The Complete DIY Wedding Flower Checklist
Updated: Jan 30, 2021
Do you have what it takes to DIY your own wedding flowers? It can be an incredible experience if you're prepared. Read on to see if you’ve got everything on the checklist.
❏ Time:
As a floral designer, I spend about 30 hours on average working on a wedding. This time includes: Driving to the wholesaler, loading the flowers into my car, driving back to the studio, unloading the flowers, processing the flowers (removing thorns, excess leaves, bruised petals, cutting ends of stems), preparing vases and containers, designing arrangements, packing the arrangements into boxes, loading them into my vehicle, driving to the venue, unloading all of the boxes, setting up the flowers, tearing down the flowers at the end of the night, and cleaning my studio and buckets from the mess created by designing for the wedding. Wowzers! A lot is involved in this whole “wedding flowers” gig. If you and some awesome people in your tribe have time budgeted for flowers, more power to ya!

❏ Skills:
Most of the designs that you see on pinterest have been created by a professional florist. Like any other skill, floral design takes practice. Take the time to learn some floral design basics! A great place to learn the basics is the DIY Wedding Flower Academy. Find more info about it here. Learning and practicing floral design is such a fun and rewarding investment. But without gaining any prior knowledge, you may find that the hashtag #pinterestfail applies to your poor designs. No one wants that.
❏ Flower Knowledge + Source:
Not all flowers behave the same. For example, I recently spoke to a bride who wanted hydrangeas on her wedding cake. Hydrangeas wilt extremely quickly without a water source. I was able to warn her of this and she ultimately decided that roses would be the best fit. Be sure that the flowers you're selecting for your wedding will hold up nicely throughout your wedding day.
Also, be sure to research the wholesalers in your area ahead of time. Not all floral wholesalers sell to engaged couples directly. Some require a business license and a resale permit. A good online flower wholesaler that caters to the DIY bride is Fifty Flowers. More options are discussed in DIY Wedding Flower Academy as well. If you’re confident in your flower knowledge and flower source, or willing to learn, then keep reading, flower queen!
