At my wedding I had to compromise. I went over budget with my wedding dress and as a result had a lot less to spend on flowers, so my sister and I decided to do them ourselves.
We loaded up on youtube videos, and how-tos and finally picked a simple but beautiful red rose and green hydrangea theme. The next problem was where to order the flower. We went to a whole bunch of local florist, but even the cheapest one was almost $500 over my budget!
That's when my sister pitched the idea of looking for flowers online. I did the research and found Bunches Direct to be the most affordable one. They had free shipping under certain conditions and a low minimum order.
When I called, the operator was really helpful. and figured out how many stems of everything I needed, and got me the best prices for everything. He also directed me to their how-to videos to further help me.
The flowers arrived on time and in perfect condition. It was just an overall pleasant experience. If you're looking to save money don't waste your time with local flowers shops, I definitely suggest DIY and online flowers just for the money you'll save!