Cheap Wedding Ideas
That Don't Look Cheap!

Want some cheap wedding ideas? Inexpensive flowers don't have to look cheap as you can see by the bouquets and reception centerpieces below.

I sometimes fear brides are led into paying more for their wedding flowers because they are told that because it's expensive, it must be "elegant". Elegant sometimes has an overinflated price tag!

Choose Wedding Flowers by In Season

The top hint on Cheap Wedding Ideas is to choose wedding flowers that are in season. Spring flowers such as tulips, daffodils, gladiolus, hydrangeas and iris are definately cheaper in the spring. When you choose the same flowers at other times of the year - you will definately pay a premium. They will be hothouse grown or flown in by Holland, etc.

Stay away from Mother's Day weekend and Valentine's Day. These are huge holidays for the flower industry and the price can triple or more. Since the quality may go down at this time due to volume, think about getting married some other time.

Choose Common Flowers that are Cheaper by the Stem

Choose from some of these common flowers and greens. Your bouquets will still be beautiful . . . and a lot kinder to your wallet.

Daisies, button mums, viking pomps, standard carnations, miniature carnations, asiatic lilies, alstromeria, gladiolus, stock, babies breath, waxflower, asters, spider mums lemon grass, seeded euculyptus, and leatherleaf fern. Add in a few roses for a focal point.

You can see by the pictures below that bouquets made from these "cheap" flowers are still quite lovely!

Cheap Wedding Bouquets - Carnations, Daisies and Alstroemeria

This orange carnation round bouquet may have cheap wedding flowers in it - but it makes quite an impact. People who turn their noses up at carnations as wedding flowers don't realize how many colors this versatile flower comes in. It has a very nice scent and holds up even in hot weather. Watch out Martha Stewart!

Fill out your bouquets with more greenery. Todays trendy wedding magazines always seem to show tightly packed bouquets with no greenery. Flowers cost more than greens. One of the best cheap wedding ideas is. . . spread out those flowers! Use a mixture of greens and flowers to add texture and lines to your flower arranging. These bright painted daisies in the photo below make a cheap bridesmaid bouquet that looks as good as bouquet with big price tags. Daisies are very inexpensive and look very bright and colorful in your pictures.

Below is another cheap wedding flower - alstromeria. This flower is also known as a peruvian lily. It comes in pinks, yellows, white, purples, oranges . . . and can fit in almost any color scheme. Yet is is available year around. Alstromerias are cheap to buy and comes several heads on a stalk. Don't overlook this beautiful hand-tied bouquet below made of nothing but alstroemeria.

Cheap Wedding Corsage and Boutonniere

In reality, the cost of the flowers in a corsage or boutonniere isn't what makes it expensive. It is the labor cost. Making up your own wedding corsages and boutonnieres alone can save you quite a bit in wedding flowers.

Look how attractive this boutonniere is. Yet it is made up of miniature carnations, hypericum berries and a few greens.

Cheap Wedding Reception Ideas

Cheap wedding ideas has to include designing your own centerpieces. It's not as hard as it looks. The two candle centerpiece below looks very elegant, but is fairly simple to make.

The price is kept down because it is mostly greens, with a few filler flower and just a couple of asiatic lily blooms.

The price of centerpieces is surprisingly cheap - it is the labor that is expensive. Every item that you can do yourself will save you in the wedding flower cost.

Share the Costs

Advertise. See if you can find another bride with a wedding date close to yours that you can share the cost of mirrors, voltive candles, pew bows, and other wedding decorations with.

Sell your leftover wedding decorations through E-bay, a local newspaper or wedding rental company. This is possible. I did it with both of my daughter's weddings. Since I had arranged the sales ahead of time, I was more willing to go up in expense since I knew I would recoup my losses.

Shop! Shop! Shop!

But don't buy until you find a real bargain that you actually like. Bargains like these are dreary if you find yourself hating the things that you bought.

Don't just make do . . . but really hunt out those dollar stores, those clearance aisles and discounted party supplies until you find things you really love. Cheap wedding ideas? No - everybody will think you spent a bundle!

There is a great website I've found that gives you more pointers on finding ways to cut those costs. It's at this link: Cheap-Chic-Weddings

Make Your Own Wedding Invitation

My daughter (who has an artistic style) was thrilled when she had a more hands on control in designing her own wedding invitation. If you would like to make your own to save money, consider a wedding invitation kit that is printed on your home computer.