According to the flower and décor section of Brides, there are some sought after wedding table centerpieces for this fall. The more exotic they are the better. One of the big trends is towards succulents. Succulents are usually musky green and dark violet in color which gives them quite a romantic feel. A good combination is aloe vera, echeveria, arristata and burro tail set on a bed of gray or silver river rocks. This fits in with a gray or silver wedding which is a hot theme for fall.
Photos by elroySF and Chris Gin
If you want to have a lot of fun and also design your own wedding bouquet at the same time then Links 2 Love has a fantastic page on its site that allows you to take different buds and organize them into a bouquet on your own. The reason this is so valuable is that it helps you get the creative juices flowing and design a wedding bouquet that is truly your own.
Basically once you go to the Build Your Bouquet part of the site you can move the flower heads around as if they were refrigerator magnets. What is really nice is that this site has also not just given you the usual baby’s breath and pink roses to play around with on here. There are also green fiddleheads, brambles with black berries, crimson miniature orchids and the very latest in designer wedding bouquet greenery. After you are done designing your bouquet you can save the image and take it to your florist to replicate in real life so you can carry it down the aisle.
Tuberoses are becoming popular again in bridal bouquets. We haven’t really heard much about this strong smelling flower since the seventies when they were all the rage. Tuberose is a sweet scent and very heavy. It is reminiscent of roses but much muskier and sweeter.
The flowers themselves are very attractive and look like elongated white, pink or red trumpets. They are considered an exotic tropical flower as they are mainly grown in Hawaii. In fact they are cultivated there for wedding celebrations and bouquets.
According to an article on Nutricraze, the ancient tradition for a Hawaiian wedding is for the bride and groom to wear flowers. The groom wears a maile lei, which is a native Kauai plant, while the bride wears a wreath of tuberose and pikaki flowers around her head called a haku. If you are having a Tiki style wedding on the beach complete with hanging lanterns and cocunuts then having the bride and groom wear tuberoses is the perfect idea.
Photo by faeparsons
Want to make sure that your flower displays stay fresh for your wedding day? According to flower delivery service online the main cause of deterioration in flowers vases is bacteria. This is why it is so important to clean out your vases and not leave flower deitretus from the last flower arrangement in the vase. You should also make sure the water is pure.
It is also crucial to replace your water after two to three days. If any stems are under water cut them off to prevent spreading bacteria. If your florist is in the know they will also give you floral food to help kill germs and dirt. Buying quality flowers from a reputable florist in the first place also prevents decay. Make sure that the florist tells you exactly what you need to do to take care of the bouquet as well. When you order flowers, they should . The flower bud will usually be closed or half opened to give the flower it’s maximum life span.
If you are going to wear a veil consider wearing a tiara made from flowers rather than one made from pearls or rhinestones. Tiny flowers look exceptionally nice braided across the crown of the head. You also don’t need to wear a veil to wear this type of headpiece which is constructed out of natural flowers. Think about what notorious “flower child” Drew Barrymore would wear in her hair, and you will get the idea.
There are excellent traditional examples of how tiny flowers like lavender and baby’s breath look in a bride’s hair at U.K. Hairdressers. The flowers which can be real or silk can be woven into a bun at the back of head or fastened at the top of the head like a pony tail barret. It is also common to position the twining of flowers like you would a regular hat or crown. It all depends on what looks best on the bride.
Some brides prefer to wear one large flower in their hair such as a single large lily but the hair must be very sleek and well groomed for this look to succeed. You don’t want a giant bloom upstaging your smile at your wedding!
Photo by aliwest44
If you want you could refer to Dahlias as the Poor Man’s Lotus. They are also considered ot be one of the top ten summer flowers at Teleflora. The dahlia is very symmetrical. It almost looks fake as its so nicely folds out into many multiple petals. In fact just one flower can have up to 300 petals. They also come in fifteen recognized colors including white, yellow and a gorgeous bright fuschia.
For a wedding bouquet you could feature a crowd of smaller dahlias that measure about two inches in diameter but if you wanted to be really sixties or seventies in flair you could consider carrying just one giant bloom. The biggest of dahlias can be as large as 18 inches across! If you are carrying smaller blooms then you might want to be minimalist in mixing them with other flowers. Dahlias look good with roses. They are also a heavier looking more velvety look flower and look good with wintery outfits. The name Dalhia comes from Anders Dahl – the Swedish botanist who discovered the flower in the first place.
When you get married it is nice to choose flowers for your wedding bouquet that have some symbolism.
According to a flower symbolism dictionary Living Arts Originals, the symbolism of
Baby’s Breath – a flower found in many wedding bouquets – is purity innocence and the Holy Spirit.
Daisies – a symbol of loyalty, purity and innocence.
Globe Amaranth – Unfading love
Ivy- Fidelty, friendship and undyig love
Magnolia – Nobility, perseverance and love of nature
Orchids – These symbolize love, femanine beauty and having many children.
Pansy – The flower means, “to occupy my thoughts”
Rose – Red roses are passion, fidelity and love. Pink roses are a more innocent love. White ones symbolize purity. Blue roses indicate sophistication.
Snapdragon – This symbolizes graciousness and strength.
Sunflowers – These mean love and adoration.
Sweet Pea -These symbolize bliss, sex and love. However in some cultures this flower means “goodbye.”
Tulips – These symbolize fame and a perfect love.
Violets – Modesty, virtue and vigilance.
Wisteria – Welcome, playful energies.
Zinnias – Goodness, fondness of friends and daily worship of a higher power.
That shabby chic thing just not going to go away. It is supposed to be out of style, but many brides are adoring that vintage flea market look. This according to Special Events which claims that “the more rust the better” when it comes to antique style weddings. This includes the flowers.
The vintage flower bouquet is never perfect. It always looks best with a few torn petals in the bouquet. There should also be a few petals dropping off of the flowers. The more the flower looks like a big cabbage with a lot of leaves the more vintage it looks.
When thinking about a rustic bouquet for your wedding think of pastel colors like lavender, pale pinks and flesh tones. It is also good to think about flower breeds such as double or triple petaled tulips, peonies and cabbage roses. In fact putting an actual cabbage in the bouquet might bring you luck. The more blossoms in the bouquet the better as well. Make sure there are big and small ribbons, Lilly of the Valley, Ivy and Baby’s Breath as all of these things are reminiscent of that era.
BOUQUETS
Denver, Lakewood and
Beaver Creek, COLORADO
303-333-5500
How about not taking any flowers from the earth at all? How about just walking down the aisle carrying a cake that looks like flowers? You would look a bit like Betty Crocker getting married (especially if you were wearing an apron) but at least the cake is ecologically stable. You are not harming the environment and you can eat the cake afterwards. You can eat the flowers too. In an article about cakes that look like flower bouquets in The Independent, there is a comment made that fresh food can make the most beautiful bouquet. In this scenario they are talking about blossoms that actually can be eaten. A really glamorous looking cake can serve as the base for this type of flower arrangement. In fact a really interesting idea for any wedding might be to stick flower blossoms into a layer of cake so that they stand up. You don’t even have to ice the cake. The brown cake without the icing is realistic enough to look like dirt.
Not all wedding centerpieces have to be formal or fussy. In fact, floral arrangements that are a little more casual in flair seem to be more in vogue than ever. Many florists are now thinking up cuter ways to serve up flowers at weddings.
For instance, flowers can be floated in water and the glass vase decorated in one way or another. An ecologically correct bride can have elegant blooms like calla lilies or gardenias served up in antique bottles made of old glass at each table. Fruit can serve as the base of a centerpiece with the blooms radiating outwards. It is also very hip to serve up sophisticated blossoms like callas in things like old tin cans. This is a form of eco chic.
You can see great examples of this kind of thing at Loop Flowers. They have nice examples of bouqets that are presented in recycled objects as well as examples of clever hanging baskets. They also once made a wedding centerpiece by filling an old red children’s wagon with the bride’s favorite blooms.
Loop Flowers
715 Bryant Street, Suite 101
San Francisco, CA
415.221.2706
