DIY wreath foliage

[toolateforbabyweight]

Looking for advice, I'm planning on making foliage wreaths for my centre pieces and not sure where to get the foliage from cheaply - any ideas?
I don't want to go rummaging around local parks as I won't have the time / might look v odd!
I've looked st triangle nursery but it seems if I want variety most are 50 stems min order and will end up being hundreds of pounds.

How many do you need to make? Are you making them in oasis wreath bases?

I only ask because I'm a florist myself. Foliage is just as expensive as flowers to buy and you'll be surprised how much you need -can you ask people to forage on your behalf if you don't want to do it?

I DIYed my wedding flowers (and have done the same for friends) but ordered in the blooms/foliage from a local florist.

How many centrepieces/wreaths are you planning to make? 50 stems might actually be about right, depending on the foliage/size of wreath you go for!

You need to get over embarrassment at foraging . Or do you have friends/ family with big shrubby gardens you can raid? I think hedgerow ivy is fair game but parks might be a different matter. Some eucalyptus from a florist might be a good contrast.

Every Christmas I creep furtively around the lanes for foliage.

The eucalyptus yields ( its grown mostly in Portugal) have been awful this year so it's super expensive. Can you get you your local flower market?

I'm going to use wire frames rather than oasis as it's cheaper, for 10 tables.
How long will the foliage last as was planning to make them Thursday then wedding on Saturday?

Using wire frames means you have to make them the day before ( if not on the day) as they won't be taking in any water. Foliage is more forgiving than flowers for being out of water so depending how warm it is you might get away with it. You can always soak them in buckets of water overnight.
Sorry if I sound overly fussy but I see a lot of DIY wedding flowers that look sad because people don't know how to condition and care for flowers.

No that's great thanks for all the info! I might invest in some oasis then and accept I'll have to do some foraging myself!

I am making flowers and using pittosporum from my mum's garden for the foliage.
Any friends with gardens you could ask?
Alternatively foraging! I work on a uni campus and have been eyeing up the bushes...