Formal weddings are one of the most elegant affairs we all share at some point in time. They are a time for renewal of old friend, long lost relatives and can give a memorable event for the wedding couple. In this day and time, weddings have gone from simple to outrageous. If you are short on cash, you can cut corners and still have a beautiful wedding by doing a lot of the tasks yourself.
My daughter is planning her wedding. So many of her friends have been getting married, and she has been part of their weddings. As a result she is well aware of the costs involved with getting married. She has spent hundreds of dollars being a bridesmaid. Not only purchasing the dresses to wear, but also for shower gifts and bachelorette parties. She is trying to keep the costs down not only for herself but for her friends involved in the wedding. We are going to help financially and the one area that we agreed where we will not cut corners is on the bridal bouquets. My daughter and I have a close relationship and one of our special bonds is our love for flowers. We have spent many hours together tending the flower gardens in the yard. When we attend weddings together one of the first things we both notice is the bridal bouquets.
Because this area is special to us my daughter asked me to help pick out the bridal bouquets for her special day. I explained to my daughter that when I was married I had found large price differences between the different florists. We decided that we would check with several in the area. We wanted to see pictures of bridal bouquets that each had done in the past so we went to each floral shop rather than call. We made a list of five florists and decided that we would spend the day together.
The first florist we went to had several photo albums filled with bridal bouquets that she had created in the past. She had photos of corsages and table and altar arrangements in addition to the bridal bouquets. She was excellent at carrying through the main flower through all the arrangements. Her prices were quite high, she did write an estimate for completing the arrangements that my daughter wanted. She explained that the prices would vary depending on the availability of the flowers at the time the arrangements were made.
The next florist had very unique bridal bouquets. She used flowers and dried materials that created very unusual bouquets. My daughter wanted more traditional flowers. The third florist we went to was the one that had done the flowers for my wedding. She showed us the extensive photo albums of her work. She then made a few suggestions that would slightly alter what my daughter wanted, but greatly reduced the costs. The details would still be there but the cost was almost half of the first estimate. My daughter was so impressed that she ordered the bridal bouquets and other floral arrangements.
Finding a good florist that is reasonable is a challenge, no matter where you live. Flowers are expensive, and the florist you choose will determine what your costs are. Some florists have less of a markup than others. In your search, you will learn who is reasonable and who is expensive. We were pleased with the selections that we made and the cost that we had saved. We had also saved time by not visiting the other florists so we were able to complete some additional tasks that needed to be done for the big day. More importantly, the time we spent together was one of the best times of my life. I will always remeber the sharing of feelings and ideas that transpired on this day, will ever be instilled in my mind.
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