Fresh Flower Bouquet

There is a wealth of tradition to help guide the bride and groom in selecting flowers for their big day, but there is also a new-found freedom in saying "anything goes." Wedding flowers set the tone and mood of the wedding before the guests see the bride, and with today's frequent straying from traditional marriages, this indicator is more needed than ever.If you are going for an air of tradition to your wedding, a white-flower bridal bouquet with green ferns is your best choice. Flowers such as roses are conventional favorites, and add the elegance and sophistication that you are looking for.

Still, many brides are searching for a way to update their wedding. These contemporary-minded brides choose unusual flowers and decorate in unique ways. Sometimes they carry loose flowers instead of wired bouquets, and flowers are known to show up decorating such items as water goblets or the cake knife. If you're looking for fun and something different, explore flower books for less common flowers to find ones you like.

In general, bridesmaids' bouquets should be smaller than the bridal bouquet, and should include the wedding colors as well as others for accent. The groomsmen's boutonnieres should reflect elements of the bridesmaids' bouquets, and the groom's boutonniere should be made up of the same flowers as the bride's bouquet. Mothers and grandmothers receive corsages, and fathers and grandfathers boutonnieres. Flowers also make lovely gifts for the officiant, scripture reader, guest book attendant, and other participants in your wedding. 



Bouquet Basics      Flowers have been an integral part of weddings for almost as long as the ceremonies have occurred. If you don’t know much about flowers, don’t worry; we will guide you—and you’ll learn a lot in the process. But 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, color, 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 when we meet for floral selections.


Complementing  the Bride’s Look    A bouquet should complement your personality, proportions, and attire, remaining in the general 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.

Provide us with a photo of the dress and, if possible, a swatch of fabric—which is particularly useful when it comes to choosing the ribbon trim. If the gown’s bodice is embellished with elaborate beadwork or lace, a pared-down, possibly monochromatic, bouquet will 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 would also be striking.


Color   To choose the right color combination for a bouquet, consider your own taste, but also the time of day, the season, and the atmosphere of your location. For a late-summer garden wedding, crimson poppies or an armful of sunflowers in rich sunset shades would be appropriate, whereas at night during the winter holidays, a pomander of garnet roses and pink pepperberries would look festive and luxurious. An environment with spare decorations is an ideal setting for an elegant bundle of tulips or calla lilies with their emerald-green stems exposed.


Coordinating  With Other Elements    Your bouquet’s composition, colors, and shape will set the tone for all the other floral arrangements in the wedding. Whether you select a monochromatic palette, choose the same flower in a range of colors, or mix and match, your bouquet should contain elements that can be developed into motifs. Among the mauve roses of your bouquet, for instance, tuck two yellow ranunculuses that match the pocket posies of the ring bearers. Or create a halo of miniature fall foliage around a red nosegay to echo the garlands on the tent.


Bridesmaids’ Bouquets  The bridesmaids’ arrangements may pick up a flower or color 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, make a statement with the bridesmaids’ flowers. When shopping for bridesmaids’ dresses, take along flowers you are considering. Purple irises, for instance, may inspire a lavender or pale-gray dress. If you don’t have a flower in mind or your choice is not in season, it’s safest to pick a sleek black or pastel dress to serve as a neutral background for any bright bundle.


The Toss Bouquet .  Since most brides opt to keep/preserve their bouquet, we always offer a "toss bouquet"—a small, inexpensive posy made to be thrown over the shoulder to guests.


The Cake  We bake, decorate and serve your cake. We have several styles to choose from; being stacked; with columns; or satellite.  We normally decorate the cake to mimic the bride's dress and bouquet, but we are not limited to that.  I suggest looking at bridal magazines for ideas.  When we get together to discuss details, please bring photos of the cake designs you have in mind. 

Three tiered cake with fresh red roses

Three tiered cake with fresh flowers, lacy icing and columns

Four tiered satellite cake

Four tiered cake with fresh flowers

Three tiered satellite cake with beige ribbon