Step 4: Assemble the bouquets and boutonnieres.
Now, for the bouquets and the boutonnieres, I can say with confidence, you can DIY them. Fortunately, all the bouquets are monochromatic red rose bouquets. The only difference is that the bride's bouquet had sparkly floral picks, and those are very simple to add in.
Follow my DIY bouquet tutorial using only red roses, and as long as you pay very careful attention to the shape of each bouquet, (nice smooth dome,) and do not underestimate the amount of roses you need, it will work out just fine. :)Where to get all the lovely red roses?
I would highly recommend getting your bulk flowers online, especially if you're going to DIY them anyways. I went to a supposed "wholesale" flower retailer in Buffalo and was fairly disappointed. The flowers were sub-par and it was obvious this was just another florist and not a DIYer's haven. Most of the shop was not for viewing, (and I awkwardly wandered in by accident,) and prices were not widely posted.
Since you don't have to worry about stem length with the bouquets, 16in stems will do just fine, however one site said that the longer the stems, the larger the blooms. (So if you have your heart set on large roses, keep this in mind.)
I searched the many, many wholesale flower sites, and I found the biggest bang for your buck was at Amazonia Flowers for 16" stem or 20" stem roses. You can get 375 16" roses for $280, which comes to $0.75 per stem, and this will more than cover all the bouquets, boutonnieres, corsages, and whatever else you need!
Just because of the number of flowers, I would highly recommend help with the assembly of all the florals, the bouquets the day before, and the boutonnieres at the very earliest the night before.An easy and affordable way to add bling to your bouquet is to make your own floral picks! Just go to Joann.com and purchase these crystal beads, 52 count on sale for $2.24, or these Swarovski beads, 12 count for $7.86, if you have to have fancy crystals, and a few spools of around 18 gauge jewelry wire, on sale for $2.46 for 10 yards.
Cut approx 28in pieces of wire for each bead you want to include. (The lengths of the wires do not need to reach the ends of the bouquet stems.) Thread the bead to the center of the wire, then bend each end on each side of the bead, and twist the wire underneath all the way down. Put some melted wax on the ends of the wire so it won't prick you while you insert the flower picks, unless you want them in the center of the roses, then leave the ends sharp so they can pierce the flower easier.
If you would rather not go the DIY route, this seems to be a good choice for an affordable florist, try a local grocery store or a Sam's Club, Costco or BJ's. They may be able to do all the work for you and still be reasonably priced. Since the design is simple, nothing should go wrong with the final product.
Edit: I should have done a price breakdown for this, so here it is...
Refer to my DIY bouquet post for details on the floral supplies. This is an estimation for a lot of bouquets, boutonnieres, and corsages (5 maids, 5 groomsmen, plus everyone else) in order to be realistic in pricing. I'd rather estimate for too much rather than too little.
-375 count 16" red roses = $280
-52 count crystal beads = $2.24
-18 gauge jewelry wire = $2.46
-7 spools of floral tape = $14
-1 spool of Dollar Tree twine = $1
-5 spools of Dollar Tree ribbon = $5
-pearl floral pins = $2.99
-Lots of labor = free, or possibly the cost of food and/or wine to convince your family/friends to help you, lol
Total cost for bouquets, boutonnieres, and corsages = $307.69
Now on to the harder part of the flower equation, Step 5: Floral centerpieces...
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