Wedding Flowers Defining Your Expectations

Wedding Flowers Defining Your Expectations

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The wedding flowers that decorate the church will go a long way toward setting the mood for your wedding. Done right, a selection of well placed wedding flowers can give your event the sense of joy, expectation, solemnity, or pageantry you and your intended anticipate for your wedding. Done poorly... well, your wedding flowers will set the wrong mood for your wedding at best. At worst, your wedding flowers will make it appear that your wedding happened in a tacky looking facility or several decades earlier (actually, it can get worse, but we won't talk about that - The point is to make sure we stay on the top of the scale with our wedding flowers, not the bottom).

The success of your wedding flower arrangements and decorations depends on your florist's attention to detail, sense of style, flair, expertise, and the connection that the two of you achieve. Don't assume that because a particular florist is highly respected you will get the wedding flower arrangement of your dreams. If there is no meeting of your minds, if you don't feel like they are grasping what you are trying to communicate about your wedding flowers, theme, or both, keep looking. In most cases your wedding flowers will be more to your liking with your second choice that fully understands the theme and mood you are trying to set than with the reputed best florist in the city who isn't listening or just isn't managing to understand what you want from your wedding flowers.

Finding the right wedding flower specialist is easy if you begin your search prepared and know what to look for and what to stay away from: Being prepared means doing some dreaming about your wedding flowers. Doodle. Search bridal magazines. Look at wedding flower schemes in books and dream. Go to bridal shows. Go to weddings, if you can get an invitation, and dream. Collect pictures of wedding flower arrangements that you think will fit into the theme that you want to design your wedding flowers around. In short, have a pretty clear idea of what you want in your wedding flowers before you ever start visiting florists and bring the pictures with you. This will help them understand your vision for your floral arrangement.

The second step is like the first: Don't even think of going to a florist without swatches of the material from your dress, the bridesmaid's dresses, and any other fabric that might affect the wedding color scheme (this is true of your cake decorator too). This is most especially true of your dress. White wedding dresses come in a wide variety of shades of white, so to ensure that the wedding flowers will properly accent your dress bring a swatch. A professional florist will know how to set it off so that the wedding flowers draw the attention to you in just the right way.

Once you have done your homework it is time to start actually looking for a florist to provide your wedding flowers. As in every other discipline, your first move should be to talk to people who have recently gotten married and get referrals from them. There is no shame in learning from the success and failures of others and doing so will generally save you a lot of grief. In the process, no doubt, you will discover that while most any florist can provide wedding flowers, some are more skilled, gifted, and experienced than others. Your goal is to identify these people and choose one of them to take the stress of your wedding flower needs off your hands.

Remember, wedding flowers work or don't work on the florist's attention to detail, creativity, and their ability to match your style. But part of their ability to perform depends on you communicating what you want and providing pictures and swatches. It's your wedding; make sure it goes right by taking the time to prepare before you go shopping for those wedding flowers.

Ink and Spindle

Ink and Spindle

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I'm a big instagram fan and recently, I came across a boutique fabric design company in Melbourne that have done a range of fabrics inspired by Leucadendrons. Of course, I just LOVE it, so I thought I'd share a few of their pictures.  

If you're interested, check out their blog at

 Ink and Spindle.

Wedding Flowers Cost Cutting - Top 5 Cheapest Flowers for Wedding Elegance

Wedding Flowers Cost Cutting - Top 5 Cheapest Flowers for Wedding Elegance

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Wedding flowers cost cutting is often a concern for brides-to-be who want floral elegance featured at their wedding but don’t know how to save without cutting flowers out of their special day. As a retired wedding florist, I can suggest that the first rule of cost cutting on wedding flowers is to select your main flowers carefully. You can also save money by ordering your flowers by post.

You require choose a flower which is going to look beautiful, I will coordinate with your theme or color system, I will give the beautiful flower but its smell is not strange and it can make you get headache on your special day. The flower will look so romantic and it is appropriate with your special wedding. Do you need extra cash for your own ideas? You can apply it for the best results by read more information about paydayfinanciallender, that will help you to get more cash on your pocket.

5. The Rose

Not the cheapest of the cheap flowers but definitely on the list due the rose's ultimate role as The quintessential flower of romance. This all-star in the world of weddings comes in most colors and even in bi-colored, stripped and tipped roses too. Though roses are commonly associated with strong fragrance, not every rose is scented and even those that are scented are not overpowering. All these reasons make roses the ideal choice as a wedding feature flower. Of course, in order for your roses to be as cost conscious as possible, choose popular long stem rose colors such as red, pink, white, yellow or orange (in that order) Also, choose simple hand tied rose bouquets for minimum labor and a modern look. If you want to save even more money, make your own wedding bouquets. It's not that complicated especially if you are following good step by step instructions written by a florist and if you are making hand held bouquets. If you decide to make your own boutonnieres and corsages, make sure to use sweetheart roses for a more elegant and long lasting look. On the same note, if ordering from your florist make sure she will use sweetheart roses for your body flowers.

4. The Gerbera

If gerbera daisies are your favorite flowers, you might want to choose this look for your wedding or for your special event. Inexpensive, cute, modern, easy and quick to work with, you will not have to worry about being able to achieve these simple bouquets in time if you decide to make them yourself. Gerberas come in a wide variety of colors and can therefore blend well with any color theme. Although you can easily choose hand-tied bouquets for the bride and the whole wedding party, you could also decide to have a more elaborate bouquet for the bride including a few gerberas or amongst other flowers while your bridesmaids could carry gerberas exclusively. You will have to provide a constant water source between the times when you or your girls will be holding the gerbera bouquets. This can be an advantage at your reception in the sense that if you provide elegant vases at the hall for them to place their bouquets in when they get there, these can also decorate and add style to your reception. For the boutonnieres and corsages, gerberas also come in the miniature versions although they are still approximately 4 inches in diameter; this is the ideal size for body flowers. Just one per lapel or wrist will suffice.

3. The Sunflower

Sunflowers are perfect for fall events and look beautiful with hypericum berries or other fall berries and foliage, Although sunflowers come in a few different colors besides yellow now, such as orange, brown and rust; going with yellow sunflowers ensures getting the healthiest and longest lasting budget flowers that will shine at your wedding. Sunflowers are perfectly suited for hand held bouquets. The bridesmaids could carry 3-5 sunflowers with fall foliage, berries and accents tied with a pretty bow, whereas the bride could carry a more elaborate bouquet featuring 5-7 sunflowers (any more would be too big) with 3-6 fall roses, berries and fall foliage, tied with a pretty bow. As for corsages and boutonnieres that will coordinate with a sunflower wedding...even the mini sunflowers are way too big for body flowers. Instead, I would suggest either mini yellow gerberas with the black center or novelty chrysanthemums, preferably with the black center as well.

2. The Carnation

Although carnations sometimes get a bad rap as being the cheapest undesirable flower, the truth is, carnations are long lasting, smell sweet without being overpowering and are easy to work with. For wedding elegance, I would suggest going with white or cream carnations if you want to use only carnations. If you prefer a mix of flowers, I would recommend combining carnations with daisies and poms for lovely mixed bouquets that won't cost much and will have that wildflower look but will last so much longer and won't wilt in the summer heat (as long as they have a source of water) Mini carnations are the perfect size for corsages and boutonnieres. One bloom with a bud is the ideal body flower when combined with a touch of foliage and perhaps a filler flower such as baby's breath.

1. Daisies and Poms

Often neglected out of weddings, I cannot imagine why. Poms are pretty, long lasting and come in many types and forms. Daisies and poms are available in white, cream, yellow, orange, pink, purple, lavender, orange and rust. They come in 3 varieties appropriate for weddings: button poms are like little flat balls atop a stem, flat poms look as the name implies and daisies which need no introduction. If you like the wildflower look, combine daisies with other types of forms in bouquet holders with greens and foliage. If you prefer a classier look, focus on flat and button mums. The bridesmaids could carry a round bouquet in a bouquet holder featuring poms, foliage and fillers while the bride could carry a cascading or round bouquet with poms, roses, foliage and fillers. The groom, groomsmen and parents could be wearing body flowers featuring similar types of mums, daisies, foliage and fillers. Be fore warned though that if some petals are pulled out of the main head of the flower, they will fall apart. Ultimately, daisies and poms will offer the best value and elegance for the lowest cost.

Lovely Leuco's

Lovely Leuco's

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Leaucadendrons are one of the most popular flowers in the florist trade.  They are incredibly long lasting, they are available all year round, and come in a range of colours.  They look equally happy amongst natives, or more traditional flowers.  And yet, many people, although they would recognise them, wouldn't have heard of them.  We grow lots of varieties of Leucadendrons at the Swallows Nest.  

At the moment, most of the Leuco's (as we call them) are rich red.  We have three main varieties of red Leucos, all with slightly different properties.  This one, called Safari Sunset is the most popular Leucadendron grown worldwide.  It is a rich deep red, has long strait stems up to 1 mt, and is sturdy.  It has a medium sized flower head.  

If you weren't familiar with Leucadendrons before, I'm sure you'll recognise them if you look for them, peeping out from a bouquet at a florist or sold in lovely large bunches at flower markets.  

Wedding Flowers Centerpieces - 6 Hints and Ideas For Every Season

Wedding Flowers Centerpieces - 6 Hints and Ideas For Every Season

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There are many options to choose from for centerpieces, however wedding flowers centerpieces are probably the most popular. There are many great flower choices regardless of the season of your wedding.

To get you started, listed below are 6 hints to consider when thinking about flower centerpieces.

Set a budget for your wedding flowers centerpieces. Flowers can be very expensive, so have an idea of how much you will be able to spend. This is one area a good Florist or wedding planner can help. Tell her or him what you are looking for and what your budget is, and they will be able to give you ideas to work with.

Choose flowers that are in season to help keep you within your budget. Having off season flowers imported will definitely cost more and possibly be a hassle. Where you live might also determine what flowers are available at different times of the year.

If you are having a destination wedding, choose flowers that are native to that location. Take advantage of what is available locally. Most larger resorts have wedding planners or Florists onsite to help with the selection and set up of your centerpieces.

Look for unique containers or vases to make your centerpieces unique. This can help to take a boring centerpiece and make it memorable. For example, instead of plain old clear glass vases, choose vases that are a different color or have designs in them.

If your budget is really tight, consider silk flowers. Good ones look very real, and your guests might not even know the difference. Check craft stores for do it yourself supplies. There are also professional designers that specialize in silk flowers.

Match your flowers with your wedding theme. This can be a color combination, a season like Fall or just about anything. Your theme can run through all of your table decorations including flower colors and containers.

To help with the selection and coordination of your wedding flowers centerpieces, you should consider working with a Florist. It is definitely possible to do them yourself, however Florists have access to the freshest varieties of flowers and they can give you valuable ideas.

As mentioned previously choosing flowers in season can help to keep you in budget, and they are also easier to find in season. Listed below are the most popular wedding flowers for each season.

Spring

There are many flowers to choose from for Spring including cherry blossom, daffodil, dogwood, hyacinth, sweet pea and tulips. Match up the vibrant colors of the season with your flowers to create eye-catching centerpieces.

Summer

Hot Summer options include dahlia, daisy, gladiolus, snapdragon, violet and zinnia. This is the perfect season for a daisy theme wedding or a combination of the colorful flowers of this season.

Fall

Popular choices for Fall include sunflowers, chrysanthemum, and hydrangea. Try sticking to deep reds, gold and other colors of the season.

Accent your flowers with leaves, pumpkins or apples to finish off your wedding flowers centerpieces.

Winter

Amaryllis, evergreen, poinsettia and roses are great choices for Winter. Evergreens can be decorated if you are having a holiday wedding, and you can never go wrong with roses especially around Valentine's Day.

Wedding Flowers by the Month

Wedding Flowers by the Month

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If you are the type of person who wants to include layers of meaning and symbolism in your wedding flowers instead of just picking whatever looks good, then consider choosing your wedding flowers by month. Just as each month is associated with a gem stone, each month has its own type of flower as well. You could use the flowers for the month of your ceremony, the bride and/or groom’s birth month, or the month in which you met or got engaged. Do you need extra cash for your own ideas? You can apply cash loans for the best solution. Read more information at pacificadvance.com, that will help you to get more cash on your pocket.

January

January's flower is the carnation. Carnations are traditional flowers that come in all sorts of colors: pink, white, red, yellow, orange, and green. They can be a single solid color, tinted with two colors, or edged with a "frosted" look. Carnations are inexpensive flowers that are easily available year-round.$3C/div>

February

February's flower is the violet. Traditionally, violets are purple, but other varieties of violets can be pink or white. The violet blossom has a distinctively feminine shape that makes it immediately recognizable from other types of wedding flowers.

March

March's flower is the daffodil. The sunny yellow color of daffodils and the prominent trumpet-shaped bloom make this flower a springtime favorite. They are in bloom from the late fall to the spring months.

April

April's flower is the daisy. Daisies are a very versatile flower, with a yellow center and petals ranging from the traditional white to a very striking magenta color. Daisies are inexpensive and available year-round.

May

May's flower is the lily of the valley. Lilies of the valley make great "filler" for wedding bouquets because of their delicate bell-shaped blooms on a slender stem. Traditionally they come in white, but pink varieties are also bred as well.

June

June's flower is the rose. Roses are a mainstay for weddings, mainly because of their reputation as the most romantic flower. They are avahlable all year round, have a lovely fragrance, and come in almost any color imaginable from white to purple. Each color of rose has a well-known meaning, such as red for love, yellow for friendship, and white for innocence.

July

July's flower is the water lily. Water lilies are known for their tessellating pattern of triangular petals. The blossoms are usually white, but they can also be red, lavender, pink, or purple. Water lilies look stunning as part of a wedding bouquet or floating in a glass bowl of water as a table centerpiece.

August

August's flower is the gladiolus. They aren't often seen in wedding bouquets, making them a unique and unconventional choice. Their thin, silky blossoms on a thick stem are generally fringed or ruffled. They can be white, pink, orange yellow, purple, or a combination of two colors. They are very fragrant flowers and are sometimes known for allergic reactions - so choose with caution!

September

September's flower is the aster. Asters look quite similar to daisies (but with a stronger, more defined petal structure) and are usually used in wedding bouquets in combination with other types of flowers. They are grown in season from summer through the fall, and have a fragrant bloom. They can be white, pink, orange, yellow, red, or purple.

October

October's flower is the cosmos, which comes from a Latin word meaning "beautiful." The dainty flowers are available from summer to fall, are very fragrant, and preserve well when dried.

November

November's flower is the chrysanthemum, or just "mum" for short. They are grown year-round and are close relatives of the daisy. The big blooms with dozens of individual oval-shaped petals look rich and luxurious, especially when part of a large bridal bouquet or wedding floral arrangement.

December

December's flowers are narcissus. Narcissus look similar to daffodils and are in bloom from fall to spring. Sometimes they are called "jonquils." Alternately, holly flowers can also be used in wedding bouquets to symbolize December. Their pointy red blooms are very distinctive and affordable during the Christmas season.

This symbolism can help brides make a decision about the type of wedding flowers they want to use in their bridal bouquets, brides maid bouquet, wedding table decorations, and the overall wedding décor. When selecting a type of wedding flower, just make sure to check out all the available hues of a flower - the same blossom can look drastically different in one color versus another.

Find a good professional wedding florist to help you along the way in selecting flower, or find a friend or family member that knows flowers and share this article with them for ideas, if you are a DIY Wedding type.