Flowers

Flowers play an integral part of every wedding. They are in our buttonholes, in the bride and her bridesmaid’s bouquets and are adorned all around the wedding venue and reception. Along with their symbolic meanings, the flower colours will reflect the overall design or theme of your wedding so must therefore be chosen with care.

When choosing your flowers you should first take into consideration that each venue will probably have their own policies on flower arrangements.

Churches

In their busy periods during the summer, most churches will be holding more than one wedding per day. If there isn’t enough given time between each ceremony to change over the flowers, the church may insist on providing all the displays themselves but split the cost between all wedding parties. If this is the case, see if you can contact the other wedding couples and agree on a theme that will suit you all.

Reception Venues

Some venues may offer to include any flowers in their service so you should make sure that the theme of the flowers matches what you have in mind. You can always ask for a quote without costing in flowers then provide them yourselves.

Marquees

Some companies do offer an all-in service where they arrange flowers and entertainment as a package. Otherwise it’s a blank canvass where you can let your imagination run free with the theme and flowers you choose.

When choosing a florist, find one that will accompany you to your wedding venues so they are better equipped to advise you on the quantity and size of displays needed. Normally there will be a large display on the top table at your reception and smaller ones on each table that can be complimented with other accessories such as candles. Your florist will also know which flowers will be in season at the time of your wedding and can choose flower costs that will easily fit your budget. It is not unreasonable to visit other weddings catered for by your florist, on the morning of a ceremony so that you can see their work for real.

When choosing flowers for the bride and her bridesmaid’s bouquets, remember to think about the colour of the dresses. Most bouquets will have white flowers incorporated in them such as lily-of-the-valley to symbolise purity while the colour in the bride’s bouquet normally matches that of the bridesmaid’s dresses.

The groom, his best man and the father of the bride will all wear buttonholes and these can also incorporate the colours of the bride and bridesmaid’s bouquets. The mothers of both the bride and groom will also wear buttonholes, but these are traditionally larger than the men’s in the wedding party.

Remember to shop around a few florists to see their designs and to compare prices and always get a written quote before signing into a contract.