The other day I bought some flowers for my dining room table, and I didn’t even realize they were actually “filler” flowers- the flowers used to fill holes in arrangements and bouquets.

{source}

I bought a bouquet of Wax Flowers, which can feature tiny buds in pink, lilac, white, or crimson. I love the tiny leaves that resesmble pine needles. I started to wonder if it is now time for filler flowers to start taking centerstage in the wedding world. Filler flowers should not always be counted out because they can actually be quite beautiful and affordable.

Here are some other filler flowers to be on the lookout for (especially if you plan to use DIY flowers):

• Hypericum Berries- Okay so not technically a flower. This berry comes in various shades of oranges, greens, and reds, and may be the perfect accent piece for your summer or fall bouquet. They are beauiful enough to stand alone if you are looking for an alternative from traditional florals.
• Statice- This flower has a delicate, paper like texture in colors like purple, pink, red, and white. They are famous for being able to last a long time without water, which may be helpful come wedding day.
• Baby’s Breath- I deem this the most famous of the filler flowers, but also one with the worse rep. But Baby’s Breath is back (say that 3 times fast!) in a big way. They are now falling into the category of “country chic.” Love it!

{source}

When searching for affordable bouquet ideas, do not discount filler flowers. They might make just the statement you are looking for at a cost you can afford to cover.

Up until this point I was a skeptic of this bloom for weddings and parties, but recently I’ve seen photos in magazines of these often overlooked so called ‘filler’ flowers. In these photos, carnations are now taking center stage in centerpieces, personal flowers, and ceremony details. Its funny how this flower really reminds me of my high school days. Back in my school, we had a flower-gram every Valentine’s Day. For $1 you could deliver a pink carnation to your secret admirer, friends, or special someone.

Carnations can really be an affordable flower for brides on a budget. You can create some really full and lush looking arrangements for very little money. Here are a couple of examples that I found online:

Martha Stewart

The Knot

I also really like the bed of carnations for escort cards. This gives a cool new dimension to the standard table set up for escort cards.

When using carnations for your wedding, the general consensus is to use just one color for the arrangement. This helps to make the carnations look fuller and richer. If you notice in both photos above, there are a lot of carnations grouped together to create this effect. If you use a sparse amount of carnations, then you’ll start looking like high school Valentine’s day all over again.

Maybe you’ll give these budget flowers another look? Its worth looking into if you want a ton of flowers and have a small budget.