When Chicagoan Jennifer Dietz walked down the aisle in early December, the 27-year-old bride carried an elegant nosegay filled with white tulips, roses, hydrangeas and red hypericum berries for a holiday accent. The arrangement was hand-tied with a decorative ribbon that allowed stems to peek out at the bottom.
“I have always liked white tulips and I wanted flowers that could withstand the cold. And I definitely did not want a trailing bouquet; they look outdated. I’d been to about 15 weddings in the past two years and brides were carrying smaller bouquets,” Dietz said.
Knowing your style–formal or informal–and your budget for flowers can help winnow the choices for bouquets and boutonnieres before paying a visit to a florist.
Dietz settled on a hand-tied bouquet after browsing several photo albums at her florist. “I brought photos I’d found in wedding magazines and I gave her my ideas. She put a sample together and it was gorgeous,” Dietz said.
Like almost everything else wedding-related, there are trends in flowers too.
“The bouquet follows a cycle from being small and round to loose and gardeney to flamboyant and cascading,” said Talmage McLaurin, vice president at Florists’ Review, a trade publication. “The cycle in the past 100 years has repeated itself a couple of times.”
Following the famous
Celebrities often drive wedding fashion trends too. In the 1980s it was Lady Diana with her voluptuous silk wedding dress and cascading flowers that sent brides-to-be in search of a similar look. When the glamorous Carolyn Bessette showed up in a sleek, satiny white dress carrying a small bunch of lilies of the valley for her 1996 marriage to John F. Kennedy Jr., florists were deluged with requests for the same blossoms.
“[Bessette] carried a tiny bouquet of costly flowers and very small round bouquets have been the choice of brides since then,” McLaurin said.
“Flowers are less of a showpiece and more of an accessory. And fashion drives trends a bit. If fashions are tailored and simple, so are the bouquets.”
Like Dietz’s tulips and hydrangeas in December, you can have just about any flowers you want at any time of the year if you want to pay for them, said Greg Arendt of City Scents in Chicago.
He suggested budgeting $75 to $250 for the bride’s bouquet, $25 to $85 for each bridesmaid’s bouquet and $10 to $15 for each boutonniere.
A bouquet’s price is based on the cost of the flowers and whether they are shipped in from California or from Holland, New Zealand or other exotic places, plus the amount of labor involved to assemble them.
“Hand-tied bouquets are not just a bunch of flowers tied with a ribbon. They’re much more sophisticated,” McLaurin said.
Fancy ribbons may incorporate lace, fabric or hand-sewn beads from the wedding dress for a coordinated look. A small bouquet may feature an elaborate pearl handle or cloisonne holder that is as special as the bouquet.
Flowers need not break your budget.
Arendt worked with a bride who wanted a lush, trailing bouquet, but when he saw her dress, “two long-stemmed red anthuriums were all it called for.”
It all comes down to individual styles and personal preference, said Bobbi Ecker Blatchford, a Chicago-based floral designer and industry consultant.
“Imagine your wedding and what you would like it to be like,” she said.
The latest trend in wedding flowers is the stained-glass-window look, she said.
“It uses multicolors, with purple and red, for example. We’re also seeing a lot of berries that look great with blossoms,” she said. “And winter weddings have a lot of white flowers and a feathery look that’s great.”
Otherwise, it’s anything goes. She has created boutonnieres with peacock feathers and adorned a bride’s red veil with flowers. And all-green or all-foliage bouquets or boutonnieres give a chic look, she said.
Popping with color
Although the traditional bridal bouquet has been primarily white, some brides are carrying bouquets in hot pinks and orange.
“Brides aren’t afraid to work with bold colors. It’s not unusual to see brightly colored orchids and tropicals mixed in the bouquet even if you’re getting married in the Midwest instead of Hawaii,” McLaurin said.
Informal bouquets of simple wildflowers, such as daisies, Queen Anne’s lace and cosmos can fill the bill for the bride who is wearing a retro 1970s-era dress.
“Calla lilies are coming on very strong and if we do the longer bouquets, we’re lightening them up with cleaner flowers like dendrobium orchids. Nothing fussy or overstated,” Arendt said.
Dietz’s bridesmaids carried smaller versions of her bouquet, with white roses and berries. The groom wore a white rose with berries and a simple sprig of berries adorned the groomsmen.
Arendt recommended boutonnieres that are not overwhelming or fussy.
“We keep them small and simple. We do miniature calla lilies, for example, or pick a flower from one of the bouquets. Consider your group photo. Everything should look coordinated,” he said.
“Boutonnieres are sometimes sentimental. They may include a flower from the bride’s bouquet or a hidden frat pin. And we’re seeing a lot of them made with foliage, which a lot of guys like because it’s structural and has form and texture,” Blatchford said.
She recommended consulting the groom about the boutonnieres and considering his ensemble when choosing your overall floral look.
Hey, bud, learn your bouquets
Bouquets are more than just a bevy of blossoms. There are several different styles and shapes to choose from, writes Carley Roney in “The Knot Book of Wedding Flowers” (Chronicle Books, $29.95).
A posy bouquet is the smallest, often composed of delicate sprays of roses, grape hyacinths or buttercups. A posy bouquet might also feature a few simple peonies or gar-denias.
A nosegay is a densely packed mound of flowers. Compact flowers such as roses, tulips or calla lilies work well in this style of bouquet. Flowers may be mixed or matched or, depending on the effect, of all the same variety. The nosegay can be dressed up or down depending on your style.
Round bouquets are similar to nosegays but are generally larger. They can make a bold, colorful statement at a formal wedding.
Hand-tied bouquets are among the most popular. The blooms are held together with wire or special decorative ribbon with the stems protruding from the bottom.
Cascading bouquets are the most formal or traditional bouquet. The flowers are arranged in a waterfall that spills gracefully over the bride’s hands.
–Nina A. Koziol
