DIY Wedding Flowers

The LA Flower Market

Happy Monday everyone! I am so excited to be sharing something that is not only beautiful but fun (at least I think so). If you are a bride or if you are a photographer looking to DIY some flowers for a photo shoot, this post is for you! Last year one of my good friends got engaged. She was looking for ways to save money and so I offered to DIY her wedding flowers. I knew that this would be a huge undertaking since I will also be doing the wedding photos but I knew that I could recruit a few people and give her something AMAZING. Before the wedding, my plan was to do a few sample centerpieces and bouquets so that I can get comfortable with the process of how the flowers are put together.

I Googled, YouTubed, and searched out as much as I could find about the LA Flower Market and online wholesale flower companies such as Fifty Flowers and Blooms by the Box. The problem? While the online companies posted up their prices, the only way to get the LA Flower Market prices was to go into downtown LA at the crack of dawn.

I drug myself out of bed one morning and made my way down. There are many parking lots in the area as well as meters but we choose to park in the Moscatel’s parking lot. If you have never been there before, Moscatel’s is like a giant Michael’s crafts on Steroids. The best part is that if you spend $4 they will validate for up to 2 hours of parking which is right next to the Flower Market Entrance. Additional Hours are $4 but the few times we have been there, we didn’t need any extra hours.

The entrance to the market is $2 per person on weekdays and $1 on Saturday. They give you a sticker so that you can get into both sides of the market. It was beautiful and slightly overwhelming but you get the hang of it once you get past your first few flower booths.

Part of me was expecting the prices to be very similar to the online companies but the truth was shocking! I am in no way saying that florist are not worth what they charge… they 100% are. This job is time consuming delicate and takes an artistic flair. They are worth every penny! But if you don’t have the extra pennies to spend AND you have a someone craft who can do this for you, then this is something you should try. Please don’t do it yourself!! Your wedding is stressful and you are not going to have time for this process. Only try this if you have help.

Now, back to the shocking part.

*NOTE – prices change by season and year and the below pricing is meant only to give you a good comparison. Pricing also varies from vendor to vendor. Ask around to get the best price.

Standard Roses

Let’s start with the most popular flower – Roses. There are mainly 2 kinds; Standard Roses and Garden Roses. Standard roses are by far the cheapest. When visiting the LA Flower Market We were able to find Buckets of standard roses for $35. Each bucket has 5 bunches of roses and each bunch contains 25 roses. That means that each bucket holds 125 Roses and breaks down to be $.28 per stem. In comparison I went to Fifty Flowers website. For basic white roses you will pay $50/25 stems or if you buy in bulk $200/200 stems. The cheapest would be $1/stem. That alone is a $.72 savings per stem. To put it another way, if you were to buy 6 buckets of roses (750 stems) for about the same price as buying only 200 stems online.

Garden Roses

Garden roses are also known as Cabbage Roses, Old English Roses, and David Austin Roses. They usually have a strong scent and a high petal count. These are popular wedding flowers with the “Juliet” David Austin Rose rating at the very top. They are much more expensive than standard roses and rightfully so. They are gorgeous! To see a garden rose, look at the 1st picture on this page… the peachy colored rose is a garden rose called “Caraluna” which I used in a beautiful bouquet.

At the LA Flower Market I went to the Mayesh booth, who I knew carried these beautiful flowers. The cost there was $2.50/stem and they come in bunches of 12 so a bunch is $30. Again I went online to compare. Now, online the prices vary based on the specific color but I am using the cheapest one for comparison sake. Fifty Flowers cheapest garden rose was 24 stems for $120 or $5/stem. That is DOUBLE the price.

**BELOW – Standard rose buckets for $35**

Hydrangea

These are great flowers for filling in large spaces. The blooms are huge and beautiful and for the size, the price is great! There are many colors that you will be able to find but my favorite are the speckled purple ones and the pink ones. They are like fluffy clouds – who wouldn’t love that?!

The breakdown? The Flower Market had them for around $8/bunch. I think that there are 6 stems per bunch (if I remember correctly) which makes each bloom $1.33 each. Fifty Flowers has 12 stems for $90 or $7.50/stem. That comes out to be a $6.17 per stem savings!

Spray Roses

Again, another great filler. Small sprays of roses give texture to any arrangement. The Flower Market had them for $6/bunch. Each bunch has about 10 stems which means that every stem is $.60 each. Fifty Flowers has the same spray roses : 40 stems for $120. That breaks down to $3/stem.

Peonies

Another popular flower! These are large and in charge plus if your wedding or event is in the spring then you are in luck. May is the best time to find these beauties and even though they are spendy, they make a real statement.

The flower market had these for about $3.50/stem. You can buy them one at a time which is nice! Fifty Flowers online has them 20 stems for $100 or $5/stem. Not as much savings as the other flowers but even still, $1.50 per stem less is a huge deal!

Other Notes From The LA Flower Market

Stock – $4.50 / bunch (10 stems per bunch) which comes to $.45/stem.  Fifty Flowers: $80 for 60 stems or $1.33/stem

Ranunculus – $6/bunch (10 stems per bunch)  which comes to $.60/stem. Fifty Flowers: $240 for 100 stems or $2.40/stem

Seeded Eucalyptus – $3 per bunch (no stem count – about a fist full) Fifty Flowers : $90 for 5 bunches or $18/bunch

 

 

What We Made

We ended up getting out of the market with all kinds of good things!! In fact we went even went back for more! Check out some of our creations below. If we could do it, then so can you!! Make sure you do a few practice runs so that you will know how much it will cost and how many stems you will need before you order. Then go down about a month before the big day and place your orders. This way you get what you want. If something doesn’t come in you may have to look for a replacement flower but the odds are better if you place your order ahead of time. Pick up your flowers on the Thursday or Friday before the event so that the blooms still look good and you have enough time to put it together.

My first bouquet attempt:

My first centerpiece attempts:

Finally my last attempt was actually for my friend’s wedding. I got the right flowers in the right colors.

I hope that this post truly helps someone and if you are getting married in the Los Angeles area and plan on doing DIY Wedding Flowers then check out the LA Flower Market and their wonderful deals!

Until next time – XOXO

Stephanie