Calling all florists out there - Lily of the valley?

One of the reasons lily-of-the-valley is so expensive is because the season is so short; technically it is only widely available in May. It is usually available in small quantities through the Dutch auctions for most of the year, but you do pay a premium for it. I used some for a wedding last December, and the 30 stems I bought would have retailed at something around the £90 mark if I remember rightly....for a bouquet of all lily-of-the-valley you're talking about something like 100 stems, so at a rough guess something like £300 worth of flowers before you even turn them into a bouquet.

Bear in mind that the flower auctions are reverse auctions too - so the prices start high and come down as flowers don't sell. That's fine if you only need a small quantity of something and can hold out until the price comes down, but if your florist needs to guarantee a large proportion of the day's stock of something, their buyer will need to start buying at the higher price.

Sorry to sound like such a killjoy! If I'm honest, I would feel really uncomfortable if a customer asked for all lily-of-the-valley at any time when it was out of season, as I really couldn't begin guarantee a price or availability ☹️

Is there an artificial variety you could have ? Might save you a few quid!

Thanks, both! Well, I guess I asked so i got an answer. I guess I'll have to revert to my original ideas of a wintery bouquet of white roses (my H2B's favourite flowers) and ivy / fir and cones... Something like this:

this with white roses

And unfortunately, no, I didn't want artificial because it was the smell I was after and with my first wedding I regretted having an artificial posy, now i would like fresh...

Thanks again!

Can only echo really what Georgie says... another reason that lily of the valley bouquets are expensive is that sometimes they need special support wiring which involves very fine florist wire winding around every single bell on the stem to support it otherwise they flop within hours. This is a painstaking job and involves hours of tedious work and, as with most things which are bespoke made, time is money and this is what bumps the cost up on top of the cost of the flowers. I too have a garden overflowing with lily of the valley with a magnificent perfume every time we open the kitchen door but it's all gone now and looking pretty sad. It had a very short season this time and wasn't as good as in previous years with the full blooms only lasting a couple of weeks at the most. It's my favourite flower and also my favourite perfume too. I had lily of the valley in my wedding bouquet but it was artificial because we couldn't have justified the cost of real and my florist mixed it in with the fresh flowers and no-one could tell the difference. It is a beautiful flower with a fabulous fragrance but very unpredictable in terms of availability and a nightmare for florists to work with - sorry

If you're really keen to have it, and are happy to pay a premium for it, there is no reason why you shouldn't ask your florist to put a small amount through your bouquet though; it works really well mixed with large headed and spray roses, and gives a lovely soft look. This is the bouquet we used it for last December. It's very delicate, but you do get the scent.

One of my friends got married in august and wanted lily of the vally in her bouquet, but ended up not having them due to the cost. I like the white roses and pine cones, though very wintery.

BTW any news on your Dad......

Wanted to day I like the idea of adding just a few. Took me 10 mins to log in just to say that lol

I think the first one is absolutely gorgeous. I hope you find something you're happy with ?

I had the same trouble yesterday Carol - the site was upgraded yesterday apparently so it all went belly up for a while but OK now!

I'm hoping to have some put through my bouquet as well as the corsages for the mums. We're getting married in May so hopefully it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Hope you manage to get something sorted. I love the wintry bouquets you've flashed!

I've just put artificial lily of the Valley in a bouquet for a Bride as it was her Grandads favourite flower.

If you wanted a highly scented bouquet you could use Freesia and use artificial Lily of the Valley.

Hi

I had the same issue when I got married last year. LOVE full lily of the valley bouquets but it would have cost plenty.

In the end, I had some lily of the valley in my bouquet with freesias and sweet peas (early May wedding) and it smelt divine and it was nice to have a mix too Cost around £85 I think in total.

x

That's what I'm intending to have in mine, MrsCroft2b (Assuming just Mrs Croft now!). We're getting married on May 7th!

A few ideas for using it in a bouquet:

Sherrie, you're always so very helpful.

A large ? to you!

I am But I can't work out how to change the bloomin username !

Your bouquet will smell FANTASTIC. As we were saying our vows, mine got passed around for everyone to have a sniff! I put it in a vase in our room at the hotel and it just smelt beautiful. Was very pretty too - you have excellent taste ?

Hey Viking Princess - i had the same problem i loooved the simple style of the lily of the valley but as soon as i spoke to the florist i realised i wouldnt be able to. Im not a very flowery person so was struggling to pick anything else as just didnt seem very me. But my florist has found a gorgeous flower which is very very similar but it is purple so i am having that with some white anenome flowers.

I love the boquets you posted very wintry i love them. Im also getting married in December. Hope you find something you like x

Great minds, eh?! ?

Thank you Sherrie, the first looks more like what I could have...

And thanks everyone for your replies! very helpful as usual! :0)

Thanks, I was looking for something wintry as the theme of our wedding is Winter Wonderland but without any hint of Christmas... Just white and hunter green, with lots of fake snow, furs, decorative animals on either side of the aisle, pine garlands etc...

Thanks for remembering about dad crafty em!

I spoke to him, he seems OK for now but I am still worried about him, he still underestimates the seriousness of what's happening to him and especially the doctors are not connecting the dots because he's not telling them the symptoms right, he's convincing them of what he thinks it is!!! Ridiculous!

Freesia IS my favourite flower since I was little as much as lily of the valley is too, but in third come white roses and because they are my H2B's fave flowers and he keeps saying to him nothing symbolises "eternal love" like the long stemmed white roses do, "the expensive Interflora ones" as he calls them LOL, i thought it would be a nice gesture to have them instead!

Roses & Freesia:

With Callas: