While many details make your wedding day beautiful, flowers are possibly the most impactful. They’re carried down the aisle, they adorn seats and church pews, they decorate your reception tables—with all those fresh blooms adding color, texture, and fragrance to your big day. However, all that impact comes at a price, as flowers can also be one of the most expensive parts of your wedding—especially if your dream day includes a wedding bouquet of peonies at the wrong time of year.
But before you sit down and adjust your floral budget, there is one way you can partner with your florist to curate a stunning setting. “In my experience, couples who choose to use in-season flowers reduce the overall costs for their flower purchase,” says Annette Lindsey, owner of I Do Weddings with Love in Woodbridge and Williamsburg.
Beyond perks for your budget, working with your florist to source local blooms can help build a truly customized look for your big day. Lindsey Walsh owns Growing Wild Floral, a farm-to-altar floral design company in Delaplane, and she advises, “Couples who work with a knowledgeable farmer-florist can benefit from a larger selection of flowers, which can translate into a unique look for their wedding.”
According to Lynn Killberg Thoreson, the owner of Wild Fleurette in Richmond, the couple who chooses in-season flowers should be flexible and open to creativity. Weather or storm damage can impact what’s available, meaning that selecting an alternative flower or sourcing from a different farm may be a reality.
However, in any circumstance—positive or negative—Thoreson recommends trusting a pro to guide you through using locally sourced blooms. “Talk to your florist about the look and feel you’re hoping to achieve, and trust them to come up with flower suggestions to create that look,” she says. When couples encourage a designer’s creative freedom, according to Thoreson, “The results are something truly magical.”
Featured photo by Kelly Blake Blanchard/Charlotte & Ethan 2025 wedding submission. This article originally appeared in the February 2025 issue.
