Here are some cheap wedding ideas for the flowers -- ways to have a beautiful visual impact without spending a fortune.

• Use only in season and readily available flowers. Be honest with your florist about your budget, and have them recommend the most inexpensive flowers
• Give your florist a general style and colour scheme, and any "banned" flowers that you hate, but generally allow them flexibility so they can use what is in season and cheapest. There are some times when peonies cost a fortune, and other times when they are so cheap you can fill your hall with them.
• Some people think they can save money by moving the ceremony flowers to the reception. Florists hate to do this because large arrangements are hard to transport, and can become easily bruised or damaged in transit. You also will need to coordinate it so that the reception will not be held up by waiting for the ceremony flowers to arrive.
• More and more brides these days are arranging their own flowers such as bouquets of simple roses tied with a ribbon. Four or five pillar candles on top of rose petals make an easy and cheap centrepiece. You can also easily create a centrepiece using wide shallow bowls filled with water and several floating gerbera daisy blooms. If making boutonnieres and corsages intimidates you, these are generally inexpensive to order from a florist.