Choosing Your Wedding Flowers

Fragrance, colour, and beauty; symbols of love, innocence, commitment, happiness, and many other sentiments—wedding flowers are an important part of marriage celebrations. There are different ways of hiring a professional flower arranger—through a licensed reception venue, local floral shop, caterer, venue dresser, or wedding planner. A couple having basic knowledge about bridal flowers will communicate well with a floral consultant.

Garlands, arrangements, and bouquets are an important part of marriage celebrations.  Consider the list below to make a preliminary list of your wedding flower requirements:

• Wedding bouquets for bride and bridesmaids,
• Hair decorations for bride and bridesmaids,
• Corsages for mothers of bride and groom,
• Button holes for groom, fathers of  bride and groom, best man, and ushers,
• Ceremony venue decorations,
• Reception venue decorations,
• Flowers for wedding cars,
• Arrangements for bride’s family home.

When making a budget, remember that services such as delivery, set-up, and collection, may also be required and may not be included in the contract price.  If a member of the wedding party is afflicted by allergies, find out the cost of pollen removal.

Traditional colours for the wedding bouquet are white, cream, or ivory, sometimes with a splash of colour inspired by the bridesmaid dresses.  In contemporary times, brides sometimes choose brighter colours such as mauve, orange, gold, or pink, to suit the bride’s complexion, to make a symbolic statement, or to go with a wedding theme.

The season of the year is also a factor to consider.  The season influences colours chosen for the whole bridal wardrobe and also reflects what is most available in fresh flowers.  While a rich, earthy colour may feel right in fall or winter, it will look out of place in the spring.  Spring calls for lighter shades such as yellow, lilac and blue; summer supports more vivid shades such as orange, red and purple; golds, browns and oranges fit in with the fall; and winter supports rich reds, silver, gold and greens.

There are three main types of bridal bouquets:

1. Hand-tied bouquets—stems are tied with string or wire and wrapped with ribbon.  Hand-tied bouquets are less expensive and lighter than wired bouquets.  A tied bouquet may be a round posy, an irregular spray of flowers, or a large pageant- style arrangement carried over one arm.
2. Wired bouquets—each flower in the arrangement is wired into position.  Choose from a tightly packed nosegay, a teardrop cascade, or a slender trailing cascade.
3. Single Stems—a simple, light option, consisting of one to three flowers, such as lilies, roses, or sunflowers.

The style of bouquet must go with the overall style of the wedding, the wedding dress, and the bride’s stature.  It’s important to have a picture of the dress on hand when choosing the bouquet.  Other factors that will affect the final choice are cost, weight of the bouquet, and how it must be carried.

Silk flowers with floral scents have become so realistic that some couples choose these as an alternative to fresh flowers.  Consider the following benefits:

• Relief for allergy sufferers,
• Long-lasting beauty with no risk of wilting,
• Easy to transport for weddings abroad or out of town,
• Easy to preserve and share as favours,
• No seasonal limitations.

Some florists and venue dressers are able to offer silk blooms as well as fresh flowers.

At some point, the flower arranger should visit your venue(s) to put together a decorating plan.  When your floral consultant is not part of the venue staff, obtain the permission of venue management; and find out if there are any venue guidelines for floral decorations.  
There are many ways of decorating a venue with flowers.  Here are a few ideas:

• Create a floral archway  at the entrance;
• Decorate window sills, columns, pillars, chairs, pews, and  dining tables;
• Have a special display for the top table, buffet, and cake table;
• Have arrangements displayed on pedestals;
• For a marquee, ask for ropes and hooks so that flower baskets may be hung from the poles;
• Decorate chandeliers with flowers.

Before the specifics of a flower order can be finalized, the wedding colour scheme and wardrobe need to be known. Wherever you are in the planning process, try to book the wedding date with a florist or flower arranger at least 5 to 6 months in advance. Once you have the booking, it may not be necessary to arrange the final details until 6 to 8 weeks before the celebration.

Go to meetings about wedding flowers with colour swatches, and pictures of the wedding dress and venue. Prepare by browsing magazines and catalogues to start getting ideas. However enter the planning meeting with an open mind. If you get attached to particular flowers too soon, you could either be disappointed or end up paying a large sum for blooms that are not in season. Allow the flower consultant to suggest options that fit your overall plans and budget.