If you are considering creating your own wedding flowers instead of hiring a professional, read this!

I learned the hard way years ago when I wanted to do all my own flowers. We were married in my in-laws' garden on a lake and due to severe budget constraints, we chose to do the flowers in-house. What a mistake! It was so stressful - I ran out of flowers and had none for my own bouquet (subsequently I raided my Mother-in-Law's garden!), the weather was too hot and there was not adequate cold storage, plus the clean up and stains on my fingers made for a 4am wake-up to re-do my manicure.

Although nothing earth-shattering happened, I would NEVER recommend this situation to anyone.

If you don't have experience in this, make sure that your own wedding is not the testing ground.

Here are five things to consider if you are even remotely thinking of DIY for your Wedding Flowers;

1. Money & Time
You may save money, but you will be adding last minute time to your wedding prep. The last days and hours before
your wedding Ceremony are the most precious - time for bonding with family, enjoying the giggles and nerves with your best friends and making time to visit the out-of-towners.

2. Flower Conditioning
Do you know which blooms need what conditioning? What kind of food and stem treatment is required?

3. Storage Space
After you create the floral designs, where will you store them? What kind of cold storage is there, and is it a cooler or a fridge - there's a difference. If there are small children or pets around they can make fast work of a "handled or sniffed" bouquet!

4. Flower Sources
Experienced floral designers and florists will have established connections with growers and/or wholesalers. The professionals will know where the product comes from - which is important information. If you think that buying the flowers from a cheap source to save the money is a great idea - think again. You may be compromising the quality of the flowers.

5. Transport
You may need extra trucks or vans to use as transport. There will need to be an emergency-flower-kit in place in case of a problem or glitch - will you know how to fix these problems such as repairing numerous broken stems that have not transported well?

Whatever your situation is that is steering you towards a DIY Wedding flower display, be realistic and remember that it is not a project to be taken on by the faint of heart.