Wedding Flowers: Everything You Need To Know

Tori

5 years ago

Your wedding flowers can be a huge part of your big day. They help set the vibe, colour scheme & can play a large part in your decor. Where on earth do you start? How does it all work? Fear not! We’ve gathered some top tips and advice from our florist Unconventionals to bring you everything you need to know. From how to choose your wedding florist to how it all works on the day, we got you! Read on for flowery goodness!

Feature photo by By Vicki Photography | Flowers by Funky Flowers | From blog ‘Colourful Bohemian Wedding‘

how to rock your wedding flowers

where to start?

No more wedding overwhelm!

What do i need flowers for?

From bouquets to archways, there may be more than you think!

lets talk style

How do you decide on types of flowers & colours?

stand out from the crowd

How to make your wedding flowers feel like 'you'.

on the day

How it will all pull together on your wedding day.

alternative bouquets & dried flowers

Looking for something outside the box? You'll love this bit.

Where Do You Start With Your Wedding Flowers?

With a Pinterest board full of inspiration and a head full of wedding overwhelm, it can be hard to know where to start with your wedding flowers!

Here are some words of wisdom from Sophie of Big Day Blooms & Cakes:

Make a budget!

Think about what the most important floral features are for you to get from this budget so you can stay focused.

Your wedding Venue

I would advise you never to make any substantial decisions about your wedding flowers until you have settled on your venue. It will have a strong bearing on what looks good, the volume of flowers you need, and the style of your day in general. This will also dictate what is and is not possible.

Gather

When you have an idea of your venue, and some feel for the vibe, start creating an informal collection of images. Not too many, a handful of things that really feel like ‘you’.

Don’t panic!

Finally, don’t panic. A florist is there to help in every way. Just like I could not go to a builder and tell them exactly what materials to use when making my new house, no florist expects a bride to come fully armed with a precise list of what they want on their big day. A rough idea, or even one inspirational picture is enough to start with!

What do i need wedding flowers for?

Organising your wedding flowers can be a bigger job than expected! Here is a list of things you may want flowers for:

Wedding bouquet
Table & venue decor
Ceremony archway
Hair accessories
Flower Crowns
Buttonholes
Bridesmaids bouquets
Flower wall photo backdrop
Petals for confetti
Table Plan

As always, these are ideas not necessities! You do you. There really are no right or wrongs here.

How Do I Decide On The Colours & Types Of Flowers?

Get groovin’ with those mood boards! You’ll need to think about a few different factors here. Do you have a colour scheme? What season is the wedding? What ‘vibe’ are you going for? A great wedding florist will be able to help pull your vision together.

TOP TIP: embrace your own style

Floristry is just like any other creative process; everyone has their own style and things that they love doing. Have a look at the wedding florists near you and see what kind of style you like. Is it formal, boho, scattered with diamante, natural or something else? When you find someone whose work you love, contact them and book a wedding consultation. If you know you can’t afford them or they are already fully booked ask them for a recommendation for someone who works in a similar style.

Fran Limewood Flowers

TOP TIP: Let the flowers do the talking

I try and let the cacti, succulents and airplants do the talking. The greens and purples you mostly get means they can go with pretty much any colour palette. I like to use lots of unusual and wild foliage to help the main plants pop! If I do use flowers along with the plants I always try to use the more unique to match like protea or brassica.

Chloe The Copper Cacti

How Do I Make My Wedding Flowers Stand Out From The Crowd?

We’ve all seen sooooo many wedding flowers. How do you make yours a little different? Our best advice is to focus on being ‘you’ instead of trying too hard to be different. When you follow your heart, your individual wedding look falls into place.

Here are some tips from Big Day Blooms & Bakes:

Ask your florist for a mix of blooms designed specifically with your brief and you in mind. Not pushing for a replica of the flowers you saw in a magazine will mean the flowers are more individual to your big day.

Do not be afraid to mix it up. Mix dried and fresh flowers for textural exuberance. Add pom-poms for a festival vibe or hide a caricature of your favourite mythical creature throughout all your floral arrangements.

One brave but funky way to make your flowers really stand out is to purposefully clash them in an oh so stylish way with the venue. Nothing will speak to your guest’s imagination like the allure of an industrial concrete wall bought completely to life by plumes of cloud-like Baby’s Breath. Or even rainbow-bright flowers in an earthy woodland wedding!

You can really express individuality in the way you display your flowers – think outside the box and follow your heart!

TOP TIP: Stand out from the crowd

Using succulents, cacti and airplants always makes people do a double take… they are so underrated as statement pieces in floral bouquets, but the beauty of them is their sustainability (they will continue to grow once removed and planted into soil) which keeps the memories with you at all times too!

Chloe The Copper Cacti

How does it work on my wedding day?

All wedding florists will work differently, and this will depend on how many flowers you’re having and your setup requirements. You will likely create a pre-planned system so everything is where it needs to be on the big day. You may need to think about where your button holes might need to be delivered, wether your hair stylist needs fresh flowers, and what you need to do to prep the venue. Perhaps you have a wedding planner who will take care of this. Communication is everything here! Your florist should have this all under control and will have done this hundreds of times. Trust them!

finding your dream wedding florist

Making sure your wedding florist ‘gets you’ is a pretty big deal. You could potentially be spending a lot of time and money with this person, so make sure it feels right! Also, make sure your florist is actually suited to the style you’re after!

Here’s Chloe from the Copper Cacti’s advice:

“I always believe that finding a florist that gets your vision, personality and style is so important. Also, a florist who is EXCITED for your special day!!!! If they aren’t excited about doing your florals then will they put as much into it? Will there be that creative passion?”

Here’s Fran from Limewood Flowers‘ advice:

Ok, so you are not likely to become best friends with your wedding florist but you will be talking to them in the lead up to your wedding and they will be there on the day to set up the flowers. You want this to be a nice experience! So, when you chat to them or pop into the shop, do you feel welcome? Do you feel that this is someone you can trust with (most probably) the most expensive flowers of your life? Do you feel they care about you and your big day? If you work with a small, independent studio florist you are most likely to get this experience. Just as importantly, you want to be able to look back at the time you spent wedding planning with happy memories not stressful ones.

TOP TIP: Principles

What are your principles? Do you care about the environment and want your bouquets locally grown and wrapped in recyclable paper? Or are you vegan so any silk ribbons would need to be swapped out for bamboo ones (equally beautiful, don’t worry). Does your florist support local charities or do other things that shows they care about where they live and their community? Thinking about what matters to you can help when it comes to choosing a wedding florist.

Fran Limewood Flowers

Want to find out more about Alternative Wedding Bouquets?

Maybe you’re looking for something a little different to show your personality on your wedding day. Did you know you can have wedding bouquets made from all types of material, from buttons and felt to paper and Swarovski crystal?

You’re going to love our other bouquets blog: Choosing Your Alternative Wedding Bouquet. Take a look and let us know your thoughts in our Facebook Chat Room!