Flowers

For many, choosing your bridal flowers can be as scary as finding their perfect dress, but to most, the flowers are as important as the dress.

The best way of finding your florist is by recommendation,  but it’s also a good idea to browse several flower shops too and get 3 quotes to compare and it’s always a good idea to see examples of their work.

If you’ve chosen your photographer, ask their advice. As part of my job I see flowers and bouquets every weekend! Where I’ve worked with florists before, I’ve often got examples of their work as it’s part of my job to photograph the flowers on the day.

Wedding Bouquet

Once you’ve made up your mind always try to book a consultation with your florist as you‘ll have lots of time devoted to you, and you’ll be able to work out the best choices for your big day. Remember to try and make time on a week day because the florist will have more time to discuss ideas, as the shop may be busy on a Saturday.

What is you should consider when choosing your flowers, scent, texture or colour?

A good florist will always suggest the best flowers for your colour theme, size and style as well as tailoring the arrangements for your requirements, but try and help the florist as much as possible. As creative as most florists are, they are not mind readers so the more information you can give them the better, pictures from magazines, pictures of the dress, fabric swatches, key themes, or special items the wedding theme is based on for example, if you’re wearing your Grandmothers’ brooch, it might be nicer for you to incorporate this into your bouquet, rather than wear it on your dress.

You could prepare a brief, with suggestions for style of bouquet; traditional shower (a long, trailing bouquet, wired or in a foam holder), garden flower posy (country style loose bouquet, hand-tied or in a holder) or wire worn decorative bouquet (flowers are stuck to a decorative, handmade wire trailing frame) or crescent shaped bouquet. Along with examples of colours and pictures from magazine, you’ll be loved by your florist!

If you’ve a preference, suggest type of flowers and consult with your florist once you’ve decided on your highlight colour.

A good florist will take the bride’s basic height and shape into consideration; if you‘re small, an enormous trailing bouquet will overpower you!

Sunflowers

Don’t forget plants could also be used as table arrangements, these can be very attractive as well as cheaper (dependent on the plant) and a memento for people to take home with them at the end of the night.

Finally, remember to keep in touch with your florist  and work with them throughout your planning to ensure your wedding flowers will be as beautiful as you dreamed.

Some low cost bridal bouquet ideas

• Hand tied bridal bouquets are usually half the price of arrangements. The florist selects the flowers, then arranges them together and ties them with floristry string or wire. A ribbon is then tied around the stems to protect the bride’s hands and finish the bouquet which is both simple and elegant. Most flowers can be hand tied into a bridal bouquet, they’re versatile and more importantly, cheap.

• Think about using single stems which can also be effective bridal flowers. Having a single stem gives a dramatic look when paired with elegant, slinky dresses. Use one stem, or even increase it to three stems tied together in a simple hand tied bouquet. It’s a cheaper alternative you use less flowers. Lilies, roses and sunflowers looks great as single stems.

• Use in season flowers. They’ll be fresher, grown locally and therefore cheaper and if you’re environmentally minded, will generally have a lower carbon footprint as they may not have traveled as far as imported flowers. There are lots of blooms available all year round, so check what’s in season around the time of your wedding with your florist. Another alternative is find stems with lots of flowers so you get more blooms for your money. There are lots of flowers that can give you this effect, including lilies and hydrangea.

• Grade of flowers: Florists can obtain flowers in differing grades, so use the most expensive roses for your bouquet, but in the table centres you use a cheaper grade of rose, for example. Use cheaper flowers like Gerbera and then mix with more expensive flowers like roses.
• Use imitation flowers: Your florist has access to a wide range of imitation flowers which will last a great deal longer than the real thing! Imitation flowers also don’t tend to need as much careful handling, so are less likely to get damaged!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 at 5:47 pm and is filed under Guides for Brides and Grooms. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.