The Smart Costco Buy That Completely Saved My Wedding Budget
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Fact: Weddings are expensive. The Knot surveyed more than 27,000 couples who got married in 2019 and found the national average cost for a wedding to be $23,000. (I was one of those people who got married just in the nick of time in December 2019.) Of course, due to the pandemic, wedding ceremonies went pretty much out the window. But with COVID-19 restrictions loosening, we’re in the middle of a wedding boom . So, if you’re planning a wedding for anytime soon, I have a suggestion!
I decided to plan my own wedding to save on costs. I knew that my organized, detail-oriented tendencies would translate well to the planning process, not to mention I love a good spreadsheet. My now-husband and I settled on a budget we were comfortable with, and because about half of our money went straight to the venue and food and drink costs, I needed to make strategic decisions about everything else to stay under that number. I made sure to put the money we had saved up for a wedding toward things that were important to us (a nice venue and good food, photography, etc.) and got creative with the rest.
One of the things that wasn’t high on our priority list was decorations, including flowers. After reaching out to several flower shops near my Florida wedding venue (which charged $650+ for a single bridal bouquet, $50 boutonnières, and $180+ for smaller bouquets), I knew I needed an alternate plan.
I ranted about floral prices to my mom, who recommended I check out Costco’s offerings. At first, I was skeptical. But guess what? I found exactly what I was looking for (all white flowers with touches of green) for an absolute bargain — a 10-piece set for $229.99 and a 20-piece set for $479.99 . (Note: Prices went up slightly over the last year. It now costs $249.99 for the 10-piece set and $499.99 for the 20-piece set.)
I ordered the 20-piece Soft Grace Wedding Package , which includes a bridal bouquet, three bridesmaid bouquets, two centerpieces, six corsages, six boutonnières, a toss-away bouquet, and a bag of rose petals. Certain pieces in the collection can be swapped, so I opted for an additional bridesmaid bouquet instead of a centerpiece.
To order, I simply had to choose the package quantity and click “Add to Cart.” From there, I went to my shopping cart and chose a delivery date. (You don’t need to be a Costco member to purchase flowers from them, but you need to make a Costco.com account to check out.)
The flowers can be preordered months in advance and must be placed at least 15 to 20 days before your preferred arrival date. Costco recommends ordering your flowers to arrive two days before your event to give them time to bloom, as many flowers are shipped in bud form. Orders can only arrive on Tuesday through Friday and there are shipping restrictions around holidays.
Because I was taking zero chances I confirmed with Costco’s customer service team that I would be issued a refund if the flowers weren’t delivered on time. If all failed, my backup plan was to grab some supermarket flowers the morning of.
Luckily, the flowers arrived the morning before my wedding at around 10 a.m. It was such a relief to receive that giant box and open it to see beautiful blooms. I carefully inspected all of the pieces and other than a single bud that had fallen off a bridesmaid bouquet (which I trimmed away), everything looked beautiful.
While the flowers arrived photo-ready the day before our wedding, they still held up and looked stunning the day of. While forgoing florals completely is an option for budget-conscious brides, for $513 total (after taxes) I couldn’t have been more pleased with the fresh flowers that we had for our wedding day. I also was super excited by the fact that I could brag that I got them for a steal at Costco.
My point: You don’t need to replicate your Pinterest board to have the perfect wedding. All you really need to get married are you, your future spouse, an officiant, and a witness or two. Flowers (from Costco) are optional.
Are you getting married anytime soon? What are you doing to save money?
Abigail Abesamis Demarest
Contributor
Abigail Abesamis Demarest is a freelance contributor for Apartment Therapy and The Kitchn. When she’s not writing she’s reading up on the latest wellness trends, teaching Zumba classes, or reading a book on the beach.
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