Mmmm?? Church Flowers??

Question

I am on a budget with flowers. I have organised my bouquets and reception flowers but was thinking about the church. Do we really need flowers in the church? If so, where are the main place(s) to put them considering I don't want to spend much. i.e its about £70 ($140) per pedestal !!!!!!
Ive already thought about saving money in the church by putting silk bows around the ends of the pews to brighten up things, and my flowers girl is giving out springs of lavender and white heather tied with ribbon to guests as she walks down the aisle.

Please help with suuggestions XX

Answer 1

are there any other weddings in the church on the same day? we split the cost with the other two weddings that day. we had neutral colours and it worked really well. much cheaper!

my friend just had flowers in the doorway, on the altar and on the front pews and then ribbons on every other pew.

another idea is to use the flowers from the church to decorate the reception not the tables but around the room. my brother did this. some friends took them to the reception whilst they had their photos taken. hope this helps x

Answer 2

You know, we use the church flowers to adorn the reception area. So that may be a good idea for u. If you can get away with using your reception flowers (like a really big, nice arrangement) at your church just to brighten up the altar and then get them back to the reception without messing up the arrangement then you wouldnt have to spend more money on the church flowers. I like the bows on the pews, try using tulle instead of regular ribbon or a combination of both to soften up the look. I like the idea of the flower girl passing out the lavendar, maybe you can have the lavendar placed really nice in two baskets and placed in front of the altar and the flower girl can pass it out at the end of the ceremony. This way your guest will still get the great detail from you, but they will also look great during your mass. Just a thought.

Answer 3

I am in exactly the same position. We are having organza bows on the end of every other pew, then the pedestal arrangements which like you said, are £70-90 each, we are moving to the reception to have either side of the top table. The arrangement on the signing of the register table in the church we are having as a centre piece on the top table at the reception. We have found that we have seaved enormously by having someone move the flowers from the church to the reception for us.

GOOD LUCK AND ALL THE BEST FOR YOUR WEDDING XXX

Answer 4

many houses of worship have "flower funds" where parishioners can make contributions so that there are always flower arrangements on the altar. check with your church to see if this is the case (or go there a couple of times prior to your wedding for services & see for yourself). Silk bows are nice, but you might even be able to get away with just doing the first two rows of pews at the front by the altar, as this will signify that they are for "family" members of the bride & groom. no real need to do each pew, unless you have it in your budget. your boquet and the flowers to be carried by your ladies and the boutoniers for the gents will be plenty of flowers, and will make the whole effect simple and elegant. remember, less is more. particularly when you have a flower girl giving away heather at the door. another suggestion for your flower girl, add a sprig of rosemary for remembrance. the older guests in particular will like the guesture, it won't cost much more than the heather, and it smells nice. every time they smell rosemary from then on, your guests will think of your wedding.

Answer 5

Great ways to save money on church flowers are to;

- ask if there will be flowers at the church already, certain times of the year the church will be decorated.

- ask if there is another wedding at the church that day and then see if they would like to share in the cost of the flowers - you would need to liase about the type and colours of the flowers.
You could include both your colours or have a neutral display.

- If neither of the options are good think about moving the display from the church to the wedding reception so that you get the most out of them for your money!

If you are looking for other ways to save money on your wedding day have a look at

www.cheap-wedding-solutions.com

Good luck with your planning

Answer 6

Churches r-e-a-l-l-y don't need flowers, but they are a nice addition....IF you can afford them. They are not a necessity & you can be just as married without them.

Now what you could do is use silk flowers to make some altar floral arrangements yourself, but I don't really see the need for that, either.

Pew bows are always pretty. They can be all white or with color or flowers added. They can be ribbon, tulle or the two combined. Take a look at some of these examples.
Tying a pew bow is not difficult, only awkward. There's also a bow maker on the market for about $10. If you can't hold several yards of ribbon at once, it's indespensible.

http://csis.hypermart.net/
http://www.efavormart.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=124

Answer 7

I'm not really a "flowers" person. So for me I just got one really beautiful bouquet to put on the alter. I had some candles and things and made that the focal point. Churches are usually beautiful places anyway, I don't think that flowers in the church add that much...except to the budget! I say less is more!

Answer 8

hi, i am getting married in august and i bought those silk bows for the pews but did not want to spend out on flowers for the church the vicar said there would be flowers there ready anyway as they have Sunday service. It may not go with my colour scheme but they have not cost me nothing and as long as your reception is looking bright and stunning who cares about flowers in the church you will only be in there for about a hour so don't worry about it. pew bows are fine on their own. spend your money on something more worthwhile on the day. good luck and enjoy your day.

Answer 9

I was in your same position - we rented standing candelabras and chose to put a vase of flowers by the guest book and a larger vase on the piano (my sister was the soloist so I wanted to place a bit of focal impact there). Put tulle bows on the candelabras and that was it. We did bows on the first 6 pews (reserved for family) and placed tapers in the windows to honor loved ones in our family who had passed away prior to our marriage - only one window did not have a candle).

The candles were much more elegant and people still comment on the simplistic beauty of our ceremony 3 years later.

Congrats & good luck! Put your money will it make the most impact.

Answer 10

It sounds like you already have some really great ideas. My friend who wanted a bit of decor but had a small budget used mostly greenery in the church - it's much cheaper.

However, if you want to flowers, I say do some at the entry to the church and use your material inside.