Style, budget, color palette, venue, season... There's a lot that comes into play when choosing fresh flowers for your wedding.
Whatever style wedding you choose, you'll want your flowers to enhance your overall theme. That’s where working with one of Alexandria’s many local floral designers will help you create the wedding of your dreams.
Conklyn’s Florist suggests taking one of the latest wedding trends — a floral backdrop made with either hanging flowers or a flower wall — to create some Instagram-worthy memories. You can thank celebrities, including Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, for pushing that trend forward.
Once you've decided on a style, your most important (and most photographed) floral arrangement for your wedding will be the bouquet.
There are at least seven popular styles, according to Grace Ormonde Wedding Style:
Cascade: Gives a "waterfall" effect and features lots of trailing vines and greenery.
Posy: Usually a rounded shape, tied with ribbon.
Hand-Tied: A rustic feel as if freshly picked from a wildflower forest.
Round: Formal looking and usually monochromatic; often featuring roses or peonies.
Nosegay: Small and compact, accompanied by greenery.
Pomander: Round spheres of flowers hanging on a ribbon.
Composite: Composed of individual petals, this is for the bride looking to add some drama to her wedding style.
If you’re not sure what flowers to choose, the annual International Floral Distributors Flower Trends Forecast, which tracks consumer preferences for flowers and consumer buying patterns, said these flowers are on trend right now: Peonies, Garden Roses, Ranunculus, Dahlias, Butterfly Ranunculus, Spray Roses, Chrysanthemum Disbuds, Tender Vines, Hydrangea and Tillandsia.
Flower forecast experts Derek Woodruff and Helen Miller say the flower trend that will be most prevalent for weddings this year will be what they call "Black Tie + Barefoot."
The style features “moody-colored flowers and soft, feminine textures. The look is created using muted and muddy color flowers combined with lacy and airy foliage unexpectedly paired with dried flowers and tender vines. The color palette will be grayed tones of pink, lavender, blue and green with a heather-ish pink being the most prevalent. Roses, peonies, dahlias and a host of flowing vines will be most popular for creating Black Tie + Barefoot décor."
Don’t forget the groom, best man and groomsmen. If you’re looking for something unique, Alexandria’s Helen Olivia Flowers suggests a favorite wedding trend: Custom boutonnieres made up of a mix of thistle, guinea feathers, lavender and leather cording.
