An Aussie couple has found an incredible way to avoid spending thousands of dollars on one part of their wedding.
After being quoted around $2,500 for their florals, Charlie and Gabrielle decided to grow their own flowers in the backyard of their Adelaide home.
Charlie told Yahoo Lifestyle he’s already a bit of a green thumb, and it’s been an incredible experience.
“When we were getting quotes from florists, I was blown away by the price,” he said.
“We have owned our place for a couple of years now, and I ripped out the whole backyard, hired a digger, and pretty much started from scratch.
“I always had in my mind that I wanted to have a beautiful flower garden.”
He’d never planted the flowers before that he’d chosen for their big day, which is this Thursday, but he made sure there was enough time to get it right.
“I thought, how hard could it be? Let’s have a go. I did a bit of research to find out what sort of flowers would be blooming right now and worked backward from there,” he said.
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What flowers will be at the wedding?
They decided on ranunculus as their main flowers, along with some anemones.
Baby’s breath was going to be a filler flower, but it didn’t take off in the way they liked, so they’ve opted for foliage sourced from a neighbour’s tree and their local area.
Close to 400 flowers were planted over three stages across five months, giving the couple a chance to see how they would bloom.
Charlie has been blown away by how easy it has been to get the wedding project sorted.
(Supplied/charlies.patch)The process has been “surprisingly” easy from Charlie’s point of view, and much cheaper than if they had gone with a traditional florist.
They spent around $400 on the flowers and seeds, but had the flower beds already set up after their backyard renovation.
The flowers will be used in bridal bouquets, table arrangements, and all the decorations around the ceremony and reception.
A florist will be on hand to help them with some of the arrangements, but Charlie and Gabrielle are set to do a lot of the work on the day.
How much do wedding flowers cost?
Easy Weddings’ 2025 report claimed couples typically spend $2,639 for their florals on their big day.
Lavish weddings being plastered on Instagram and TikTok, however, are driving some in Australia to spend “up to 10 times” more than the average.
But faux or fake flowers have been rising in popularity as couples try to save money on their big day.
Charlie is excited to keep growing flowers beyond his wedding as it’s a beautiful addition to his backyard.
(Supplied/charlies.patch)Wedding money saver turns into beautiful backyard hobby
Charlie said he’s keen to keep growing flowers in his backyard long after his wedding is done.
“It adds such beautiful colours to the garden,” he told Yahoo Lifestyle.
“We’ve got heaps of pollinators, like bees and butterflies, just flying through the garden. It’s really cool.
“I never thought I’d become obsessed with growing flowers, but it’s something that I am really enjoying, and now we can go around to our parents’ place and bring a bunch of flowers.”
He encouraged others to give it a go, even if they only had a balcony at their place.
“It’s not as scary as it seems,” he said.
“I’ve been surprised by how much easier it was than I thought it was going to be.”
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