2016 and beyond wedding moms and dads (Part 2)

I wouldn’t ask them to. I think 4 in one room at 30ish is too many, unless you are very close.

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H, my kids (in their 30s) and we have shared a single room many times with one bathroom and no issues. It all depends on the people involved c

I think there’s a difference between a family of 4 adults staying in a hotel room - one that’s grown together that way - vs two couples. It could be weird for some to be in a room with the other’s spouse/SO and vice versa.

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We rented a suite at just a slightly higher price, so there were two queen beds, and the suite part had a couch with roll out queen. DD2 slept in the roll out, and a good friend stayed the two nights in our room with the 2nd queen bed. DD2 was in college about 50 miles away, and her male friend was from the city with the wedding. My good friend had a hotel room the night before and was happy to save the money from the two additional nights (her husband was not able to make the trip). We had no discomfort at all with the arrangement. DD2 spent a lot of time with her cousins and friends, in addition to the wedding day busy activities. The Friday evening, after the dinner (all out-of-town guests included with the rehearsal dinner) and Saturday evening after the wedding reception, we had ‘open bar’ and gathering in this suite - which worked out great as some were at the hotel bar and some were at our room bar.

Yes, it can be weird for two couples.

When DDs were young, we had a Disney hotel room for 5, and my mother was there with us. DH was comfortable enough around my mother.

For those looking at popular southern city in May for 3 rooms/2 nights for $3K - see about other options like suite and one additional room, or use of points. We had enough points for two nights at Hilton/Boston which I found out enroute - I knew we had for one night, but it turns out I had enough for the two nights. We stayed one night outside of Boston to save money, and in Boston, we just had to pay for the two nights of parking (and saved on all the room taxes too). This was for a Sunday afternoon/evening wedding and reception - they saved a lot of money with having it on Sunday.

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Agree. It’s about the people involved and their temperament plus sense of personal privacy. I have a strong need for privacy. You could not pay me the cost of a room (or even triple that amount ) to share a room with 3 other adults.

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My D has put me in charge of the flowers. Yikes, she & I have such different tastes from one another, I don’t even dare to buy her socks. I obtained a list from the reception venue of about 6 different local florists who have done a good job at weddings there. Now I just have to figure out how to choose one. My thought is that once I’ve chosen the florist, I can have them come up with a few designs and let my daughter choose. Any and all tips for this are certainly most welcome!

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Flowers get very expensive very quickly. Where do flowers fall in their priority list? (Do they care a LOT about flowers, or not all all?) Seasonal is cheaper than not. Florists have a style – are they thinking informal, very formal, over the top, unique, or do they just want something on the tables? Bridesmaid have any allergies? Set a budget amount, and start by asking florists what they would do to stay under that. Don’t go in with “she wants these flowers” and then find out you blew the budget out of the water.

S2/DiL didn’t care a bit about flowers. We bought from a local grower, directly from the farmer’s market. Bride bouquet and bridesmaids were mostly greenery and not remarkable to stay on budget. I made up vases of grocery store flowers to decorate the church where they got married and we carried all those to the reception. It was all very beautiful.

S1/DiL cared about flowers. We repurposed the rehearsal picnic flowers (just simple arrangements for tables) by dismembering them and putting them in bud vases around their reception spot, but since they got married outside there were flowers out there that also came inside for decor. It was all very beautiful. The bud vase craze seems to be slowing, thank goodness. It isn’t really cheaper and is so overdone.

Doing it yourself costs time and brain cells. Don’t forget that. Absolutely nobody remembers the flowers. Imho, too many brides carry disproportionate bouquets – let’s not hide the dress! The bridesmaids will NOT keep their bouquets as a souvenir.

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We were at a wedding where they bride and attendant’s bouquets (with the stems) were put into vases at their head table; thus they had the flowers for that. This bride had tight budget and used as little as possible with the flowers - but she had a large number of attendants, I believe 9.

’Put in charge of the flowers’ - as others have commented, this can get very tricky. If your DD has the colors picked out for dresses and possibly also the season for the wedding. If she has the venue picked out and size of the wedding - and what she has in mind for what the tables will have on them, as well as where the ceremony will be. If rehearsal dinner and if also an event the day after - if multiple events/use of some of the flowers.

If you are local to the wedding, that can possibly offer flexibility on sources of the flowers and how much involvement from a florist versus other wholesale or retail options. We have local grocery and other places that have a floral department which might offer a lesser priced cost versus stand-alone florist.

Certainly, need to get a lot of details (and budget) from DD - what she envisions, examples of what she wants overall and then very specifically.

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I know a lot of people like to get flowers from the grocery store flower departments. They are often much cheaper.

And if you get your flu shot at the Safeway, you get a 10% off coupon

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One kid bought a bunch of flowers at a farmers market. Her friends assembled the bouquets and floral centerpieces. The other got hers at a local grocery chain floral department. I emailed the florist photos of color palette and inspirational photos, and she assembled amazing bouquets for the wedding party. Table decor was minimal… I already shared the story how my husband and I played florist using Costco-purchased greenery garlands and TJ’s roses. The coordinator was so impressed she asked if we could be hired - we politely declined because it was a ton of work! :laughing:

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I remember the flowers at all the weddings we have been to in the last several years. Flowers were an important part of the decor for my daughters and daughters in law (and for me at my wedding decades ago). They itemized what they wanted (bridal bouquet, 4 bridesmaids, 8 boutineres, 15 centerpieces and such) . Then picked off pics from the internet, for colors and styles of bouquets, and types of flowers. - Pinterest, instagram and such. Then got ball park quotes from some florists with the itemized lists and inspiration photos, and chose a florist. In each case the ceremony flowers were repurposed by the florist for the reception. I know not everyone does this and flowers are not important to some but this is a way to plan and buy the flowers. They each met with the chosen florist a few weeks before the wedding.

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My D got quotes from several florists whose work she admired based on social media & websites. She sent them a list of what she wanted and pictures for inspiration. She liked one florist the best based on their interactions, but the quote was still more than she wanted to pay. So she was honest and told her that … and the florist selected flowers that cost less but still fit D’s aesthetic. The flowers ended up being within her budget and were beautiful.

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For both of my daughters, flowers were big part of the budget. D1 had more formal flowers - peonies and roses. D2 wanted more whimsical wild flowers look. They all cost about the same, but very different looks. They were particular about flowers and I was just informed what they wanted.

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Thanks for all the comments! My D is good with crafts, but will have no time, and sadly I have no artistic talent. It will have to be a professional florist all the way.

I have a rough idea of how many centerpieces, and know how many people are in the wedding party. And I know the flower she wants to use as a foundation, but I’m not sure about other flowers and ratio of flowers to greenery, and size of centerpieces. Thanks for the conversation because it’s helped me a lot to figure out some questions to ask her. And I agree, it’s better for the bride’s bouquet to not overwhelm her, but honestly my D might have a very different idea. But, we did pick out her wedding dress and I have a photo of her in it, so maybe I’ll print it up and ask her to draw a picture of how she’d like her bouquet to look.

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Did the florists that she interviewed show her a mock-up of what they were thinking before they were hired? Or were they hired based on pictures of work they previously did, and then after being hired they did a mock-up?

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My sister’s daughter-in-law got her flowers from Sam’s Club and her family put them all together the morning of the wedding. They looked great!

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My daughter had an outdoor mountain wedding in the fall. Her location was surrounded by fall foliage. She did not care about flowers. She contacted several local florists for quotes and was in sticker shock. Apparently, some florists see an outdoor wedding as a chance to drape everything that isn’t breathing in thousands of dollars in flowers. When she responded to the quotes with a more modest budget, they all backed out - I guess not wanting to tarnish their “brand” with anything less than a 5-figure price tag.

She put me in charge, and I found a wonderful mother-daughter florist who were willing to work within her budget. Her flowers were simple but looked beautiful. The florist did a wonderful job incorporating the outdoor mountain vibe of the wedding.

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I just saw this on Instagram, and thought it was beautiful. I do recognize that it would be ridiculously labor intensive, so probably a bad idea!

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These were done by a local florist – I simply called, told her the colors and a few details and our price point. I left all the rest up to the florist and these were perfect :slight_smile: We had asked for “looks like someone just picked some flowers and plunked them in a vase” The felt flags have words from their engagement post on IG.

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We actually did use an excellent florist from one of the grocery store floral departments here. She came very highly recommended, and she was great! DD lived a distance away, and they communicated the details via email and text and pictures. DD got exactly what she wanted for her wedding flowers (for the bouquets and the tables).

I think the key with flowers is working with a florist who will work with you, and understands what you want.

DD interviewed several florists. She almost went with one locally, but as they discussed the flowers, DD felt the florist was pushing what the florist wanted to do rather than what DD wanted….so DD graciously bowed out of that one.

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