Melanie Salerno, WeddingWindow.com

My husband and I spent a whopping total of $51 for all of the flowers at our wedding. We had my bouquet, three bridesmaids bouquets, flowers for our hair, boutonnieres, and several large arrangements for food tables at the reception hall. That total included the ribbon and floral supplies needed to make the bouquets.

Photo Credit: The Real Estreya

How was this possible? We took full advantage of the seasonal flowers available in our location for our wedding. And we got a little help from our friends. From the beginning, we knew that we would locally source as many elements of our wedding as possible. Wildflowers grow naturally with little effort, so no pesticides are required. If your flowers are seasonal, chances are they weren’t grown in a hothouse, which requires a lot of fossil fuels to heat. Plus, local plants eliminate the refrigerated transportation required to ship exotic or out-of-season flowers, thus lowering the environmental impact even more.

Photo Credit: Ian Hayhurst

I’ve always been a big fan of wildflowers. My favorite flower is the daisy and, lucky for me, daisies were in full bloom for my June wedding. They were also free for the picking in gardens, fields and even by the side of the road, along with other beautiful wildflowers.

I asked my parents and a friend from Vermont to let wildflowers grow in part of their large yards. My mom showed up with a cooler full of daisies, and my friend had a huge variety of daisies, yarrow, yellow larkspur, and purple lupine, some of which she stopped to pick from the roadside on her way to the wedding. She also brought gorgeous pink peonies from her garden. My father purchased a few bouquets of flowers grown at a local farm, which included delicate pink calla lilies and purple allium. The morning of my wedding, we employed a few friends to make the arrangements and the bridesmaids and I had fun creating our bouquets together.

Photo Credit: Chrissa Markos

If you decide to grow your own flowers, make sure you plan ahead and plant extra so you will have a large selection to choose from. I recommend visiting a reputable garden center for growing advice. Many nurseries do have a local flower section, if you don’t want to start from seed. I would also suggest having some friends or family members grow flowers as backup. My sister had a mini-disaster with the flowers she planted for her wedding when they were accidentally trampled by a construction crew at her apartment. We ended up picking wildflowers along the road the morning of her wedding, and supplementing them with sunflowers from a local farm stand. For my wedding, I noted the location and hours of several local florists, in case my plans fell through and I had to purchase flowers at the last minute. You can also inquire with your area florists and nearby farms about seasonal, locally grown flowers that you can order in advance.

Photo Credit: Jasmine&Roses

Seasonal Flower Guide Resources:

http://www.theflowerexpert.com/content/growingflowers/flowers-and-seasons
http://weddings.about.com/od/weddingflowers/a/Season.htm

To see what’s available at local farms: http://www.localharvest.org

DIY Wedding Bouquet Instructions:

http://100layercake.com/blog/archives/2390
http://www.projectwedding.com/wiki/show/diy-how-to-make-a-wildflower-bouquet