BareBlooms

Mrs LilGuys fills up our Sky + recorder with many different programs to do with weddings - apparently this is 'work' (much like all the wedding magazines piled up in her office!), and I must confess that for some obscure reason I do sometimes sit and watch them with her!. From all these programs it shows that there are very different budgets and very different priorities for each wedding. Some couples go overboard on the venue, some on the outfits and some on the flowers. Others prefer to cut back on one area to concentrate on another. We are incredibly lucky where we live in that we are surrounded by fields, hedgerows and footpaths which are filled with a great variety of wild flowers and greenery. We (Mrs LG!) planted loads of bulbs in advance of our home based wedding in 2008 and they still flower each year at more or less the right time in a burst of bluebells and other similar coloured blooms. Budget was priority for us in all areas, but we managed to have a lovely variety of flowers without breaking the bank, partly from our home grown blooms and partly because we are lucky enough to have a very good friend who is a florist.  Our guest today is Chloe Plester from BareBlooms with some advice and ideas on budget flowers for your big day........

I think the general trend at the moment for 'Vintage', 'Shabby Chic' and 'Homemade' is filtering into the floral trends, coupled with the state of the economy and everyone trying to save money, natural, home grown British flowers seem to be appearing more frequently then the over stylised imported exotic flowers. This trend is also environmentally friendly (which is a bonus) all great for anyone trying to save money!

So why not skip the florist (I am doing myself out of money here!) and arrange yourself or get friends and family to help? If you plan far enough in advance you could even get friends and family to help grow too? Or find a company such as BareBlooms that grow themselves or source locally from their (in the process of being formed) ‘Flower Cooperative’.

When working with flowers that have been grown locally and naturally in this country one really can't go wrong. The less fuss and arranging the better which is perfect for the 'do-it-yourself' wedding. My tips: - Take a walk along a native British Hedgerow for inspiration. Look how nature does it. This random informality with lots of greenery is what one is looking to replicate to achieve a natural look   Ideas for cheap table centres: - Check out junk shops, car boots, etc for old bottles and mustard jars. Or even recycle tin cans or jam jars, tied with pretty ribbon or jute twine. These make simple 'shabby chic' table centres. Their small size mean they are easily and cheaply filled with simple posies of sweet peas for example or other British garden flowers. In my opinion much prettier than formal oasis filled exotic blooms. Add some bunting to your hall and you have the perfect 'village fete' style reception, perfectly on trend at the moment. - You don't have to have cut flowers at all, how about a very simple pot with one of your favourite plants inside? Something simple and very English such as a native primrose or viola??

Many thanks to Chloe for sharing this budget buster with us.  You can contact her through her website as well as finding her on Facebook  and you can follow her on Twitter.