautiful weddings, and your florist will play a huge role in that. As a general rule, flowers should account for 10-15% of your overall budget. Here are some tips to help to stay at or below that number while still having beautiful wedding flowers.

The universal flower for weddings is most definitely the rose. White or red are the most common. It was proclaimed by Venus, the Roman goddess of love, that the red rose was the most beautiful of all flowers. So it came to be that the red rose represented true love.

When you are choosing the flowers for your wedding there are several things to take into account.

1) First of all, it is your wedding and should emulate your personality and be the theme for the ceremony and reception. It shouldn’t be what your mother always wanted or your bridesmaid’s favorite flowers. It’s about what you want.