Save money and go green by renting flowers

Have you ever heard of renting flowers? Neither had I, until I came upon Elaborate Floral Design's booth at the BrideExpo show at the L.A. Convention Center. But I kind of like the concept. I mean, what are you going to do with those flowers anyway? You'll probably give away all your guest table arrangements. But if you're like many right now, you're probably looking to save some cash, yes? So rent.


EFD, as I'll refer to them here on out, had some really lovely, simple arrangements. Like the one above, for $25, you've got calla lilies entwined in a shallow glass bowl, with clear glass pebbles and flameless candles in the middle. You're probably thinking, shoot. I could do that on my own. You probably could. But why do you want one (or, depending on the number of tables you have, maybe 10 or 15) more thing to do? You probably don't. Plus, if you want really pretty, spectacular arrangements...



...like this one, it would cost you a pretty penny if you went the traditional florist route. Above, that's a vase topper laden with roses and stargazers and a footer of roses and more flowers (sorry, can't identify the spiky ones). Um, although, I'm not positive that this arrangement is silk... Anyway, this would be a seriously expensive arrangement otherwise. EFD even has season-themed lines of flowers from which to choose from.

In addition, there is the whole bonus of leaving a smaller carbon footprint. According to EFD's site:

We are taking steps to becoming an all green company, here are a few examples of how we are taking action and going green!
1) E.F.D. specializes in renting out silk centerpieces, which not only helps our environment by recycling and re-using but it also helps our economy with our affordable prices.
2) E.F.D. is changing all of our harmful chemical cleaning products to eco friendly and organic cleaning products.
3) E.F.D. is changing how we pay our bills, we will be paying everything online with no papertrail.
4) E.F.D. uses only energy efficient appliances.
5) E.F.D. will be using only compact flourescent lightbulbs.
6) E.F.D. recycles all glass, paper, cardboard, and metal.
7) E.F.D. buys local produce and groceries
8) E.F.D. uses a programmable thermostat.
9) E.F.D. uses energy star electronics.
10) E.F.D. will never share or sell your info to anyone.

You probably never imagined silk flowers for your wedding, I know. But you know what? All that matters is that the decor is still spectacular. And I've seen some silk flowers look pretty damn real -- they just have to be well maintained.

EFD even lays out all the reason:

Our event Rental Lines feature top of the line silk flowers, that confuse the eye, and entice the touch! Not only do our flowers look and feel real, but they can smell real too! Why rent silk flowers? 1) The Budget-you spend less than half the cost of having an all fresh event! 2) The choice- your favorite flower that might be out of season, is not with our top of the line silk florals! 3) The Privilege- instead of waiting until your wedding day to see all of your flowers you get an exclusive look at everything, and get to make any changes! 4) The Look- no matter hot or cold, rainy or humid, the flowers always look great and no wilting! 5) The Experience- with our uniquely designed silk florals we can manipulate, twist and arrange our florals in ways you can not with fresh floral!

Need I say more?