The Wedding Flowers
When it comes to your wedding flowers, there’s so many things to think about, everything from the Bridal Bouquet and the Groom’s buttonhole, to the Centrepieces, Ceremony and Church flowers, the list goes on.
My list comprised of my Bridal Bouquet, Groom’s Buttonhole, Adult Bridesmaids Bouquets, Little Bridesmaids / Flower Girl arrangements, Usher’s Buttonholes, and immediate family corsages and buttonholes. I had another idea for my centrepieces so didn’t go down the fresh flower route for this.
My Bridal Bouquet
I was very lucky to already know a fantastic florist, Sarah at Barkers The Florist who I knew would be able to recreate my Grandma’s classic trailing wedding bouquet. I just had to show Sarah a photo of my Grandma’s bouquet and she was able to identify all the flowers and foliage that were part of the original piece. The bouquet was recreated with the enhancement of my favourite lemon and cream roses.
It’s a really good idea to go to your floristry consultation with some references / inspiration as then the appointment is more focused.
Sentimental Touches
The very special part of my wedding bouquet was that I included a photo of my dad within the bouquet. Sadly, my amazing dad had passed away a couple of years before my wedding. Having a photo of my dad in my bouquet was a way of me having him close to me as I walked down the aisle. I purchased the accessory from Etsy.
The Bridal Party Flowers
I had two adult bridesmaids, a teen bridesmaid, 3 little bridesmaids and a flower girl as part of my bridal party.
The two adult bridesmaids (my best friends) had lemon and cream rose bouquets which used the same roses as the ones that were in my arrangement. For my teen bouquet, a smaller arrangement (this would also be the one that I would throw to the guests later so that I could put my bouquet on my dad’s grave).
Flowers for Young Bridesmaids / Flower Girls
For the younger members of my bridal party, I wanted a solution that would be easy for them to manage, wouldn’t be discarded, and could be a keepsake too.
The final piece was a pretty heart that was covered in the same foliage that was on my bouquet.
Button Holes / Corsages
As well as for the Groom’s party, these are also a great way to identify immediate family / siblings (a useful aid for the photographer). We got buttonholes / corsages for the Ushers, Page Boys and our parents and siblings.
For the younger members of the wedding party, we bought some artificial button holes that could be easily pinned on to their outfits.
Wedding Vases For Your Flowers
I would definitely recommend having a plan in place for your flowers once the photos have been taken. Luckily, the importance of this had been highlighted at my best friend’s wedding, when the staff at her venue arranged for vases to hold the flowers.
This was something that I was able to discuss with my florist, and she was able to let me hire out some of her wedding vases. They were the perfect way to keep the flowers hydrated and looking gorgeous.
Wedding Flower Preservation / Keepsake
Your bridal bouquet is such an exquisite part of your wedding day and there’s plenty of options of how to preserve them after your wedding.
I love scrapbooking, and had cut out a piece from a magazine about preserving your wedding bouquet and making it into a paperweight. I searched for this on Instagram and found Preserve Your Bouquet / Flora Forever who was able to do this for me.
Here’s the final piece, isn’t it beautiful. I decided to get one done for my mum too, and gave it to her on Mother’s Day, she absolutely loves it.
MY WEDDING WISDOM
THE WEDDING FLOWERS HINTS AND TIPS
Flower Inspiration
Wedding Fayres, Social Media, Events all offer fantastic points of reference for wedding flower inspiration.
Allergies
If any of your guests have got severe allergies to flowers, then artificial flowers can provide a good solution for this.
Get Things Booked
Great florists get booked up in advance so make sure this is a priority booking.
Magnets
Magnets offer a fantastic way of attaching the flower to suits and dresses without damaging the fabric. We used this idea for all our wedding buttonholes.