Introduction
It doesn’t matter what size wedding you are having nor if you have a certain wedding theme you are working with – flowers are a major part of the wedding preparations. Sometimes wedding flowers are the center of attention such as adorning the wedding cakes, or the bridal bouquets which always get a good looking over by the guests.
Other times, flowers may not be the main attraction, but even then are help to create the overall scene of a complete and beautiful wedding. A wedding without flowers is like watching a movie with no soundtrack. As you know, the soundtrack often makes the movie. In a similar way the flowers can make (or break) the wedding. Given the importance of the flowers for the wedding ceremony and reception, it is vital that the couple (or at least bride) spend an appropriate amount of time preparing for them.
Think about it a little further. Your flowers will show up again and again. The photographer will instruct the bride and bridesmaids how to hold their bouquets for the best pictures. The guys will have their boutonnières to give them a little color to likely dark colored suits or tuxes. At the reception, the tables will be adorned with flowers. Last but not least, flowers reappear for the bridal toss!
So, your work is cut out for you. You will have a lot of decisions to make and if you don’t have much experience with choosing and arranging flowers, you’ll want to get some good help. An experienced florist will think of things you probably never would. Having said that, this doesn’t mean that you just turn it over to florist and let them have their way. It might work out fine, but it might not.
You need to arm yourself with as much information as you can, so that if you use a professional wedding florist, you will have plenty of good questions and know enough to make good decisions that you will be pleased with.
Below are several categories or areas that should give attention to.
Your Wedding: What Time of the Year
The exact wedding date is probably not that important, but you do need to focus on where your wedding is spring, summer, winter or fall. If yours is a spring to summer wedding most go with brighter color flowers or pastels. Make sense doesn’t it? Warm colors with warm temperatures. Multiple colored bouquets look really nice in the warmer months.
Larger flower blooms and darker colors are a good choice in the winter and fall. Brides often choose either one-color bouquets or very contrasting colors in the flower blooms.
Now, these are the general rules. If you have the time and inclination you can dig much deeper. Every flower and every month has it’s own unique meaning. So if you are getting married in December, you might do some extra research and find out if there is a unique December flower that you like.
Next, What About Your Ceremony and Reception
Don’t stress out over this, because again we aren’t talking necessarily minute details, but rather overall themes and style. So, if you have a wedding theme, what is it? Will yours be an outdoor wedding, or inside? More specifically what kind of wedding venue is it? Maybe an urban downtown wedding hotel.
Or, an out in the country wedding. Or, a historical wedding site. How formal or informal will your wedding be? Once you’ve answered some these questions, you can tell your florist what you have mind and they can offer some ideas if you don’t already have your own.
The wedding flowers for a summertime, outdoor wedding would have a very different look than flowers for a formal wedding at a cathedral. The same can be said for reception table flowers. They will fit in with the style of flowers that you choose for your ceremony type.
Take a Closer Look at Flower Colors
You will likely choose your wedding color scheme early on…at least you better. That one decision is going to help you make a lot of other decisions: like the color of the dresses for bridesmaids, the colors for the cake, and of course, our subject – the flowers.
Not everyone is naturally good at deciding on and matching colors. That doesn’t have to hinder you however. Have you heard of the wedding color wheel? Now you can have a simple little device that will automatically show you what colors go together well. No more guessing and no more making a huge mistake that you can’t fix.
Of course, you got to decide on the main color. Maybe that will come to you as you study the color wheel. If it doesn’t, another approach is what was mentioned earlier, and that is to go back to study the meaning of various colors or flowers. The meaning of a color or flower may jump out at you more than the color itself.
Think About Costs
With so many flowers needed for a wedding, the cost can add up quickly. Most brides are taken back when they find out how much of the wedding budget that the flowers will eat away. Here, maybe with the help of some referrals, you should try to find a florist who is willing to help you have a beautiful wedding but do as inexpensively as possible. The florist will know things that you don’t.
For example, which flowers are least expensive during the season you are getting married. They might also suggest some flower arrangements that are not top of the line, but still very beautiful. Alternatively, you could look around to see if you can wholesale wedding flowers. Just be careful with your florist or if you try to do some of it on your own. Make a mistake here, and your wedding might not be very pretty.
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