Lesson One

You’ve taken the leap, purchased your flowers. You're SO READY to start the DIY learning process. Is this what it feels like to be a gangsta?

Wedding PSA: Your wedding day is gonna come at you like a thirsty frat boy. You think you have endless time to pick out your Spanx, fancy dinner napkins, favors, and music when suddenly WHAT - you wake up to people blowing up your wedding handle.

We don't want you trippin' balls on buckets, vases, and supplies at the last minute. Start prepping now.

• Water Buckets and Hydration Vases: AKA what your flowers hydrate in for the days leading up to your design.
  • Snag cheapie vases for the delicate flowers.
  • Buy short, plastic bathroom trash cans.
  • Avoid 5-gallon Home Depot buckets like the herp. They are too deep.

Review your order and take this quiz to calculate how many water buckets and vases you'll need to snag at Walmart.

If you purchased a Collection, then we do already have this figured for you, and you can find this info on the Collection Page. However, if you added on, you may want to snag a few extra hydration containers.

• Floral Supplies and Centerpiece Vases:  Refrain from Googling what floral supplies you need. That’s a dark, money-wasting rabbit hole. As a self-taught wedding planner for over 13 years, I am super specific (and thrifty) with the items you need.
  
  
  • If it’s not on the list, you don’t need it.
  • Resist the need to purchase a rose thorn stripper.
  • Do spring for an actual stripper....
    
    On your worksheet make a list of ALL the floral arrangements you need to make. Next, compare it to our Supply Checklist to determine your supply needs.

• Buckets and Hydration Vases:  Once you know your quantities, go to Walmart or the dollar store to purchase your short, plastic trash cans and cheap vases
  • Should run $1.50-2 for short, plastic bathroom trashcans, and $1 per glass cylinder vase, which is great for delicate flowers and finished bouquets!
  • Remember what we said about the Home Depot buckets... HERP.
    
    
• Floral Supplies and Vases:  Because we love you, we sell hard-to-find professional floral supplies and budget-friendly vases on our site.
  
  If you are DIY-ing your centerpieces we offer super cute and budget-friendly plastic resin compotes, bowls, vases, and mint julep cups! All of our vases are paintable with Design Master or regular ol' spray paint.
  
  If you're using your own vessels, review our DIY centerpiece sizing guidelines to ensure our package recipes will work.
  
  
  • 5-6’’ Diameter Vase or Compote = large centerpiece: You can make 10 arrangements when building from our Collections.
    
    
  • 3-4’’ Diameter Vase or Mason Jar = medium centerpiece: This size of vase creates a medium-sized. You can make 20-25 arrangements when building from our Collections.
    
    
  • Bud Vases (not currently sold) = tiny centerpiece army: You can make 50-60 arrangements when using our Collections.

Helpful basics to have on hand:

• Inexpensive Bouquet Vases:  4x6’’ clear, glass cylinders from Walmart are perfect for bridesmaid vases and delicate flowers, and they cost around $1 each! For the bridal bouquet, we suggest purchasing a larger, shorter vase, around a 5x5" or 6x6". Those can also be found at Walmart for a few bucks!
  
  
• WorkSpace and Table:  Expect your dining room table and kitchen counters to be covered in flowers. If you can, borrow a 6-foot plastic table for extra space (the wine glasses won't hold themselves).
  
  
• Trash Cans:  Have a few extra-large trash cans on hand for scraps and packaging. Flowers are messy.
  
  
• Flower Snips/Shears:  Invest in several pairs so your helpers aren't fighting over one pair.
  
  
• Old Towels: You will spill water and queso, so have some scrappy towels at the ready. They double as packing material when transporting your blooms.
  
  
• Transportation Boxes:  Save your floral box and empty your laundry baskets to haul your arrangements to the venue.
  
  
• Sharp Scissors:  Dull shears will give you blackout rage when snipping ribbon.