Wedding tips

Flowers have been an integral part of weddings for almost as long as the ceremonies themselves. If you don’t know much about flowers, don’t worry - Wild Fleur will guide you. With so many flowers and so many styles, it helps to do a little research first.

When you see a bouquet that appeals to you, ask yourself what you like about it. Is it the size, shape, colour, style, the way the ribbon is wrapped around the stems? Is the bouquet composed of one kind of flower or a garden’s worth? Visit florists or a flower market to see and smell as many varieties as you can; you can also clip photos out of magazines to show us.

A bouquet should complement your personality, proportions and attire, whilst remaining in keeping with the overall aesthetic theme of the day. Tradition and practicality dictate that smaller brides carry a smaller bouquet, while a lush, large bouquet or a dramatic cascade is left to a taller bride. Please bear in mind that cascade or spray bouquets can sometimes be more heavy than other types of arrangement and they are more delicate due to the intricate wiring detail involved.

Provide us at Wild Fleur with a photo of the dress and, if possible, a swatch of fabric which is particularly useful when it comes to choosing the ribbon trims. If the gown’s bodice is embellished with elaborate beadwork or lace, a pared-down, possibly monochromatic bouquet will perhaps look best. A relatively unadorned bodice provides a neutral background for a more complex arrangement of flowers, though a bouquet as tailored and clean as the dress itself would also be striking.

To choose the right colour combination for a bouquet consider your own taste, the time of day, the season (some flowers are only available for short periods e.g. peonies) and the atmosphere of your location. For a summer wedding masses of vibrant garden roses, sweet peas or peonies look classic, timeless and gorgeous. Alternatively, cool white summer hydrangea’s wrapped in tulle can look beautifully elegant. A winter wedding lends itself well to rich, velvety reds and berry fruits which look luxurious, inviting and sumptuous. A contemporary environment could suit an exquisitly simple arrangement of white calla lillies in a crushed ice effect.

The bridesmaids’ arrangements may pick up a flower or colour from the bride’s or echo its shape; the smaller bouquets should relate to each other, but they don’t have to be a matched set. If you prefer to carry a white bouquet, perhaps consider making a statement with the bridesmaids’ flowers. When shopping for bridesmaids’ dresses, take along flowers you have in mind. Purple irises, for instance, may inspire a lavender or pale-grey dress. If you don’t have a flower in mind or your choice is not in season, it’s safest to pick a sleek dark toned or pastel dress to serve as a neutral background for any bright arrangement.

It’s easy to lose track of the bridal bouquet after it’s tossed. If you want to save it, have us look at making you a “toss bouquet” - a smaller, inexpensive posy designed specifically to be thrown over the shoulder to guests.

It may seem trivial to mention, but it is important that you consider how comfortable you will be holding certain types of bouquet on the day.

In particular, a spray bouquet looks best in photographs when held horizontally at a slight ascending angle in contrast to it hanging verticaly straight down. It is advisable you mention this to your photographer prior to your wedding to ensure he/she reminds and guides you on the day - with so much happening this can be easily overlooked and your pictures may not end up as good as you would have liked them to be.

Please also request that your photographer spends at least a little time focusing on shots of all your flowers and not just soley on the bouquet. If you particularly want a good pictorial reminder of the flowers on the day then please nudge your photographer on this since it is through our experience that this sometimes doesn’t happen.