I have been wanting to start this blog for a while, and when I realised that there is nothing out there telling couples that they can have the flowers for their wedding (and in fact their whole wedding) exactly as they want, I felt inspired to get writing...
There are blogs out there that tell couples... you should consider your theme (do the flowers fit?), you must have a colour theme, you should consider your dress, check that the flowers fit your venue... I don't completely agree with this. I feel couples should be able to do it just as they want. That there are no rules... and flowers, weddings, dress, venue can work just as you want it.
I love the idea of finding inspiration in something you love and building ideas from there. In fact, when I got married it was my shoes, I loved them so much, everything started with them!
So, why choose a florist, rather than doing it yourself?
A florist will have the creativity to turn your ideas into a reality.
They'll source, arrange and deliver your flowers for you.
They'll know what last-minute changes to make if flowers aren't suddenly available.
They'll know when to put together an arrangement to make sure it looks as fresh as possible.
Whatever your choice - a florist or creating your own... where do you start?
Choosing the flowers
- In this day and age, the choices are wide and varied and a florist can access almost anything. Obviously if the flowers are out of season in Europe and are available in the Southern Hemisphere then you should expect to pay a premium for them.
- Flower choices are endless... because of the sheer variety and how lucky we are to be able to access them. How wonderful to mix flowers!
- There doesn't need to be any rules and what's wonderful is there are some amazing international florists who are showing us how to shape creativity. Explore and do it your way.
- You can mix flowers from the Northern and Southern Hemispheres which add real 'Wows'.
- You can work with locally grown seasonal flowers which add fragrances, delicacy and vibrancy. Look at the flowers that are in season for the time of your wedding or ask your florist for guidance with this.
- You can mix fresh and dried which creates some wonderful textures. I love that there are so many options and hope that couples are bold with their choices. Flowers are incredible and the end results can be fabulous.
Colour choices
If you want to be bold go for it.
- You can play with tones and shades within your colour scheme this always looks striking.
- Consider complementary colours too.
- You can colour-block your colours, putting the same colours together which will create an impact.
- You can keep a simple colour palette which blends with all your choices.
There is no right or wrong colour combination - not in my book anyway.
Your Bridal Gown
I have never seen a bridal bouquet that doesn't look great with a wedding dress. Go for what you want.
- It is certainly worth looking at a variety of bouquets to see what style you are attracted to.
- Look at different colour options too you may not want the particular style of bouquet, but you love the colour combo. I always love to see your vision on this as it helps enormously putting the flowers together and creating the bridal bouquet as well as the venue decor.
- The dress needs to be considered when planning of course because for example if the detail is in the bodice then the bouquet wouldn't want to be too upright and cover it. You may choose to go for a style that styles out to the sides or tumbles forwards... so the vision of your dress is still appreciated.
- I would encourage you to hold your bouquet low if you decided the more upright bouquet was for you.
Remember anything goes!
Your venue
Often you fall in love with the venue first and everything else drops into place or just fits your vision. What fun it is to plan and plan you must. Pulling this altogether takes time and it's great if you can draw on friends and family to help.
- Flowers are always going to enhance a venue. Whatever you choose.
- Your budget will be a factor in the decor you choose, and you may decide to have a couple of larger pieces that have an impact rather than lots of smaller ones. A florist can show you how to make the most of your budget. For example, recycling your ceremony flowers and using them as part of your reception decor is a great way to get the most out of your flower budget.
- If you have large rooms you may want larger/taller arrangements to fill the space and these can be interspersed with lower arrangements. You can be really imaginative here.
For me that is key. Use your imagination and ask your florist for ideas. You don't have to have flowers on every table, you can mix it up a bit. You don't have to do it the same way it has been done before at your venue. And if you turn up at our first meeting simply clutching a pair of incredible shoes, I can work with that!
Your day your way... and have fun!!
Photography by 'Nicki Shea' - https://www.nickisheaphotograhy.co.uk
