By Steve Whiting
When choosing flowers for your wedding it is important to take into account the theme of your wedding and the style and colour of your dress.
The most important flowers are the brides’ bouquet and this should be the where you start in choosing the style and colour and what flowers you want. Styles vary from long and trailing to simple posies, hand ties or wired stems. Some brides may like to have a style that was similar to their mother or grandmothers or may choose a particular flower for sentimental reasons .Today there is a vast array of flowers available and even if a flower is out of season they can often be transported from abroad, but this however will increase the cost.
Collect pictures and ideas and have sample swatches of the bridal party’s dresses available for the florist to see .A florist should have portfolio of their work so that you can see for yourself what they can do. They should be able to advise you on choice of flowers, styles and weight of the bouquet and what is suitable for the bridesmaids. Some designs can be quite heavy to hold .Different bouquets suite different style of dresses and different sizes of people. Colour too is an important aspect and if the right colour is chosen it will compliment a dress.
Some brides like to keep their posies afterwards and this can sometimes influence the choice of flower as some preserve better than others .If this is not within your budget then you may wish to choose silk flowers or a combination of both .For example a bouquet that contains silk roses that you will be able to keep as a memento long after your wedding day but have fresh freesias for the perfume. Your florist should be able to suggest which to choose and also some one who can preserve flowers .These are then often arranged into a picture frame.
In Victorian times many flowers had different meanings associated with them, lilies were for purity, lily of the valley meant happiness, and roses were for love. Of this tradition only myrtle and orange blossom have really managed to survive. If a sprig of myrtle is placed in a bouquet it symbolizes a happy marriage as myrtle represented purity and fertility as it was sacred to Venus. Orange blossom was also used as an alternative to myrtle as it also represented happiness and loveliness.
Make sure the florist knows exactly your requirements. Traditionally flowers are placed at the entrance to the church /venue and the entrance to the reception. Some couples choose to have smaller arrangements around the church and on the pew ends whilst others may have the pew ends decorated with ribbons. At the reception arrangements can be place on all the guests tables with one larger one on the top table although not so large that they take up to much room and are so high that guests cannot see one another across the table! Couples often like to have a thank you posy for the mothers or for any one else who has helped them .Fresh flowers can also be used to decorate the cake.
Obviously cost is an important factor. However if on a tight budget it is often better to make sure the brides bouquet is the one of your choice and have just a few large arrangements elsewhere rather than trying to decorate everywhere. Less is more.
Check that the florists knows the venues, if not, they may wish to visit it beforehand to see where flowers can be placed and check with the church about the flower procedure. It may be they have there own containers that should be used or there may be flowers already in place from a previous service. One important thing to think about is where to keep the flowers once they have been delivered to your house. The flowers should be kept somewhere cool, shady and out of the way of inquisitive hands and pets. Cats will investigate and want to play with the foliage and dogs have been known in excitement to jump on a bouquet and flatten it!
When choosing flowers for your wedding it is important to take into account the theme of your wedding and the style and colour of your dress.
The most important flowers are the brides’ bouquet and this should be the where you start in choosing the style and colour and what flowers you want. Styles vary from long and trailing to simple posies, hand ties or wired stems. Some brides may like to have a style that was similar to their mother or grandmothers or may choose a particular flower for sentimental reasons .Today there is a vast array of flowers available and even if a flower is out of season they can often be transported from abroad, but this however will increase the cost.
Collect pictures and ideas and have sample swatches of the bridal party’s dresses available for the florist to see .A florist should have portfolio of their work so that you can see for yourself what they can do. They should be able to advise you on choice of flowers, styles and weight of the bouquet and what is suitable for the bridesmaids. Some designs can be quite heavy to hold .Different bouquets suite different style of dresses and different sizes of people. Colour too is an important aspect and if the right colour is chosen it will compliment a dress.
Some brides like to keep their posies afterwards and this can sometimes influence the choice of flower as some preserve better than others .If this is not within your budget then you may wish to choose silk flowers or a combination of both .For example a bouquet that contains silk roses that you will be able to keep as a memento long after your wedding day but have fresh freesias for the perfume. Your florist should be able to suggest which to choose and also some one who can preserve flowers .These are then often arranged into a picture frame.
In Victorian times many flowers had different meanings associated with them, lilies were for purity, lily of the valley meant happiness, and roses were for love. Of this tradition only myrtle and orange blossom have really managed to survive. If a sprig of myrtle is placed in a bouquet it symbolizes a happy marriage as myrtle represented purity and fertility as it was sacred to Venus. Orange blossom was also used as an alternative to myrtle as it also represented happiness and loveliness.
Make sure the florist knows exactly your requirements. Traditionally flowers are placed at the entrance to the church /venue and the entrance to the reception. Some couples choose to have smaller arrangements around the church and on the pew ends whilst others may have the pew ends decorated with ribbons. At the reception arrangements can be place on all the guests tables with one larger one on the top table although not so large that they take up to much room and are so high that guests cannot see one another across the table! Couples often like to have a thank you posy for the mothers or for any one else who has helped them .Fresh flowers can also be used to decorate the cake.
Obviously cost is an important factor. However if on a tight budget it is often better to make sure the brides bouquet is the one of your choice and have just a few large arrangements elsewhere rather than trying to decorate everywhere. Less is more.
Check that the florists knows the venues, if not, they may wish to visit it beforehand to see where flowers can be placed and check with the church about the flower procedure. It may be they have there own containers that should be used or there may be flowers already in place from a previous service. One important thing to think about is where to keep the flowers once they have been delivered to your house. The flowers should be kept somewhere cool, shady and out of the way of inquisitive hands and pets. Cats will investigate and want to play with the foliage and dogs have been known in excitement to jump on a bouquet and flatten it!
Post a Comment