A good wedding florist will look at your choice of wedding dress and discuss the style of wedding and the look you want to achieve before suggesting a suitable style of bridal bouquet for you as well as smaller bouquets for the bridesmaids, and buttonholes or corsages for the rest of the bridal party. If you are having a traditional tear-shaped bouquet the florist will wire the flowers before putting them into the bouquet, a skill that requires time and patience. For a modern bridal posy the flowers can simply be tied with a thick band of coordinating ribbon.
Most brides choose fresh flowers, but there are some excellent, if expensive, artificial flowers which could be used for key items that you might want to keep after the wedding such as the bride’s bouquet and the bride’s mother’s corsage. Alternatively arrange to have your bouquet preserved after the wedding; specialist companies will collect your bouquet straight after the wedding, photograph it, dismantle it and dry out each bloom to preserve its colour and shape, before using the photos to put it carefully back together in a 3D frame.
The cost of flowers for a wedding is underestimated by most couples. The brides bouquet alone will typically cost between £100-£250 and an overall budget of £800 - £1500 is normal. Choosing flowers naturally in season ensures that they are at their best and at their least expensive, although virtually flower can be grown in a greenhouse, and is available all year round in almost any colour, if cost is not a concern.
If your budget isn’t huge, careful use of dramatic vases and greenery by a good florist can make a few flowers go a long way and the usual advice is to choose a few really dramatic flowers rather than more cheaper ones. It is customary to use the same florist for everything from the bouquets to the reception flowers, and even flowers for the wedding cake, so that everything matches or coordinates. Your florist should supply you with a flower checklist to ensure that you have thought of, and ordered, all the flowers you will need.
There are various customs relating to the choice of flowers used in your bouquet, with the tradition of the bridal bouquet originally starting in ancient times when a bag of strong smelling herbs was carried to ward off the evil spirits. However most brides simply choose flowers based on their colour scheme and the style and shape of the bouquet, with white lilies and ivory roses remaining a firm favourite.
The bride’s family traditionally pays for almost everything relating to the wedding, however there is an exception when it comes to flowers. The bride’s family is still responsible for the cost of the flowers for the church, ceremony and reception, such as table decorations, pew ends and pedestals, but according to custom the groom should pay for all the bouquets, buttonholes and any thank you bouquets for the mother of the bride and the groom.
