Wedding flower advice — find the right flowers for your day
The right wedding flowers depend on three things: where they'll be seen, what the season gives you, and what the photographs need to carry. Tell us those and we'll give you a specific answer — flower, colour, price, and the caveat the florist forgets to mention.
Examples of what we'd tell you
Buttonholes for a September wedding, groom plus four A single spray rose with a sprig of eucalyptus each — clean, photographs well, and won't wilt by the speeches. Order six, not five: one always gets crushed in a hug before the ceremony. Ask the florist for pinned, not magnetic, fixings if anyone is wearing tweed or heavier wool.
Ceremony flowers on a tight budget Put the money where the photos happen: two larger arrangements at the front, nothing on the aisle. Choose what's in season that month — September means dahlias, May means peonies if you're lucky and stocks if you're not — because seasonal stems cost half what imported ones do. Move the two arrangements to the reception afterwards and they work twice.
A bridal bouquet that won't fight the dress If the dress has detail — lace, beading, embroidery — keep the bouquet simple: one flower type, one accent green, loosely tied. If the dress is plain, the bouquet can carry texture and trailing stems. Either way, ask for it slightly smaller than the florist's first suggestion; bouquets photograph a size larger than they feel in the hand.