Unatainable Vision

View quoted message Aww, thanks so much! 💕 My partner & I have had some great talks lately. Like you, I’m coming back to what really matters/needs our focus & all the other little stuff that can we can let go of (stress & other ppl’s opinions included!).

View quoted message Yay! I’m glad you’ve got the ideas flowing! It’ll turn out great in the end!

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My fingers are crossed that things start to simplify. I honestly have just been stressed out overall with several things (wedding and not wedding related), so I just need to relax a bit and stay focused.

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That's a really good idea Alexandra. Today my mom and I went shopping around and were coming up with some alternative ways to achieve the look I want (most-likely with some DIY). We'll see what happens!

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My fingers are crossed for you Keri that everything works out with your venue It sounds lovely!

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This is really pretty!

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Lol Geez! Hopefully nothing else ends up getting complicated.

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I posted what we went with below. A much more reasonable "half garland" for $250. Our florist has been great about giving us more budget friendly alternatives.

View quoted message We’re just doing the bouquets for the bridesmaids + myself plus a little bit of greenery.

I come from England so it’s more a visit home with my fiancé than a honeymoon, but it’s the compromise to use getting married here rather than there!

Im sure you can find a cheaper way to get something amazing, it’s just going to take a little bit of reshuffling. Make a list of things you really want and things you can live without and maybe start there?

View quoted message Haha Thanks! Our current venue has a small modern barn with industrial lighting/touches & then there’s the outdoor patio/bar, treed grounds with water & fire pit. It’s heavenly! Just not sure we can stick with it anymore, but we’ll see...

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You're really painting a picture with your description! Is your venue industrial-ish too?

View quoted message No prob! Sounds like you’re getting some things in place which will definitely help take off some stress! I’m really loving the minimalist botanical-meets industrial vibe (sheesh! How many descriptors can I use? Haha) with some greenery & mixing in grey, blush with pops of copper/vintage brass. I can’t get enough of that vibe!

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That's an incredible price for flowers! What are you doing? (BTW, that's a long honeymoon! Sounds amazing!)

Yeah, the $8000 price tag is what started discouraging me. I'm at the point where I've essentially had to scrape my entire original vision and re-think my décor altogether.

View quoted message $8000?! That’s enough for my flights and most of my accommodations for our 27 day trip to England for our honeymoon. That’s an insane amount for flowers! Thankfully even with the greenery my flowers are going to be less than $1000

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It's insane how nuts the cost of things get as soon as they're tied to a wedding. At this point, both my parents have offered to pay for the absurd flower cost ($8000) but both my FH and I can't justify this cost for flowers!

View quoted message This accurately sums my fiancé’s and my attitude

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Hey Candace, thanks for the tips! I was previously part of a Facebook group for wedding buy and sell but the posts were taking over my feed so I left it! I think I'm going to rejoin and actively search out second hand items. I'm definitely feeling better about my décor woes lol.

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Hey Keri, thanks for all the great ideas! I'm definitely hoping to still go with something natural but considering going DIY and hiring a DOC to put it all together. What vision do you have for your wedding décor?

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That's gorgeous! Yeah, I've totally been smacked with sticker shock of how much greenery actually costs. It's astonishing how expensive something (seemingly) so simple is.

Did you end up going with the garland or think of an alternative?

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Aw Courtney, thank you so much for the lovely words. Funny story, the best wedding my FH and I ever attended was literally so basic. Little décor, very untraditional, but everyone had a tremendous time.

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Hey Allison, I'm definitely considering DIY and a DOC (to set it up) right about now. I spoke to my mom about it today and it seems like that might be the best option for something that still works within my budget.

This has somehow become the most complicated part of this entire wedding lol.

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I didn't get a quote on just the greenery but most of the florists I visited said it's where a lot of the cost was! It was astonishing because I wasn't expecting it to be the same price (if not more) than flowers.

I got quotes from several florists for flowers and very basic décor, and the prices ranged from $4000-$8000 for similar set-ups.

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I've definitely thought about doing that! I'm at the point where I need to talk to an old co-worker who is now very new into the event planning community and see what her prices are for DOC. If it's cheaper than the extra cost of having my décor done professionally, then I'm probably going to DIY a lot of my décor and have her set it up.

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Alexandra, my parents are doing the same thing! It's frustrating because it's sometimes not about the money per se, but more about the absurdity of the cost!

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That's a great deal you got on your wedding décor! I hope you post pictures of your DIY once they're done

I hope things work out! I spoke to my mom today and it seemed to ease some of my previous anxieties surrounding the décor issues.

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Thanks for the idea! I'll definitely take a look into it

I've seen a few comments that have already said this but we are doing fake flowers for a lot of decor to help achieve our vision but on a budget. Also our florist has been a huge help when it comes to achieving that vision with real flowers in some areas.
Our wedding planner has also been amazing with helping to keep the same feel and look to the place but on a more manageable budget.
there are a lot of online forums too where people are selling a lot of second hand items that are in amazing shape and cheap! I found like 4 groups on Facebook alone!
Hope everything works out!

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Just from my own experience with my florist, best thing to do is show them what you have in mind, but stay open to suggestions. My florist showed me about 3 options that were more budget friendly, and still the look we were going for. She suggested some cost effective flower options that helped us stay on track.

So this is what we're going with, and its only $250. In the end, its the better option since we're doing a sweetheart table and can re-purpose this for the reception. Whereas the garland would be too big for the sweetheart table.

Half Garland

Loving the decor vibe you’re hoping to achieve! Like others said, I have been seeing lots about used wedding decor FB area groups, Kijiji etc. Also, Costco sells bulk greenery, which I’m considering. $90 for mixed bunches (something like 110 stems or something). There’s also some great artificial options at dollar stores, used, and Michael’s (only with mega coupon days!). I’ve seen ppl use fabric pieces for back drops, inexpensive sheer drapes, drop cloths or DIY paper garlands/Flowers too! PVC pipes or wooden dowels for arches can be spray painted or draped with fabric/greenery.

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Yikessss.. Yeah, I thought the actual product would be cheaper but like you said making them is time consuming so makes sense. Thank you I mostly want it on out head table and arches with flowers. We will see!!

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Hey, I'm not sure how much greenery you're hoping for, but I wanted a greenery garland for the alter area for our wedding (like pictured below). We decided $1,000 for our floral budget, but this garland alone was $750, just to give you an idea.

While greenery may be cheaper than flowers, the labour involved in getting something like this is very time consuming, and usually the costs add up because of it.

Greenery Garland

I get where you're coming from. I also think with Social Media these days, seeing this huge grand ideas is more commonplace. I frequently feel like my wedding isn't measuring up even with a perfectly fine budget!

Just remember, you'll be so busy on that day and so in love and excited you probably won't even notice the decor!