Why Seasonal Wedding Flowers Are a Bride’s Best Buy
When you’re searching for affordable wedding flowers, your biggest help is your wedding date. Choosing seasonal wedding flowers is a bride’s secret weapon for the most beautiful look at a budget friendly price.
Most bride’s start off by looking at Pinterest for flower inspiration, not the calendar. And since most people aren’t familiar with flower names or seasonality, it’s just easy to browse pretty pictures and request them from a florist.
But understanding the impact of flower seasonality can have a big impact on your wedding flower budget and wedding day look. Here’s how flower variety selection affects you:
The Benefits of NC Seasonal Wedding Flowers
Many brides and grooms fall in love with specific flowers or with a specific Pinterest look not knowing that their dream blooms aren’t in season for their wedding date. In today’s global flower market (like modern grocery stores), almost anything can be sourced any time of year. But that convenience comes at a cost.
I think it’s easier to relate with food. Have you ever bought grocery store tomatoes in January? Those pale, tough reddish blobs look and taste nothing like their local July counterparts. Right? Ever tried a February peach or a nice steaming August soup? No thanks.
It’s the same in the flower world. Flowers all have a season when they prefer to bloom. Yes, with extreme measures we can trick them into blooming outside of their natural timeframe, but what are the hidden costs? And why should you care? Isn’t this your florist’s job?
Let’s look at the impacts of flower choice for your wedding look and budget.
1. Maximize your budget
Out-of-season flowers can significantly drive up your wedding budget, and here’s why: when blooms aren’t locally available due to weather or growing conditions, they must be sourced from regions where they are in season — usually far from your wedding venue. This requires imports, which can come with substantial costs for shipping, cold storage, import fees, and handling.
For example, imagine you're having a November NC wedding and you’ve set your heart on peonies, a classic spring bloom. Since they’re not naturally available during the fall in NC, they must be shipped from New Zealand or Alaska (after sitting in storage for months). As a result, the price per stem can double or even triple compared to when they’re in peak season locally. Yikes!
Also, when flowers are imported, they’re typically handled by multiple parties, which tack on fees. Shipping boxed blooms to keep them fresh adds another layer of cost that doesn’t exist with locally sourced, in-season flowers.
Lastly, just because flowers can be grown in off seasons, doesn’t mean they are happy. Out of season flowers are likely to be of lower quality, so florists generally increase their orders to account for poor quality or product loss. So, if they need 10 stems of delphiniums for an arrangement, they may need to order 20 to ensure they have 10 usable stems. There can be a lot of waste!
By choosing in-season or locally grown options, couples can often save on their floral budget while achieving a beautiful seasonally appropriate aesthetic.
2. Highest quality
Quality is another important factor to consider when deciding whether to use out-of-season blooms. Because they have to be transported over long distances, these flowers often are picked prematurely and endure a lot of stress, which can affect their freshness, longevity, and overall appearance.
Nearly all imported flowers are shipped dry in boxes. Wait - what? Yes, the cut flowers are packed in boxes without water for days or weeks! Florists do their best to rehydrate and revive the tired blooms but not all of them make it.
And some flower varieties ship better than others. Ranunculus are generally available year round but fall and winter versions often don’t open properly and lack the beautiful fullness brides expect.
There’s just no substitute for flowers that are naturally thriving in their local environment, cut at peak time and always kept in water.
Seasonal flowers are grown and harvested in preferred conditions, giving them the best chance to look stunning all day long and on camera. By opting for seasonal flowers, you’re more likely to get blooms at their peak health and beauty.
3. Most colors and forms
When you choose in-season local flowers, you have access to a wider variety of options that are at their prime, which can be a huge advantage for couples who want an abundant, colorful look.
Each NC season brings its own beautiful floral selection, so if you’re interested to exploring seasonal flowers, you might be pleasantly surprised by the variety available - including many varieties that don’t ship well and aren’t commonly seen.
For example, NC spring wedding flowers offer a treasure trove of options like tulips, ranunculus, lilacs, and sweet peas—all of which are difficult to source during other seasons without a hefty price tag or poorer color/shape quality.
In NC, fall wedding flowers include warm-toned dahlias, chrysanthemums, marigolds, and rich foliage, while winter highlights include evergreens, holly, and amaryllis.
By embracing what’s naturally available, couples can enjoy a more diverse range of fresh, vibrant options without blowing their budget.
When you request out-of-season flowers, you’re typically limiting yourself to imported blooms. This can reduce the availability of certain varieties or limit your choice of color and size. And if a floral wholesaler is unable to source the specific flower you have your heart set on, it may get substituted for something entirely different or left off the order entirely!
4. Unique look
Choosing flowers that are at their peak during your wedding month not only opens up more flower options but also allows you to fully capture the bounty of the season. Each season has a natural mood, and seasonal flowers can add a touch of harmony and unity to your wedding aesthetic that may be missing with out-of-season choices.
Locally sourced NC wedding flowers offer an array of flower and foliage options that may not be available on the commercial market. Many favorite wedding flowers like dahlias, zinnias and cosmos don’t ship well but are locally available in abundance during their peak seasons. It’s a blooming buffet of color options!
And flowers grown locally are often available in a wider range of colors, forms and textures. All of which can bring a truly unique look that sets your wedding day apart from every other on Pinterest.
5. Shared values
With increasing interest in ethically-sourced, sustainable and eco-conscious choices, more couples are looking for ways to incorporate their values into their wedding plans.
Using seasonal, locally grown flowers aligns perfectly with these priorities. When flowers are grown out of season, they often require special greenhouse environments, which can consume a lot of energy. Additionally, importing flowers across long distances has significant environmental impact due to the carbon footprint associated with transportation.
By choosing in-season, locally sourced flowers, you’re supporting farmers in your local community and reducing the ecological impact of your wedding.
Plus, many florists partner with NC flower farms that use organic or sustainable practices, further contributing to eco-friendly practices. This approach can be a meaningful way to ensure that your wedding reflects your values and minimizes its environmental impact.
For many couples, this decision brings a sense of fulfillment knowing their wedding flowers are not only beautiful but also support local businesses and contribute to more sustainable wedding practices. It’s a way to honor both the environment and the local economy, which can add a layer of personal meaning to your celebration.
Does This Mean I Can’t Have My Dream Wedding Look?
NO! Local seasonal flowers offer gorgeous alternatives for every wedding look. The flower choices may just be different than the common flowers you know or have seen. So, what are your NC seasonal wedding flower options? Hang on - we’re almost there!
But what if I want [insert flower name]?
Working with a NC flower farmer is a great way to get local seasonal flower recommendations that not only fit your wedding look but also align with your budget and value. Farmer florists offer the best of both worlds - a firm grasp of what’s growing in the Raleigh area and the design skills to put it together.
Isn’t My Florist Doing All This?
Maybe. Some florists are keenly in tune with seasonality. But many are not. The convenience of buying from a floral wholesaler is like buying from a SuperWalmart or Amazon. One stop shopping.
And because their are often designers-first and flower experts-second, many are focused on design mechanics and have surprisingly little knowledge of local flower seasonality or availability. It simply requires more time and effort to seek out and shop with local flower farms.
Plus, most florists are simply eager to make you happy. If you ask for ranunculus in November or lisianthus in February, they try to find it. They want you to have your vision. But often neither they nor you, know the underlying costs of buying out of season.
And lastly, unless you speak up, they don’t know your values. Without a conversation starter, neither of you may know that sustainability or local buying is a priority.
Which Flowers Are In Season When in North Carolina?
Right now you may be wondering, how am I supposed to know all this? I don’t have a horticulture degree!
Truly, if you aren’t an avid gardener, how do you know which flowers are in season when in North Carolina? And, how do you know which seasonal flowers are available in your wedding color palette? Good news, I’ve got a handy guide for you!
Download our Seasonal Flower Color Palette Guide to see North Carolina spring and fall flower options for nine different color palettes. This handy guide will help you match local flower availability with your wedding colors for the freshest, most abundant wedding bouquet!
Where to Find Locally Grown Wedding Flowers in North Carolina?
Whether you want locally grown flowers for their fresh vibe or community support, finding a North Carolina flower farm or a designer who buys from local flower farms, is key.
Buying direct from a flower farm can also allow you to customize our wedding flower options with full service packages to DIY bulk flower bunches - or something in between, many flower farms let you choose what services you need. It’s the best way to find affordable wedding flowers.
Local Flowers for Seasonal Wedding Beauty
So while the allure of a specific flower can be tempting, the decision to use out-of-season wedding flowers often comes with hidden costs that go beyond the financial.
From higher prices and quality concerns to limited selection and environmental impacts, out-of-season flowers can end up costing more than they’re worth. Plus you’re missing out on a lot of beautiful options!
Embracing seasonal flowers allows couples to celebrate nature’s cycles, enjoy blooms at their peak, and often reduce costs—all while making a more eco-conscious choice that aligns with sustainable values. And you might just find the end result introduces you to a new favorite flower.
