A Glossary of Wedding Flowers by Color

A Glossary of Wedding Flowers by Color

Use this guide to choose the best blooms for your wedding color palette

Have you ever wondered if hydrangeas come in pink? (They do!) Are you curious as to whether or not you can find orchids year round? (You can!) Compiling your dream wedding bouquet is part inspiration, part knowledge, and we've got them both covered in this comprehensive guide to wedding flowers by color.

Pale Violet to Electric Blue Flowers:

For your "something blue," look to the blue-hued blooms here.

Delphinium

This flower is often used in large ceremony arrangements. It also comes in white, mauve, peach, and other blue shades.

Hydrangea

You need just a handful of these big, preppy blooms to create an abundant centerpiece. It also comes in white, green, blue, and assorted pinks.

Blue Thistle

Despite its name, it's not prickly and makes an excellent boutonniere flower.

Tweedia

Besides hydrangea, tweedia is the only flower that comes in this shade of sky blue. It also comes in white.

Muscari

An all-muscari bouquet is chic and ladylike. It also comes in purple and white.

Early Summer Wedding at Peppermint Bay

Early Summer Wedding at Peppermint Bay

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An early summer wedding at Peppermint Bay south of Hobart called for red and white, with eucalyptus foliage.  Many of our spring blooms were still available in early December due to weather conditions, so the waratah was the red flower of choice.   

While picking some Tasmanian Waratahs (Telopea Truncata) to include for this wedding, I found some beautiful Isopogon still flowering, also known as the Cone Flower.  These are an unusual Australian native that flowers in spring.  We grow a fresh pinky purple variety called Ispogon Formosus, but they come in a range of colours with a great variation in the leaves as well.  They're gorgeous, little known Aussie wonders.    The basket full of bright red and purple really inspired the colour mix for this wedding.  

For the bouquets I used Telopea Speciosissima, the New South Wales Waratah, as the main flower.  They are large, showy and gorgeous!  I teamed them up with the smaller Tasmanian Waratah and Protea Pink Ice.

For whites, I used the gorgeous Berzelia which in early summer is covered in tiny white flowers so that it looks like clusters of fluffy white balls.  I also used Leucadenderon Lemon Spice in its creamy white phase.  It has a pink blush on the tips of the bracts, and the central cones have a pink blush too.  For the bride's bouquet I also used a Protea White Ice and a Protea White Cream, a warm pink protea with a creamy centre. 

You can see the purple Isopogon peeping out from amongst the rich pinks and reds.  I also added some darker purple Hebe flowers.  Just a few dark red Safari Sunset Leucos create some depth of colour.  And of course, there are the gumnuts - perfect for a Australian native bouquet.  

The foliage used is mostly Eucalyptus Cordata, with some Ridson Peppermint added here and there.

For the bridesmaid, the same but slightly smaller, with less of the large waratahs.  

Such a pretty, colourful combination of colours!

For the groom the colours were pared back a little.  A gumnut, Leucadendron Discolour, Leucadendron Safari Sunset, Berzelia, Ispogon and Cordata foliage.

Other buttonholes were the same, minus the purple Isopogon.  

Corsages for the mums were brighter, using a Tasmanian Waratah as the focal flower.  They also use Leucadendron Discolour, Isopogon, Berzelia and Cordata foliage.  

For the bride and her bridesmaid, there were floral combs.  Tasmanian Waratahs surrounded by Berzelia, Leucadendron Discolour,  Isopogon, Cordata foliage, and some rosy Jubilee Crown cones.  Red is a great colour for a brunette bride!    

To decorate the reception room at Peppermint Bay, the bride chose a collection of different vases and vessels filled with colour.  Her mum had collected jars of all different sizes which looked great en masse.

You can see Waratah, Tasmanian Waratah, and early flowering Scarlet Ribbons Pincushions. The red of the Tasmanian Waratahs is such an intense colour!

You can also see some White Ice Proteas, Hebe in purple, and the creamy Leucadendron Discolour.

I used Protea Pink Ice, and Safari Sunset Leucos too.  

Such a joyful combination of colours!  

Jars of more colour on the chairs for the ceremony.  What a great spot to say "I do"!  Tassie, you are so beautiful!

The cake was simply decorated with more of the same combination of flowers.  The wonderful cake was made by Natasha from Lily May Cake Design.  

Such a great venue in a wonderful location.  And early summer is a great time for a wedding, flower-wise too.  

I will remember this wedding for the intense joyful colours and of course, the lovely couple who were married.  It was such a pleasure to be involved in creating flowers for this day.  

Engagement Photoshoot in April

Engagement Photoshoot in April

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Tasmania has a reputation as a tourism destination, and I find that often couples like to combine a special event in their lives with a trip to our fair shores.  This April, a gorgeous couple decided to celebrate their engagement with a holiday and photoshoot.  What a fun thing to do! 

An eclectic mix of natives with lots of colour and texture was the idea for the bouquet.

The flowers needed to travel well as the photos were taken in various places over the course of a few days.  

Protea Repens in both light pink and rich pink, both flowering and non-flowering Brunia, Protea White Mink, Banksia Burdettii and Banksia Brownii were the larger flowers that I used.  Leucadendron Galpinii (Purple Haze), Safari Sunset, and Leucadendron Discolour were the secondary flowers.  

A range of foliage including Tasmanian Myrtle Beech, Risdon Peppermint, and Banksia Brownii added fullness.  I also added some dried leucadedonron cones which are a rich autumny brown.

Beautiful!

By the looks of the gorgeous pictures, they had a wonderful trip!

And the photos will make great memories too.

For the boutonniere, I used a dried leucadendron cone so that there were no wilting issues along the trail.  The Banksia Burdettii leaves are so gorgeous with their zig-zag edges, and they were teamed with Myrtle Beech, Risdon Peppermint among other bits and pieces.  

The iconic view of Cradle Mountain from Dove Lake - definitely a memorable destination for a special occasion!

What a fun job!  I wonder where they'll go for the wedding?

His and Hers Wedding Flowers in Autumn

His and Hers Wedding Flowers in Autumn

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Photo by Jon Jarvela

Sometimes, I am asked to provide the simplest of wedding flower orders - a bride's bouquet and a groom's boutonniere.  I find that these weddings are really memorable, because so much effort goes into making the one bouquet and buttonhole just right.  In Autumn 2016, I was asked to do a simple bouquet and boutonniere for a couple who were getting married in the Huon Valley.  

The bride provided some pictures of the styles and colours she loved.  The inspiration came when I saw what the groom had picked out to wear.  

I loved the sage green in the tie, and the golden yellow and apricot too.  I decided to go for a bouquet with plenty of creamy white and green, with touches of apricot and bronzy gold. 

For the bridal bouquet I used a Protea White Ice, two types of banksia - Banksia Baxterii, the Birdsnest Banksia, and Banksia Marginata, a local native.  Brunia Albiflora in full flower was used along with flowering Eucalyptus Cordata, usually used as a cut foliage.  The apricot came with the use of Fountain Pincushion and Leucadendron Safari Goldstrike whose new growth is tinged with a pinkish bronze.  

The foliage I used includes Grevillea, again with a bronze new growth tips, flowering lemon-scented Leptospermum and the shimmering Leucadedron Argenteum or Silver Tree.  You can also see, peeping out on the left of the above photo, some creamy Leucadendron Pisa cones with their outer bracts removed.  

Other foliage included Eucalyptus Cordata, and some Cootamundra wattle in bud. 

For the groom, I used a small Banksia Marginata in creamy yellow, Grevillea foliage with an orange bud, Cootamundra Wattle with its little buds, tea tree (Leptospermum) and Eucalyptus foliage. 

Photo by Jon Jarvela

Autumn weddings in Tasmania really are special!  

"Birds Nest" Bouquets for a Cradle Mountain Wedding in February

"Birds Nest" Bouquets for a Cradle Mountain Wedding in February

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In February I provided flowers for a wedding held at Lemonthyme Wilderness Retreat in the Cradle Mountain - Lake St Claire National Park.  

Cradle Mountain

The Cradle Moutain area is World Heritage listed with stunning scenery and pristine wilderness that draws tourists from all around the globe.  What a beautiful place for a wedding!

Lemonthyme WIlderness Retreat

 The bride had chosen a rich strong purple for the bridesmaid's dresses and had the idea of adding some yellow as a contrasting colour to really make the colours pop.  

Its called a complimentary colour scheme, using colours which are opposite each other on the colour wheel.  It works to accentuate colours and make them stand out.  The bride also wanted natives to go with that beautiful backdrop of the Tasmanian wilderness that the venue offered.

 

Banksias were the focal flowers in this wedding with each bouquet having a Banksia Baxterii as the main flower.  Baxterii are a beautiful late summer banksia here in Tassie, and are often called Birds-nest Banksia because of their unique shape and the way the styles open from the bottom upwards.

I continued the Bird's Nest theme using posy holders made from natural fibrous material in a great chocolate brown.  I love the textural quality they created and the addition of the deep brown which enhances the colours in the flowers.  I also loved the bird's nest feel they added, with the flowers nestled into the "nest" and the foliage spilling over the edges.  

Other flowers used were the beautiful rich red Banksia Occidentalis, Leucadendron Safari Sunset, a deep burgundy in late summer, and Brunia Albiflora.  Little pops of purple to tie in the bridesmaids dresses were added with Hebe.  

Vibrant yellow was added with Kangaroo Paw, Bronze Fennel flowers, and Leucadendron Pisa.  Foliages used include the gorgeous native coral fern called Gleichenia Dicarpa, Myrtle Beech,  a beautiful burgundy tea tree foliage, and some Smoke Bush leaves.   

The bride requested all the boutonnieres be different designs, all with the same theme.  Music to my ears!  Its such fun to play with the colours and textures and find different ways of putting them all together.  Banksia Baxterii leaves, deeply zig zagged and fabulous, form the backing for each Boutonniere.  

In front, different mixtures of the foliages including the burgundy tea tree and myrtle, and then more of the other flowers featured in the bouquets.  

The grooms boutonniere had some of the coral fern added.  I really love working with the coral fern.  It can be very difficult to store and work with as it tangles very easily, but the lovely angles that it sits at make it a wonderful, whimsical addition to a bouquet or boutonniere.  

The colours and textures of this wedding were wonderfully satisfying to work with.  I hope the bride and groom enjoyed the results!