Wedding
Flowers
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Flowers have played a part in countless weddings throughout the
centuries, and a wedding wouldn't realty feel complete without
them. In ancient Roman and Anglo-Saxon wedding ceremonies both the
bride and the groom wore garlands, and in the Middle Ages children
strewed flowers in the path of the bride as she emerged from the
church - this is the origin of our tradition of the flower girl.
In early rural weddings in this country the bridal wreath often
consisted of ears of corn or wheat, signifying plenty and
fertility, and in some traditions the bride still carries ears of
grain in her bouquet.
Your flowers
Flowers for your wedding can be as simple or as elaborate as you
choose;there is no set rule to follow. You may want to restrict
them to a bouquet for yourself, particularly if you are going for
a small, simple registry office wedding, or you may want to splash
out on large bouquets for bride and bridesmaids, buttonholes for
all the men, corsages for the bride's and groom's mother,
elaborate arrangements for church and reception, and flowers
around the cake. You will also need to decide who is going to do
your flowers. Ask several different florists for quotations and
examples of their work so that you can compare the service. You
may decide that you want to use artificial silk flower
arrangements - ask around for a specialist who can make them up
for you.
Colour schemes
Choose the colours of all the flowers carefully so that they all
blend together tastefully. You may want to have all white blooms
in your bouquet; if so, remember that white flowers can look very
yellow against a blue/white dress. Colours for flowers could be
pastel, such as pale blue, violet, pale yellow or pink; they could
be rich and dark such as purple, crimson, scarlet or deep peach;
they could be autumnal such as gold, orange and beige, or they
could be bright such as blue and yellow, red, white and green,
flame, purple and gold. Make sure that they complement the
complexions, hair colours and dress fabrics of you and your
bridesmaids.
At American weddings in the 19th century it was traditional to
have a large bridal bell made from white flowers hanging above the
bride and groom as they were married
Seasonal guide to flowers
Some flowers are only available at certain times of the year;
others may be available when not in season but at a vastly
inflated price. Check with the florist when you are comparing
prices. Plenty of the most popular flowers for bouquets, such as
carnations, irises, roses, freesias and lilies are available all
the year round. Some blooms, such as lilacs, lilies of the valley,
cornflowers, heathers, lilies, carnations, daisies and gladioli
are particularly long-lasting, and will not wilt at the crucial
time!
Foliage
Bouquets often have a little greenery to offset the colour of the
flowers, but most arrangements are so ornate that they don't need
much. Popular choices are ivy, asparagus fern, lily of the valley
leaves, myrtle and bracken.
Other flowers
Flowers for your wedding are unlikely to stop at just your bouquet
and flowers for the bridesmaids! You may want to continue the
colour scheme of your flowers through to the buildings and the
other guests so that they unite the whole day in your chosen
colours.
Flower girls
In many countries of the world small children attend marriage or
betrothal ceremonies and scatter flowers, so traditionally flower
girls (usually aged under 10) carry baskets of flowers.
Buttonholes
These had their origins in the tradition of the men at the wedding
wearing 'favours' - usually knots of ribbon - in the bride's
chosen colours. In the 18th century the men wore flat white satin
bows on their shoulders. These days the buttonholes are more
likely to be carnations, roses or lilies of the valley. They can
be ordered for just the men of the wedding party (groom, best man,
pageboys, fathers of bride and groom) or for all the men who will
be attending the wedding.
At the register office
Many registry offices are decorated with fresh flowers in pretty
arrangements each day, and so you may not need to provide them
yourself. Check with the registrar when you make arrangements for
your wedding.
At the church
Some churches have restrictions on the colours or sizes of the
flowers allowed inside; check this in good time. Sometimes you can
choose the flower rs in conjunction with the person who would
normally have been arranging the church flowers for the following
Sunday - if so you may not need to pay all the cost of the flowers
yourselves. Pew ends are decorative flower arrangements in the
shape of posies, rings, hearts or sprays: this is an American
custom that is becoming popular in this country as well.
At the reception
Flower arrangements at the reception will continue the festival
air and brighten up even the dullest hall. If the reception is
formal you could order a small arrangement for each table and
larger ones for the sides of the room. For a buffet the tables
could include a selection of small arrangements. The cake may be
topped or surrounded by fresh flowers. Some brides and grooms
arrange surprise bouquets for presentation to their mothers just
before they leave for their honeymoon.
Elaborate Jewish weddings use a canopy of flowers in place of the
fabric canopy (huppah) used to cover the couple during the
ceremony.
One American custom for formal weddings is to ask the florist to
make up centrepieces for the reception tables, with each
centrepiece consisting of several small bouquets which can be
given to the guests as they leave.
If you are having your wedding reception at the bride's home, why
not make up a little flower arrangement for the door knocker to
welcome the guests as they arrive.
Flower Checklist
General Checks
What shape do I want for my bouquet?
What feel do I want to give with the flowers I choose
Are there any favourite flowers I want included?
If so are they available at the time of the wedding?
Do I want to include any flowers because of their sentimental
value?
Do I need flowers for my headdress or hair?
What colour theme do I want?
How much can I spend?
How early do I have to order from the florist?
Will the flowers be delivered or must I collect?
Will the flowers be ready the night before or on the day?
Reception Flowers
Will these be supplied by the caterer /venue?
How much will they charge?
What flower arrangements do we want -size, quantity, colour?
Do we want any flower decorations around the cake?
Attendants Flowers
What kind of bouquets do I want for the bridesmaids?
Do I want them the same colour as my bouquet? Will they be the
same size for each bridesmaid?
What kind of arrangement does the flower girl need?
How many buttonholes do we need?
Who will collect these and when?
Who willhand them out, if the guests are to have button holes?
What colour button holes do we want?
What flower do we want for buttonholes?
Do we want to order flowers for the mothers of the bride and
groom?
Church Register Office
Who will do these?
Who will pay for them
At what stage are the church flowers put in place?
Do we want pew end flowers?
The meanings of flowers
In Victorian times the 'language of flowers. was an elaborate code
which lovers (or suitors) used to send detailed messages to each
other Here are the meanings of some of the flowers that you may
wsh to include In Your bouquet
Carnation - fascination. love
Chrysanthemum, red love
Chrysanthemum, white truth .
Daffodil regard
Daisy innocence,
Flowering almond hope Jasmine amiability
Fern fascination, sincerity
Forget-me-not love
Iris flame
Ivy fidelity marriage
Japonica, white loveliness
Geranium bridal flower
Honeysuckle - generosity Hyacinth, white loveliness
Lemon blossom fidelity in love
Lilac, white , youthful innocence
Heliotrope devotion
Lily purity, modesty
Sweet pea delicate pleasures
Lily of the valley return of happiness
Tulip, red love, yellow hopeless love
Magnolia perseverance
Mimosa sensitivity
Maidenhair discretion
Veronica fidelity
Orange blossom your purity equals your loveliness
Violet faithfulness
Rose Love,
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