Every couple dreams of having a beautiful wedding and will all know that comes with a cost. When my husband and I were planning our wedding a few years ago we had a very limited budget, but we had two things we wanted to make sure were quality: pictures and flowers.

My ultimate wedding dream was to get married outside, but after looking at place after place that was either out of our budget or would have been a logistical nightmare we opted to get married in our church. The only problem is that our church sanctuary is also the multi-purpose room complete with a basketball court in the carpet. Not quite the wedding dream.

The only way I saw to remedy that was flowers (and tulle!)...lots and lots of flowers! However, flowers are often the most expensive part of the wedding budget. We knew that a traditional floralist would not fit into our budget, so we began scouring the internet for wholesale florists.

As our search began, we were not disappointed. There are plenty of online wedding flower vendors out there! With beautiful flowers, a large variety of flowers, and varying packages if you're looking for a way to save on your wedding flowers without sacrificing the look you want or breaking the bank then this may be the right option for you.

We bought our flowers from two different providers: Flowers & Freshness and The Flower Exchange

All in all we spent about $800 on flowers and had enough flowers for bouquets and boutinerres for the bridal party (which was made up of 14 people), boutinerres and corsages for the parents and grandparents (about 10 people), centerpieces for 20 tables, as well as aisle and altar deocrations.

Just as an example you can get  200 stem roses in a variety of colors (they have 16 to choose from) for $166 or a bunch (25 stems) for $56. Or you can get 100 carnations (a great filler and really an under appreciated flower) for $55 from The Flower Exchange.

Take the time to look around and you're bound to find the flowers and price that suits your dreams.

The only downside is you have to make your own arrangements, which really isn't too hard. But if you're not confident in your flower arranging and bouquet making abilities ask around and see if you have a friend (or even a friend of a friend) who has some experience and would be willing to help. One of my bridesmaids did a lot of the bouquets and arrangements for our wedding, and has gone on to do the bouquets for two or three other friends weddings.

Remember, you never know until you ask.

If you do choose to buy your flowers online, I would highly recommend doing a run-through. A few months before the wedding purchase a sampling or a small package of what you'd like to have (or similar to) and go from there.

These are the things you want to look for and do:

• How quickly do the flowers arrive?
• What's the cost of shipping? Is it worth it? 
• Are you ordering around Valentine's Day? If so, expect higher costs and less availability.
  
• Does someone have to be home to sign for the flowers?
• What condition are the flowers in when they arrive?
• How long does it take the flowers to open up?
  
• After cutting the flowers, how long do they stay and look fresh? It's ideal to cut and arrange the flowers at least 1-2 days before the wedding and you want them to look good until then too!
  
• Do you have an idea of what you want your centerpieces, aisle flowers, bouquets, boutonnieres, altar decorations to look like? Once you make them in your run-through you might find out you don't like your original idea as much as you thought. For example, I thought I wanted a cascading bouquet until we made it and then found out it was incredibly heavy and would hide much of the beadwork on my dress.
  

If you're looking for great flowers in your wedding without the hefty price, then buying them wholesale online is definitely the way to go! The only thing I would have done differently would have been to buy more flowers! There's no such thing as too many flowers at a wedding, especially if you have a decorating challenge.

Whatever you choose best wishes on your wedding!