So part of being a successful cake decorator means keeping up with trends and fashions in the wedding industry. With that comes many hours spent searching through websites, bridal magazines, discount outlets and crafting stores. I get really inspired by a lot I see out there and I’m not just talking cakes!

Not just during this economic downtime but anytime really, the budget conscious bride can really get overwhelmed by the prices of things out there. I’ve decided to start posting some of the money saving ideas I come across in hopes of not only inspiring you brides out there to DIY and save some cash for the honey moon but also to relieve some of that stress that comes with paying for your own wedding as so many brides and grooms do these days.

So this weeks fun money saver is fresh flowers! I swear you can do this yourself!

My top pick for money saving, convenience, and quality goes to COSTCO! Is there anything this store can’t do? If you order online, you can buy roses in many shades for less than $1 a rose! If you put 10 roses in a vase with a ribbon, that is 10 centerpieces for less than $150 bucks. There are many other kinds of flowers available for very affordable prices including tropical and hard to find flowers. Quite the money saver compared to having your florist do this for you.

Even better, you can easily create your own bouquet of flowers for yourself and your bridesmaids buying flowers in bulk. Craft stores like Michaels or Jo-Anns carry many affordable wedding accessories such as jewels for the roses, ribbon, and even babies breath!

Check out this link for an easy tutorial on how to make your own wedding bouquet.

These bouquets and flower arrangements will easily stay fresh and beautiful as long as they don’t dry out or get too hot! Just keep the stems moist by keeping the finished bouquets in vases or glasses of water (side by side in a box works well) and kept out of the sun or hot rooms until its time to put them on the table or walk down the aisle!

Flowers can run you thousands of dollars if you go through a florist so if you are willing to put out the time with a couple girlfriends a few days in advance and keep your centerpieces and bouquets simple and elegant, you can really save yourself some money!

Other money saving ideas using fresh flowers:
Make boutonnieres for the groom and his best men (great tutorials on youtube.com)
Use fresh flowers instead of sugar flowers on your cake
Use any damaged flowers as the petals for your flower girl, sprinkling on tables, or for lining entry ways
Have the bridesmaids pin fresh flowers in their hair

Hope you find this helpful! P.S., My bridesmaids and I made the toss away bouquet during my wedding weekend and it was a great way to do something together and it turned out awesome!