Wedding Flower Ideas

As the bride, you should choose a bouquet to suit your personality and complement your dress. You should consider your favorite flowers and look for those whose fragrance, shape or colors you particularly enjoy.

You should only make decisions about flowers after you have chosen your dress, as the shape and detailing will influence your choice. If your dress is very elaborate, you may want a simple posy to balance your look, but a very elegant, classic-cut dress may
demand an equally elegant, stylish bouquet.

Current trends for weddings include hand-tied bouquets and posies in delicate pastel shades and vividly exuberant, contrasting colors. Try lily of the valley mixed with grape hyacinths, tiny roses and stephanotis or pastel sweet peas for delicate, scented bouquets.

Perfect pink peonies on their own or mixed with white arum lilies, Aliceville mollies, bell-shaped lisianthus and cow parsley give a romantically soft but stunning look. Arum and calla lilies make wonderful sculptural bouquets and can look just as striking when only a few are carried. For bright jeweled colors, choose parrot tulips, orange and red arum or calla lilies, deep shades of fragrant roses, anemones and gerberas.

Flowers can be mixed with trailing leaves, other greenery and berries, and tied with ribbons or raffia. Some florists add tiny crystals and even feathers.

Bridesmaids’ bouquets should complement the colors of their dresses and are often a smaller, simpler version of the bride’s bouquet. One option may be for the chief bridesmaid to carry a small posy to match the bride’s while the others hold pretty bags. Ask your bridesmaids to hand out dried rose petals for guests to throw instead of confetti. Fill paper cones with the petals and display them in wicker baskets for bridesmaids to carry round after the ceremony.

You may wish to include fresh flowers in your hair or as part of a headdress to harmonies with the flowers in your bouquet. Your florist and hairdresser should be able to advise both on ways to use flowers and on types which will last the longest. Flowers chosen should ideally look as fresh at the end of the day as they did at the start of the ceremony.

One effective idea is to wire tiny rosebuds and thread these into your hair a technique which could be used with many other flowers, individually and in small clusters. If you’d like flowers in your hair but don’t want to risk them wilting in the sunshine, you could look at tiaras and circlets made with delicate enamel flowers or consider silk. It is also possible to find unusual tiaras made from beautiful wax flowers.

For a church ceremony, flowers are most often placed at the church entrance, the pew ends, the chancel steps, the pulpit, lectern, windowsills and font. They are sometimes used to decorate pillars and placed on flower stands. You may have a very clear idea of the types and colors of flowers and the arrangements you want, but always speak to the church minister before ordering.

There may be restrictions, either because of the time of year and a particular religious festival, or because more than one wedding ceremony is taking place in the church that day. Different churches also have their own rules about where flowers may be placed. If there is another wedding party, ask the vicar for their telephone number and contact them to see if you can coordinate arrangements.

Some churches also have their own team of flower arrangers, in which case you should speak to the organizer to discuss any particular requests for flowers or colors. You will probably be asked to make a contribution towards the cost and even if not asked, you should offer a donation.

If you are given permission to arrange your own flowers, agree a time with the minister for their delivery and arrangement, and check exactly where you are allowed to place them. If you are keen to have floral decorations at the pew ends, check whether there are any special fittings – some churches will supply hooks (which must be returned) and most will not be happy for you to use drawing pins or nails. You may not have very long before the wedding ceremony to arrange your flowers, sometimes no more than an hour, and churches often stipulate that you take all floral arrangements away with you after the wedding.

You might consider using them again at the reception – for instance, pew ends can make excellent table decorations.

DO check exactly what is allowed and accept any restrictions.
DO discuss possible colors and flowers with the church flower arranger.