Premade vs. DIY Wedding Bouquets: Which Option Is Best For You?

On the FiftyFlowers website, we offer two options to all of our wedding couples. You can either have your wedding flowers premade by a professional designer at one of our design locations. Or, you can buy a variety of flowers and greenery in bulk to design yourself. We have found that just like snowflakes, each couple is uniquely different. And so are their budgets, time management, and team size. In this blog, we are going to show you the pros and cons of both choices so that when it comes time to order your wedding flowers, you’ll be empowered to make the best decisions for your perfect wedding. 

Premade:

Pros - 

When you order one of the many styles in our premade Wedding Collections, you are choosing a wedding option that is as easy as opening the box, cutting the stems, and placing it in water until you need the florals. These packages come in different sizes, the first including a wedding bouquet and a matching boutonniere. They are designed in some of the most common colors that are trending currently. Premade wedding flowers will save you time and effort, and it will also help you stick to a lean budget. 

Cons-

Since every piece is made by our professionals at our design centers, this eliminates your ability to customize their appearance. You can pick a ribbon color, but the design is a hard set recipe for the efficiency of the designer. This is because those centers are shipped the exact flowers needed to make those recipes, so the flower you might want to switch out is not in stock at the facility. You also cannot customize the shape, style, or size of a pre-made bouquet. Our wedding bouquets are made in a romantic round style, and if you had your heart set on a cascading shape instead, you would have to disassemble the already ribbon-wrapped bouquet to re-design it yourself. 

DIY

Pros-

The DIY wedding is our bread and butter. For over 20 years, we have shown couples all across the country how easy and affordable it is to make their own wedding flowers. And there are deliberate reasons why. Do It Yourself weddings are highly customizable. You can choose the exact flowers, styles, and quantities of flowers you want at your wedding. Bulk quantities of flowers also mean that you will have flowers left over. You can then design these extra flowers into smaller pieces to go around your event space; like your food tables, along the aisle or on the ceremonial chairs, reception area, on or around your cake, or even in the bathroom. Those extra little touches give your guests a more complete and immersive experience. Another bonus is that it can be a bonding moment for you and your wedding team. Most wedding flowers should be designed the day before your wedding. So all of you can take the day, pop some champagne, and laugh as you enjoy the designing experience together. 

Cons-

When you order bulk, you will usually have extras. This means that you could potentially spend more money on flowers you don’t necessarily need. Although, it can be relieving having extra just incase you want to add more to the arrangements or if you want to add more detail around the venue. Bulk flowers are a pro and a con all in one. DIY wedding flowers are also time-consuming. For many couples, designing their wedding flowers is the first time they will have their hands on flowers in this capacity. So you will want to make sure that you have a team to help you, and budget about 30 minutes to an hour of time per arrangement or bouquet. A common piece of feedback we hear from previous couples is that they didn’t budget enough time to make all their wedding flowers and they ended up frantically calling friends and family to help or working into the late hours of the night before their wedding day. 

Now that you know the gritty details about premade or DIY wedding flowers, you will have the tools to go forward and place your order confidently. Our in-house wedding expert encourages you to place the order roughly six months before the wedding. This will allow you enough time to gather the supplies for either option. For Premade, you will just need vases or buckets to hydrate your flowers. And bulk flowers and greenery will require many buckets. You should also store your flowers in the coolest, dark, room in your house. If you have flower food, be sure to add it when you first begin to hydrate your product. Or if you don’t have flower food, be sure to change your water every 24 hours and cut the bottoms of your stems before placing them in the new water. Be sure to have a good pair of pruning shears as well. Once you’ve got the tools, you can apply this newfound knowledge and either receive or design your wedding flowers with ease.  

Read More Like This:

• 8-Step DIY Wedding Flower Guide
• 5+ Mistakes To Never Make With Your Wedding Flowers
• 15 Flower Meanings: Discover The Significance Of Each Bloom

Photos courtesy of FiftyFlowers