What Flowers do I Need For My Wedding?

Photograph by the very talented Sarah Glynn Photography

Often when we chat with our brides, we mention floral items and they comment with “We hadn’t thought of that!”

So you have a bit of a heads up of the most common types of floral arrangements you might want to consider having for your wedding -

Bridal party flowers

Bridal Bouquet - how big would you like it to be? what shape?

Bridesmaids bouquets - what colour dresses are they wearing?

Flower girl flowers - are they having a smaller version of the bridesmaids bouquets, or maybe something different like a flower wand?

Do you want hair flowers - combs (worn at the back or the side of the head), crowns or loose stems for your hair dresser to cut up and use as they wish?

Buttonholes - how many men are you requiring them for - Groom, Bestman, Ushers, Dads, Grandads, Brothers? Does the Groom want his to be the same as the others or slightly larger?

Are any of these for children? - if so we can make them on a special safety pin.

Corsages - these are the ladies version of a buttonhole and can be made to be worn on an outfit (these we create on a magnet fastening, do let us know if anyone has a Pacemaker fitted as we can’t then use them) as a wrist corsage on a pearl bracelet, or we can make them to be attached to their handbag. These are usually for the Mums, Grandma’s or Sisters.

Ceremony flowers

Flowers along the aisle- if so how many rows of pews or chairs will there be? do you want flowers on the ends of every row or every other?

Altar/ceremony table - how big?

Pedestals - either side of the Altar, at the back of Church, either side of the entrance?

Arch - Moon arch, broken arch or fixed to existing venue fittings.

Font - is it in a prominent position? Would some flowers make it pop?

Lych-gate - garland along the top and or bunches tied to the gates?

Many of the above can possibly be reused at the reception afterwards. This is always something we discuss with you as it is a great way to make your budget stretch, especially if you are having your ceremony and reception in the same venue. We definitely encourage you to get the most you can out of your flowers.

Reception Flowers

Table flowers - How many tables will there be? what style of arrangement might you like? Are they long tables or round? Will you need space for platters of food?

Top table - How many guests are sitting on it? How long will it be? Is it straight or oval? Are you looking for a single arrangement, a cluster of floral pieces or garlanding?

Cake flowers - Would you like fresh flowers on your cake, or to decorate around the base?

Welcome board / Seating plan - Could they do with a touch of floral magic?

Gift / Card table - Does it need a vase or two of flowers?

Window sills / empty spaces / ugly spaces that need hiding - Are there any bare spaces that maybe need a floral touch?

Bar tables - do they need a touch of colour, maybe a couple of flowers in a bottle? If so how many tables will their be?

Other places - We suggest browsing the social media of your venue, there will be tons of pictures of previous weddings and you might just spot somewhere another couple has had flowers and love it! It’s a great way to get inspiration for your own wedding.

Others

Thank you bouquets - Usually for the Mums, but perhaps your best friend has helped you with all the planning, or it’s a guests birthday and you want to acknowledge it?

Extra buttonholes - Sometimes if you haven’t got a huge guest list maybe you want to provide every guest with a buttonhole? If so do you want them to match the main buttonholes or have something a little simpler?