Flowers – Bring Life to Your Wedding

Flowers are a luxury that many people do not allow themselves in their day-to-day surroundings, which is one good reason for giving them a prominent place at your wedding. It’s not just any day that you are celebrating and flowers can make this statement better than anything else. Flowers embody delicacy, grace and fragility and have been exchanged by lovers throughout history. They can bring those feelings to your ceremony through the skillful hand of the florist.

Flowers are used in three distinct ways at weddings but should be considered in total to maintain a consistent colour scheme and theme (formal or casual).

• Hand-held and worn flowers for the bride.
• Hand-held and worn flowers for the wedding party.
• Decoration for the ceremony and reception areas.

Consistency is essential, so pick one florist and leave them with the job achieving these results. Resist ideas that are inconsistent, regardless of how novel they appear.

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Flowers for the bride

The bride’s bouquet is commonly a work of art in itself, reflecting the style of the wedding and reinforcing the signature colour of the wedding. If flowers appear nowhere else in the wedding, this is where they are mandatory. Flowers have a long association with weddings and imply the beauty and delicacy of the bride. From a practical perspective, the bouquet is an important part of the bride’s individual outfit and provides an important accent in photographs and a place for the bride’s hands in pictures.

The Bride’s Bouquet

The flowers carried by the bride need to complement the colour and style of your dress. If the dress is elaborate, keep the bride’s bouquet simple to reinforce but not compete visually with the dress. The intent is to enhance the presence of the bride, not take attention away from her. If the dress is simple in design, a complex or simple bouquet will work.

The bouquet should also suit your skin colour and the makeup that you will be wearing. Pastel colours are popular because they can work with both white and off-white dresses and those with more dramatic colour such as ruby, navy and black. The floral designer will also consider your overall size to maintain proper proportion between the two.

Flowers placed in a small container helps you to handle the bouquet (large ones can become heavy after a few hours) and keeps the flowers damp so they look fresh for hours. It also allows for more complex arrangements such as a cascade as compared to a tied bouquet, which is better suited to a casual look. In this case, the flowers are bound and decorated with ribbon and the stems are left bare. Some flowers are not suited to this and will wilt within a couple of hours. If you plan to throw out your bouquet at the reception, you may want a smaller “toss or throw bouquet” to be fashioned for this purpose, as some arrangements do not lend themselves to being thrown.

Around the Head and Body

Flowers can also be used as decoration for the head, worn in the hair, as a garland or headpiece or around the neck but do so sparingly. This use of flowers is best suited to casual, country-style weddings. The colour and types of flowers used should echo the hand-held bouquet.

For the bride and her wedding party, the style is towards smaller hand-held bouquets. Cascades are less common but still have a place if you are tall or large and need a larger arrangement.

Tightly-packed bouquets with up to a couple dozen flowers kept to a similar height so it has a definite shape – with or without greenery and hand-tied with ribbon. The expense is based on the number of flowers and type.

Roses, Gerber daisies and Calla lilies remain popular.

For unusual inclusions think of aromatics such as lavender and lily of the valley or unusual shapes such as curly bamboo.

Flowers for the wedding party

Bridesmaids’ bouquets are the next most important use of flowers. It is imperative that whatever they carry, complements the colour of their outfit. Rather than attempt to match the dress colour, the florist will likely suggest a contrasting colour. Matches can be very difficult and need to be exact to work properly. A skilled designer will ask the dress size and height of each woman in your wedding party and make minor adjustments to the overall size of each hand-held bouquet so it is in proportion to the person holding it. When delivered, each bouquet will have the person’s name. As with the bride, flowers can be used in the hair at the neck or wrist but should be understated.

The groom’s boutonniere is commonly limited to a single flower and a little greenery, the flower being the same type and colour as a signature flower in the bride’s bouquet. The groomsmen will have a matching and slightly smaller flower.

The mother of the bride and mother of the groom will usually wear a corsage that best complements their own outfit rather than match the rest of the wedding party. The father wears a boutonniere that complements the corsage worn by the mother.

Do not forget that the flower girl and ring-bearer are part of the wedding party and should wear the same flowers as other members although usually smaller to suit their size. The flower girl may carry her own small arrangement or petals that she spreads before the bride. Note: some houses of worship may not allow this so check ahead.

Flowers for Decoration

Flowers are used for decoration at both the ceremony and the reception. It can be one of the most expensive ways to decorate if used extensively. Alternatively, strategic placement will enhance the surroundings without blowing your decorating budget.

At the Ceremony

Before making suggestions the florist will ask about the location of the ceremony. Whether it is indoors or out, the size of the ceremony location and the lighting, bright or subdued, are all factors to be considered. Due to the size of most churches and houses of worship, it is not possible to decorate the surroundings so flowers are usually limited to the altar, a visual focal point and used as pew markers along the aisle and strategic points such as the guest registry table and where the marriage license is signed. Houses of worship usually have rules as to where and how flowers can be placed. These flowers can be moved to the reception location or left to decorate the altar.

Consider renting large silk-flower bouquets for decorating the church and reception hall. It costs about ½ the price of fresh flowers and be just elaborate and unique.

Flowers at the Reception

The size, lighting and location will also affect your selection of flowers and placement at the reception location. Because it is likely a large room, the key is strategic placement – put flowers where they will be seen and ignore the rest. This means locations such as the entrance area, guest registry, serving tables (for buffets), the bride & groom’s table and on guest tables. A simple centerpiece is an important touch to guest tables and is something they will see throughout the evening.

Flowers are also commonly used as cake decorations – actually on the cake or the area immediately surrounding it. This requires that the florist and cake designer work together as each will have their vision for what it should look like.

Some helpful guidelines for decorating with flowers

• Place flowers where they will be seen, this means close to where people will be seated or congregate. If you can’t change the surroundings, direct your guests’ focus to where you want it.
• A setting with subdued lighting with lots of dark wood requires light-coloured flowers to stand out from the background. Conversely, richer dark colours have more impact in light-coloured rooms.
• Small arrangements in large churches are dwarfed by the surroundings so taller arrangements with larger flowers are better suited to these locations.
• If it is a garden setting, the flowers should complement those that appear in the garden. For outdoor settings the florist will ask the type of garden “Formal” or “English-style” and may ask to see a picture. The same colours and flower types can be incorporated into their arrangements.
• Choose flowers that are going to last. Do not place them directly under hot lights, which will only shorten freshness time.
• Many florists rent arches, candelabras, and decorative fixtures on which flowers can be placed which increase the size of floral decorations.
• Centerpieces for tables can be more than just flowers – a single flower or candle floating in a bowl surrounded by greenery can be just as effective.
• Outdoor gardens are popular locations for ceremonies but have their own problems. Flowers may not be in bloom when you expect or may create a “riot” of colour that draws attention from the wedding party or clashes with the brides-maids dresses.

Here’s how the business works

Start the selection process for a florist
8 – 10 months before your wedding date – sooner if your budget is large. Ask to see photographs of their work, call a couple of past clients (most will provide referrals) and make sure the florist is someone you can relate to. They are there to help you realize a vision you have of your wedding that requires communication and sometimes frank discussion when it comes to the issues of cost.

Flowers commonly represent 10-to-15 percent of the total cost of the wedding, which is greatly affected by how extensively they are used for decoration. This is why you need to approach the florist with a budget total in mind. Florists don’t commonly offer “package-pricing” because the cost is greatly affected by the type of flowers you choose and how elaborate the arrangements. If you have specific arrangements in mind and have pictures take them. If you want certain flowers, make a list and take it with you.

In order to determine both the price and the style the florist is going to ask the following questions.

• The amount of your budget.
• The theme of your wedding – casual, formal, Victorian, etc.
• The colour scheme of the wedding the dominant colours as in the bridesmaids’ dresses.
• The setting & general surroundings for both the ceremony and reception.
• What ideas you have in mind and type of flowers that you like.

Flowers are commonly moved from the ceremony location to the reception to serve a double purpose and offer some cost-savings on decorations. The florist can offer this service, at a price, or you can assign the task to a guest. If the florist does it, they are likely to arrive in better shape.

The floral designer will normally want to see the reception location (if they are not already familiar with it) if they are going to be decorating it. The first appointment is your initial fact-finding mission. Some floral designers charge for the initial consult and others don’t.

Most florists will request you to pay a deposit of up to 10% of the projected cost when you book. If for some reason you need to cancel before flowers have been ordered you may be offered a partial refund or store credit. The florist may ask for a second payment before the flowers are ordered and most require that the flowers be paid for by the day of the wedding.

After you fill them in on what you want, the style of your bouquet has been determined, the number in your wedding party and flower requirements for decoration at the ceremony and reception location are determined, the designer should be able to provide you with a written
estimate – if it doesn’t fit your budget work through it making adjustments as necessary.

Flowers for the bride and her party are delivered to the location at which they are readying themselves about two hours before the wedding. Photographers like to shoot the individual and group shots of the bride’s party before the wedding when make-up, dresses and flowers look their best. The groom’s boutonniere and those for the groomsmen will similarly be delivered to where they are dressing and those of the parents to the ceremony location or other arranged location.

If you do not have a dollar figure established, the florist can give you some approximate costs for your region with the caveat that cost is greatly affected by the specific flowers you choose and amount of work that goes into the arrangements. Some flowers may not be available at certain times of year or may carry a heavy price.

Considerations and Suggestions

Roses are still one of the most common flowers for both the bride and in decoration. One advantage they are available year-round, come in a wide variety of colour and can be used with most any wedding theme.

Herbs and greenery can be a nice touch, especially around tables, arches and candelabra.

A combination of fruit and flowers can provide an elegant combination around serving tables.

Be sure to determine how it will look at the time of year you select.
Flowers can be chosen to reflect the season – not every wedding happens in summer. The harvest tones of gold, red and orange symbolize autumn.

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