For the longest time, the predominant style for bouquet has been the hand-tied or round bouquet which I think was made most popular by Martha Stewart.

But as with all things, I can see that the preference for shape is slowly changing to the style famously carried by Princess Diana when she married Prince Charles.

The long flowing seemingly large and probably heavy bouquet known as the Cascade is coming back updated in a more streamlined and cleaner look.

Even a few years ago, I was hard pressed to remember being asked to make one, but now more and more clients are leaning toward the elegance that such a bouquet brings with it.

So, if you’re getting married in the next year or so, you may end up with one, but a few years ago you might never have considered it.

There are many places to look for inspiration for a wedding bouquet and these days there’s no shortage of sources.

For me, one of the places that I love to start with is the wedding dress if it has already been decided.

The style, silhouette, the material, the colour, embellishments…the variations especially at this point in time are true endless.

All these elements of this dress can provide lots of ideas as to waht the bouquet could look like especially if you don’t already have a set idea.

It reminds me (and I’m going to date myself here) of the time when I read a story of how Sophie Rhys-Jones (who married Prince Edward in the early nineties) chose her bridal bouquet.

The florist felt inspired by the slightly flared sleeves of her wedding dress and suggested calla lilies to complement the style of the dress.

So while you don’t have to have the dress to begin the process, if you have chosen it already consider looking to it for your floral inspiration.

A new year always brings with it thoughts of starting again or beginning fresh.

When it comes to wedding flowers, the discussion almost always begins with the bridal bouquet.

While this is not always the case, it can be the design to inspire all the other choices of colours and flowers since it is the most important and most personal design to be carried and photographed on the wedding day.

The style and shape of choice for the moment is still the hand-tied look.

Created and tied with the stems of the flower, it is the most natural of all bouquets because the technique considers the shape of the flower which isn’t always round. A rose hand-tie will come out more round and a calla hand-tie will come out more long.

Whether you are wanting a bouquet that appears rustic and hand-picked or a clean formal look, a hand-tied bouquet is lovely choice.

An added bonus is that unlike other types of shapes, the stems of the flowers can take water directly for a vase which means a longer and fresher life for your wedding flowers.

Hand-tied bouquet of callas and roses

A typical day in November is gray, overcast and cold, but with the weather so unusually warm and sunny for the past few days, you’d think we skipped winter and that it was spring again.

It got me thinking about all the beautiful spring flowers that will be available in just a few short months and all the lovely bridal bouquets and wedding flowers that will be possible then.

It’s really a wedding florist’s joy to be able to work with seasonal flowers that are in their prime and not to be found at any other time of the year than in those few short months.

Elegant tulips, fragrant hyacinths and ranunculus with its circular shape and delicate petals are the flowers that are symbolic of the spring and are divine when combined together in a wedding bouquet.

It’s made even more special because spring flowers are one of the most seasonal of flowers. They start early in the year and are finished by the time you see the tulips sprouting outdoors.

These spring flowers are available in the most magnificent array of colours from soft white and pale pastels to bold and cheerful colours of yellow, orange and bright pink.

And while the colours could be combined together, sometimes there’s nothing that quite as elegant and as lovely selection of spring flowers in a singular colour to make a beautiful seasonal wedding bouquet.

Hand-tied Spring Bouquet of Tulips, Hyancinths and Ranunculus | Floret.ca