Affordable Bouquets

Creating Bouquet's for your wedding which are affordable

Spending R6000 or more for flowers for your wedding?       If you are planning a wedding this is what you could be in for and budget for it.

Wedding planning resources have done some work into the average cost of a wedding and lately this amounts to R85,000 with 8-10% going toward your flowers, let's look at ways to save on this aspect of your special day.


Here's how to make one version of a wedding bouquet, a simple round bouquet that can be used for a bridal bouquet or a bridesmaid bouquet.

It can be manufactured to fit most flower choices and decor color schemes. This bouquet can be made with inexpensive silk or artificial flowers that can be purchased at an affordable price.

STEP NO 1:-  By the time you are ready to choose your flowers your wedding attire should have already been chosen.

If you can, take fabric samples shopping with you.This will help you find flowers that coordinate with and complement the colors of your wedding dress and that of the rest of the bridal party's atire.

Your flower selection should include an assortment of flower sizes and shapes.

You don’t want just one type of flower. For example a bouquet full of just roses could appear too nowhere. Shapes that are different yet still complement each other is what you should be aiming for. The same goes for color. If your attendants are wearing pink dresses, choose several shades of pink flowers that complement each other and the dress. Try to vary the shades, imagine the flowers all one(or very close to) shade, it would seem like one large clutch of a colour and appear monotonous, give it some variation.

Let's not get too daring with the differences or cause clashes of colour. If your attire should be light pastel pink , be careful of hot pink or fuchsia flowers. You will want soft shades of pink. The same goes for the bride’s dress. If the bride is wearing white, you do not want ivory or cream flowers, go with white flowers in the bouquets for both the bride and attendants.
The main flowers should show larger flowers like roses, rosebuds, carnations, and lilies or the like, a visit to your florist will show you what is available and don't be shy to ask, there is no cost for their valuable information.

You should make sure to purchase plenty, at least eight of each main flower per bouquet you are making. It’s better to have too many as extra flowers can be used for corsages, boutonnieres, and the throw bouquet. 

Remember the greenery, like ivy, and filler flowers like baby’s breath, lily of the valley, or other small flowers like miniature rose buds. These are both very important, the greenery and filler flowers  add background and fill in gaps and empty spaces between your main flowers so your bouquet will appear full.

The supplies you will need:

    Bouquet holder for each bouquet you will make,

    a bouquet stand or something to put the bouquet in to hold it while you arrange the flowers,

    flowers and greens,

    wire cutters,

    scissors,

    floral tape and floral wire,

    accessories to add to your bouquet like ribbon, lace, tulle or beads,

    and a hot glue gun and glue sticks to attach ribbons and beads or to fix any flowers that may fall apart.

To arrange the bouquet, first place your bouquet holder in the stand. Make sure it is on a level surface and the holder is straight.

Imagine what you want your bouquet to look like. Start by placing flowers against the holder and get an idea of how you want to place them. Put different flowers next to each other and see how they look together. Determine how large you want the bouquet. For a good size round bouquet the stems should be cut to around six inches or less.

Start cutting your stems off the bushes. Start at six inches, if they need to be shorter that can be adjusted. It is better to cut them too long than too short as you cannot add length later.

Next you start with four of one of your main flowers. Like a large rosebud. Put them along the outer edges of your holder where they end up looking like an evenly spaced cross. You can place greenery behind each of these first four flowers. Next add one large focal flower and place it dead center in the middle of your holder. It should be right in the center of the cross. Now you can decide which flowers to use next., best to work out from the center.

Take another four of the  main flowers and shape them around the center flower into a square. They should be angled out toward the four cross flowers and just below the center flower.

When you look at your arrangement from the side it will look like you have three layers of flowers. Now you fill in around those four flowers with four other flowers on the same layer. They will be placed on top of the first four flowers that made the cross. Cut them a little shorter and do not cover the first layer to where you cannot see them.

Now you go back to the first layer, the outer layer where you started with the cross of flowers. Fill in around the edge. Depending on how much space you have between flowers and the size of flowers you are using, you can either put one or two flowers between each of the first four. Now you have all of your main flowers in your bouquet, fiddle them as it pleases. Your bouquet should appear round from front and side view, if not adjust the length of the flowers, push them in the holder farther or pull them out as needed to get the round appearance. Once that is done you can fill in any gaps and empty spaces with your greens and filler flowers until you have your desired appearance and fullness.


Don’t get frustrated if the first time it doesn’t come out right or you don’t like how the flowers look together. Experiment with different flowers, keep trying and you’ll get the jist of it.

Once the bouquet is complete you can add any accessories like beads, ribbon,etc. You could also add ribbon, beads,  or lace into the bouquet around the flowers for extra fullness.


Making your own bouquets and arrangements can save you a lot of money in your wedding budget and reduce the 8-10% of overall cost and with your imagination can be exquisite. It just takes the right supplies, flowers, and some creativity.