(For more information on selecting flowers for your wedding, visit the PWC Flowers Page!)

Picking Your Wedding Flowers (August, 2007)

One of the greatest and favorite ways to adorn your wedding and reception, creating your tone and theme, is through flowers. And no one understands that better than PrescottWeddings.com, ready to help you choose the florist that’s right for you with the loveliest of bouquets and centerpieces.

Floral trends have color exploding. Consider having sunny-yellow orchids, deep-purple peonies, magenta dahlias and pairing of bright-red and fuchsia roses. In creating the Bride’s bouquet, add charm and sentimental meaning by weaving in vintage buttons, beading and crystals from your mother or grandmother’s wedding dress. And, for the reception, don’t limit yourself to just one centerpiece for each table. Instead, place individual flowers at every plate setting, or running small groupings of flowers down the length of a long table.

There are various ways to get inspired. Look at the reception area. If it’s elegant, you might want to have roses embellished with crystals or enhanced with jewel toned peacock feathers. What is the season of the year? A fall wedding is abundant with oranges and red flowers, such as chrysanthemums, whereas pink peonies and bright-green beargrass can herald spring.

Don’t go wild on your color palette. Choose two colors that you love and use them throughout the décor for an elegant look. Or select one single color with multiple variations in hue for a sleek, sophisticated style. And here’s a tip you might not know. The less variation in color, the more abundant the blooms will appear. Unusual or vibrant color combinations have the same results.

In selecting your florist to help pull it all together, start with asking your recently married friends who they used or could recommend. Or, ask the coordinator at the facility you’re having your wedding at who they have worked with in the past.

Once you’ve decided on your florist, make an appointment to discuss your needs and wants. Bring pictures you’ve clipped out from magazines so that you can discuss options, a photo of your wedding dress (gowns can easily establish the tone of an event), and a material swatch from your bridesmaids dresses so their bouquets will match or compliment the color.

A good florist will come up with innovative ideas to reflect your theme or location. For a country wedding, s/he might suggest arranging flowers in antique watering cans, or wrapping white rope around vases for a nautical, seaside look.

Always be honest about your budget as some flowers are more expensive than others, especially if they’re out of season or grown in a hot house. Your florist should be able to give you different alternatives that stay within the means of your pocketbook. Your floral contract should be itemized down to the last corsage, and should not only specifically include when and where the flowers will arrive, but also who will set them up.

Popular Bouquets

The Secret Messages of Flowers (July, 2006)

Many flowers have their own hidden language. The most popular and well known is the red rose, which means, “I love you”, but there are other flowers that have equally romantic though lesser-known meanings.

Back in the Victorian age, a Bride would cleverly coordinate blooms that translated into a secret message to her Groom. She arranged the flowers in her bouquet for their specific meanings, or she chose the letter of each one to spell out his name or a word. For example, she might select bachelor’s buttons, orange blossoms and bluebells to spell B-O-B or lilacs, oak leaves, violets, and evergreen to spell L-O-V-E.

Consider personalizing your wedding flowers by their meanings. Give your Maid of Honor a bouquet of blue periwinkles (early friendship) or a white bellflower corsage (gratitude) to your mom. By being creative, you can use flowers for your own special message.

Editor’s Note: Do you have any reception ideas of your own? Write to us and we’ll post it on PrescottWeddings.com.