Tulips for May wedding

Need advice. Daughter wants tulips for her wedding. She would like me to plant 250-400 individual tulips in pots to use as decor and give out to guests as they leave. Also wants some for attendant's flowers. Can I plant them in pots (how big/tall?) this fall, set them in an inside unheated building over the winter and expect them to bloom in May???? PLEASE let me know if you think this is possible.

Talk to some people in Pella, IA and see what varieties are flowering in what part of May at their Tulip festival. Maybe there is some information on their website.
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IMHO unless you are a very experienced and lucky grower of bulbs and have a lot of time, space and money to invest in refrigeration, extra pots, and extra bulbs, it is highly unlikely to get that many pots of perfect tulips on a specific Saturday in May. Particularly if this is your first time trying. I have tried for two years to grow many pots of tulips such as you describe and have had variable results. If you have a florist friend (or one of the Tulip Festival organizers) who will lend you greenhouse space and refrigeration to get the timing right you would have a better chance of being successful.

And, FYI, there are tulip growers you can find on the internet who will send you cut tulips direct for bouquets. Also peony growers will send out peonies in May/June.

If you are really serious about this project, you can google for a site that explains what is entailed with growing or forcing tulips for wedding flowers. I found it last year and will try to find it again for you and post it here.

I will be interested to know what you decide to do and if you do it.

And best wishes to the bride!

tobasco: Sounds like I'm getting in too deep with this project. I just assumed it wouldn't be considered forcing them to bloom because I want them to bloom when the normal time is if they were in the ground. And I thought setting them in an unheated building all winter in the pots would take care of the refrigeration part. Maybe I should just order the bouquets. Just trying to make things cheaper cash-wise. Also thought about putting 2-3 bulbs in a little netting to give as guest gifts, but I suppose that would be the wrong time of year for that. Maybe we will just used mixed flower bouquets and give out little personalized seed packets to the guests. That sounds easier. Thanks for your input.