DIY Wedding: Flowers

4. Grow your own flowers!

Why? My mom has two green thumbs, and I have loved watching her flowers bloom every year since I was a child. In fact, over half of my mom's entire front yard is a garden. It just made sense to grow the majority of the flowers instead of buying all of them from a florist.

How do you DIY? First you need to choose a flower that will be in season during your Big Day. I knew I wanted zinnias so this was easy for me (I have always loved their variety of color and detail). Next you need to recruit everyone you know to plant seeds. Tip: It would be a nice gesture to purchase the seeds for the gardening volunteers. It saves them time, and you'll be sure they have the correct flowers germinating in their soil.

My mom planted zinnias in more than one of her gardens, and my sister who lives on a 5-acre hobby farm only planted zinnias that summer. Both of my mother-in-laws planted multiple pots of zinnia seeds. I even got my brother who was away at college to plant a pot of seeds. It was an all-around group effort!

We had a few snack tables around the reception area as well. We used green and white hydrangeas on these tables.

While growing your own flowers is a great way to get people involved and save a little chunk of money, it's very important to make sure your flower calculations are correct. There is a possibility that the flowers won't bloom in time. There is also the possibility that you won't have enough flowers. Luckily, we ordered some "filler" flowers (in addition to growing them) to fill in the extra vases.

In addition to "filler flowers," we also ordered the bouquets and the boutineers for the bridal party.  (Although, if you have the right tools and skills it would be very easy to make these yourself.)

Here are some close-up shots of the bouquets and boutineers:

Tip: Make sure you set aside flowers for the flower girl to carry down the aisle. This is one detail we forgot and my sister (MOH) snatched a few flowers from random vases as we lined up to start the processional.