WINTER WEDDING FLOWERS

 Flowers for a Winter Wedding  

Many brides agonize over what flowers to choose for a winter wedding. The winter wedding flower dilemma is further complicated by the fact that many of the flowers that are traditionally used for weddings like roses are out of season in most places in the winter and that drives the cost of having roses up. What time of the winter you plan on having the wedding can also affect flower prices.

At Christmas time poinsettias will be in high demand so using poinsettias for your winter wedding might be out of your price range. The same thing happens at Valentine’s Day with roses, so if you want to have roses for your Valentine’s Day wedding then you need to be prepared to pay premium prices for them. If you are on a tight budget you might want to consider using some flowers that are in season in the winter and so might cost less and might even look better than flowers that are traditionally summer wedding flowers. Here are some cheaper flower alternatives to think about for your winter wedding:

Amaryllis is a winter flower that is usually available in red and white and is a great low cost alternative for Valentine’s Day weddings.

The Anemone is a star like flower that is usually in season in the first part of the winter, before January and is usually available in blue, red, and pink or white.

Daffodils are yellow, and are usually in season from January until June.

Blue Forget-me-nots are a great choice for a Jack Frost/Fairy theme wedding

Holly  is an absolute must for Christmas weddings, and is very inexpensive during the Christmas season.

Many people don’t realize that Jasmine is a winter flower, and Jasmine can be a wonderfully fragrant choice to add romance to your wedding. Consider using jasmine and a few red roses for a Valentine’s Day wedding.

The Star of Bethlehem is a lovely white winter flower that can be used as inexpensive decoration filler.

Tulips  are in season from December until the end of April and come in many different vibrant colors like pink, white, red, purple, and other colors that are very appropriate for winter weddings.

SILK FLOWERS OR FRESH FLOWERS: WHICH IS REALLY MORE COST EFFECTIVE?

Many brides who plan winter weddings wonder if they should use silk floral arrangements to cut costs and make sure that the flowers stay fresh and beautiful no matter what the weather does. While it certainly is a cost effective option to use silk flowers for your wedding, many brides really want to have the effect and the fragrance that only comes from using real flowers. Using silk flowers isn’t that much less expensive than using in season fresh flowers, and using in season fresh flowers can be a great, cheap way to have the smell and visual impact of real flowers with the high price tag.

Of course, for brides who really want a particular flower that might be hard to find, expensive, or too delicate to stand up to possibly very cold temperatures, silk floral arrangements are the best option to save money and to make sure that the flowers look great. Keep in mind though, that if you are holding your wedding at a holiday time like Christmas there is a good chance that the church where you are holding the wedding will already be decorated for Christmas so you might not need to do any additional decorating with flowers in the church, which would mean you’d have more money to spend on the fresh flowers for the reception.

If you want to see the difference for yourself there is an easy way to compare the two types of flowers. Go to a florist and ask for a sample wedding arrangement using winter flowers that will be in season during the time when you will be holding your wedding and then order the same type of arrangement in silk flowers from a company that specializes in doing silk floral arrangements for weddings. Compare the two and see which one makes a strong visual impact. If price is a big issue, then consider using a combination of the two for your winter wedding. You could use silk floral arrangements to decorate the reception hall and have fresh flowers for your bouquet and the flowers for the bridal party. Using a combination of silk and fresh flowers can keep the cost of the flowers within your budget while still providing the look and fragrance of fresh flowers.

If you simply must have cascades of roses for your Valentine’s Day wedding, or expensive lilies or other flowers for your winter wedding, then sit down with your wedding budget and try to find another area of the wedding where you can cut back in order to be able to spend the extra money that you want to spend on the flowers. Ultimately, the wedding should be exactly the way you want it. Just be prepared to cut back in other areas of the wedding if you are placing a priority on having fresh flowers. Prioritizing the different aspects of the wedding will make it much easier to make a realistic budget and stick to it. Be very honest about your budget with your florist when you are discussing wedding flowers so that your florist knows exactly what your price range is for floral arrangements.