A fan favorite

Pin wheels, paper tissues, buttons, brooches, feathers, and parasols have all been used as an alternative to the traditional floral bouquet. I will be carrying a bouquet of blooms but my maids will be carrying brightly colored hand fans to go with our Chic Modern Asian wedding. The fans make for a stylish accessory for our outdoor nuptials on the beach. It might also have a practical purpose should the mercury rise that day. However, I still want to include flowers for the girls. My budget friendly idea is to have them wear floral wristlets. I want to use orchids for their exotic beauty and because my MOH is allergic to fragrant blooms, orchids have a light scent and hold up well out of water.

Image by Datura: A Modern Garden

As for the wedding flower situation, I am not going the DIY route. The time sensitive and delicate craft is best left in the hands of the professionals. My type A personality would agonize over every detail. Nor do I want to enslave my bridal party and family. It's too much work and simply not worth all the stress. However, flowers do mean a great deal to me. So it is really important that the artist who creates the flowers for our wedding day completely understands my vision. The problem is finding a florist that will work with our teeny tiny flower budget. My solution...divide and conqueror.

Whole Foods! At first I was quite apprehensive about a super market chain providing the wedding flowers. However, I was sold after I read the rave reviews on the Knot about the quality and freshness of their work plus their very competitive pricing. Unlike a typical flower shop, Whole Foods does not have a high overhead cost to cover for materials, labor and rent so they don't need to charge exorbitant prices to make ends meet. As a result, Whole Foods is able to offer customers whole sale prices for buying flowers in bulk. Since our centerpieces are relatively simple, we would only need Whole Foods to provide us the 9 short centerpieces, two small ceremony centerpieces and provide us with fresh petals and dozens of blooms to decorate the head table and window displays at the venue. The location I am working with also offers delivery services which is a big plus. The other plus is Whole Foods buys locally and seeks out earth friendly selections from around the world.

As for the personal flowers, I would prefer a local florist to provide us with the flowers. I have some very specific requests for my bouquet, which might provide a challenge for the staff at the Whole Foods flower department. I also have some unusual requests like floral garlands for the bride and groom. I will be paying relatively more for the flowers but it's okay because I saved on the flowers for the centerpieces. The flowers for the bridal party only includes my bridal bouquet, 2 floral garlands, 2 floral corsages, 3 bouts for the groom and groomsmen, and two pin on corsages for the moms, and 2 bouts for the dad so it is still considerably small. I saved money by not having my maids carry bouquets and by having a smaller bridal party.