Oh flowers… they are so pretty, and smell so good. And are so stinkin’ expensive.
The upside to having a destination wedding is that it is pretty low stress. The resort does everything for you and you pick all your details from catalogs they email you two months in advance. Besides actually booking your wedding (and room block, if you have one), that is pretty much all you have to do to plan a wedding. ME LIKEY!!! Who are we kidding; I ultimately decided on a destination wedding (all-inclusive at that) so I wouldn’t have to plan anything, or do any work.
The downside of having a destination wedding is that your options are really limited. I love the shiz out of WB, and wedding blogs in general. Brides are so creative and weddings can be so personalized and beautiful.
Mine, sure as heck will not be. I mean, yeah, it will be beautiful. Hello, the beaches in the DR are known for being gorgeous and breath-taking. But I am not going to schlep a lot of crap to the DR to make my wedding personalized and extra beautiful. Sure, I’ll bring down some favors, a guest book, and smallish things like that… but I am not bringing fancy centerpieces (I love you, and will miss you floralytes!!), a candy buffet, or any of that other super cute stuff to my wedding. (And, let’s be real, I’ve already admitted that I’m not really very creative or crafty. I don’t even own any crafting tools!.)
Anyway, back to the point: flowers! Sadly, I am not in love with any of the bouquet options I was presented with from the resort. They are pretty, but mostly tropical looking. Or otherwise full of roses. Tropical flowers are nice, but not really my thing. (I love orange in destination weddings, but in real life orange is not my color and looks absolutely terrible with my skin tone.) You know what my favorite flower is? The ever popular (and hella expensive) peony.
Image via What A Bloom
But January is NOT peony season, and not possible for my bouquet. Know what my bouquet options from the resort include?
Images from Excellence Resort Punta Cana.
Side note: there are more options, but I didn’t want to show you a million pictures of bouquets I don’t love. Also, Excellence gives you the option of paying more (OF COURSE!) for an “upgraded” bouquet. Obvi, the more you pay, the better the flowers and bouquet. But as with all things wedding-related, the costs skyrocket when you upgrade. And we’re on a budget. *sigh*
Of the selections included in my wedding package, I think this one is probably my front-runner:
Image from Excellence Resort Punta Cana
Roses, Lilies and Gerber Daisies in pastel colors
It kinda has that peony, romantic vibe, huh? And I like lilies.
I stupidly was looking up faux bouquets on Etsy and found this beauty:
Image via Etsy Seller: Alternative Blooms
That baby is BEAUTIFUL. The peonies… the feathers. YES, PLEASE! I didn’t even know that I wanted NEEDED feathers in my bouquet until I saw that picture. Breathtaking… Oh wait, it’s $282 . <insert record scratch sound>
Um, no. That is not in my budget. Can you buy actual, REAL flowers for less than that? (This is not a rhetorical question, Hive… I really have no idea, someone tell me!)
You can also get this lovely faux bouquet for $99:
Image via Etsy Seller: Hollys Flower Shoppe
And, here is the steal of the century at $79:
Image via Etsy Shop: Bellina Blue
Alas, I am a cheapskate, and planning a destination wedding… which includes a bouquet in the wedding package. So no peonies for me.
Oh well, I’m sure my resort bouquet will still be lovely.
Take A Napa 