Wedding Bouquet Of Creamy Yellow Roses, Gerberas and Orchids

“Classic” and “elegant” are the two descriptors that I hear most when I ask my clients how they want the wedding to look and feel.

There are numerous ways to go about beginning the process of creating a vision that conveys the feel that you want to share on the day and one tried and true way is with colour.

Classic and elegant always brings to mind mixes of neutral white and creams and the addition of pale yellows is a way to take things up a notch without feeling like your potentially on colour overload.

It’s the next closest choice of colour after cream and it’s inclusion creates and beautiful and soft warmth.

Roses mixed together in these colours are the ultimate in elegance. Using more contemporary flowers like gerberas and orchids this mix creates a modern twist.

While the weather might be trying to play havoc with the full arrival of spring. The flowers know that the time has come.

The emergence of Sweet Peas and Hyacinths signal the beginning of season full of wonderful and lovely blooms.

True to their names, they are beautifully delicate and possess a fragrance so sweet and light that you’d think that Mother Nature must have had a ball creating these flowers.  

Flowers that only could be described as exquisitely divine, they come in a whole range of colours from creams and white, to the pale and bright pinks. They are also available in the rare shades of natural light blue that can be such a challenge to find with other flowers.

Only available for a few short weeks of the year, they are a real treat for any bride getting married in the early months of spring. Not only because they are so beautiful, but because they cannot be acquired at any time of the year.

Delicate Posies of Sweet Peas (Right) and Hyacinths (Left)

In the first days of April, we see these beautiful flowers everywhere. Not growing in neighbouring gardens, but being sold by the bunch by volunteers in local malls to raise money for cancer research.

I’ve probably walked by these stands many times over the years, not really giving any thought to buy one when I could make a donation, but this year I changed my mind.

Maybe it’s because I lost someone to cancer not too long ago and that person loved flowers. So it seemed fitting to buy a flower so cheery that to walk by it makes you want to smile.

Gathered in a bunch these daffodils mean joy and happiness. A lovely choice for a flower if you happen to be getting married in the month of April and are partial to the beautiful shade of marigold of deep yellow.

Tied all on its own or mixed with flowers of the same shade, they are a wonderful and lovely seasonal choice for a spring wedding.

Simple Hand-tied Posy Of Marigold Daffodils

These days it is common to expected the unexpected with what a bride and groom may choose for their wedding flowers. 

However, as distinct and as large a variation that can be seen in weddings these days, there are some things that never change. 

One of these things is and will always be the choice of pink as a part of a mixed colour scheme with other flowers, or used all on its own in varying shades.

It is the ultimate colour to express romance and all things pretty.

Most traditionally and still classically beautiful is the use of pink in varying shades of soft and pastel shades.

Hand-tied bouquet of soft pink and ivory roses

But now in addition to the creamy subtles tints of pink, deep rich shades of pink found in cherry and fushcia convey a bold characteristic is a part of the “new” colours to be seen in weddings.

It can also be mixed with other colours of similar strength to convey a rich a lavish sensibility not seen earlier with the softer shades of pink.

Wedding Bouquet Of Red, Fuschia and Light Pink Roses

As a wedding florist I have always considered myself to be the one whose primary role it is to bring together the visual part of the wedding so anything that falls into this framework (such as linens and décor) I have always considered within my domain.

While there is no better or classic way to bring the “life” and “fresh” element to a wedding, the look of a wedding is more than just the petals and the stems.

While some ideas are trends that pass within a single season, there are those that come and permanently change the way the visual element of the wedding is presented.

These elements in the linens and décor.

Once reserved for only the most exclusive of weddings that we might see featured in a celebrity magazine that details hundreds yards of cashmir that were flown in to cover a tent and tables covered with finest of silk taffetas in the most divine of colours, today this look and feel is available to any couple planning a wedding.

For most in the past, “upgrading” meant perhaps changing up the linens from the standard polyester in white or ivory to a brocade or damask in a similar neutral tone and switching out the existing chairs for chivaris.

Now regardless of budget, linens to the floor and at least a basic chair cover to finish the look seems to be the norm. What is becoming increasingly more common is the decision to use linens and décor as a way to completely change the look and feel of a wedding.

They can used to enhance a set colour scheme and bring to the table the colours that perhaps nature does not provide many if any flowers for such as chocolate brown or robin’s egg blue.  

From full tablecloths and napkins, to satin chair wraps and tone on tone embroidered organza overlays, these additional elements that are available in a myriad of colours and textures are simple but wonderful ways to add that added dimension to a wedding day.

I was at the market picking up flowers for my Valentine’s wedding this weekend when I came across a flower that took my breath away and I gave into a temptation that I usually do a pretty good job of resisting and I bought it.

You would think that as often as I see flowers in every colour, shape and variety that there isn’t much that would really catch my attention, but when I saw this absolutely stunning stem of orange cymbidium orchids, I knew that I didn’t have a chance.

It was the colour that caught got me first. A rare of shade of an orange accented with a light cocoa colour that is only available for a few months during the winter and it had more blooms than I could count, I just had to have it.

Right now I have it placed on my hallway table and everytime I walk by it I can’t help but stop for a moment to enjoy.

It’s truly capitivating and has a light exotic sweet scent that only a flower of this nature could have.

 Just wanted to share.

Stem of Captivating Orange Cocoa Cymbidium Orchids

In my last post,  I wrote that one way to celebrate a wedding during the fall or winter season was with rich warm colours.

Another classic way to celebrate a winter wedding with flowers is to consider all the elements visible in nature now and take the whiteness of snow and the pine trees wrapped with twinkle lights as inspiration for a wedding flower palette.

From hydrangeas and roses, to orchids and lilies, there is a plethora of flowers that come in beautiful shades of cream and white and incorporating winter greens such as cedar or pine, creates a texture that is elegant and classic look for a seasonal arrangement.

This combination can be used everywhere from boutonnieres for the groom and his groomsmen with small sprigs of cedar to accent a single white bloom to coordinate with the bouquet of the bride and that of her bridesmaids to large arrangements for ceremony and head tables and the matching centerpieces.

Beautiful arrangement of white hydrangea and roses and winter greens

Well, I guess there’s no denying it — winter is imminent.

I knew this to be especially true when a friend of mine from California told me that I should watch a sunset. I wrote back saying that at this time of year in Toronto, sunsets and for that matter sunrises are nowhere to be found.

While the sun is a rare sight with the days becoming shorter and the nights getting longer, this time of year is becoming an increasing popular time for weddings.

While colour is always an important factor, I believe that it’s especially important in light of our current season and when the temperatures are cool, wedding flowers can affect the “temperature” of an event by accentuating the coolness of the season or by warming things up with rich vibrant tones.

The latter idea was chosen for the elegant late fall wedding of my lovely clients Jill and Jason that took place at Deer Creek a few weeks ago.

Beautiful rich tones of classic fall tones in deep red and burnt orange gerberas and roses with bright green berry and pom accents finished with luxurious chartreuse satin ribbons were the colours and the materials of choice for the wedding flowers.

From the bridal bouquet to the ceremony arrangements and right through to the classic all round centerpieces, this rich and elegant choice of colours brought warmth and intimacy to a wedding on a cool November day.

An Elegant Fall Wedding Bouquet

Have you ever heard of a game show from the 80s called “Name That Tune”? During a consultation, there are numerous times when I feel like I’m playing the wedding flower version of that game called “Name That Wedding Flower”.

Brides bring everything from laptops and USB keys to good old fashion manila file folders overflowing  with wonderful and inspirational pictures of wedding bouquets and wedding flowers.

As a wedding florist, I find this to be one of the most interesting parts of a consultation, because while the bride may feel that there may be no rhyme or reason to her choices, a common thread, whether it by colour, flower or style is always readily apparent.

Also, while she may not know the name of every flower in every picture, as she tells me her thoughts behind every image she chose,  a floral style that is uniquely reflective of her begins to take form.

This process of going through magazines or the endless resources on the internet is one of the best ways to begin the planning of your wedding flowers.  

They can be organized in a few ways:

• by type of design: bouquet, boutonniere, centerpieces etc.
• by colour: purples in one folder, reds in another
• by flower: roses in one folder, tulips in another

The few moments that are spent doing this are well worthwhile as you will end up with wedding flowers that are not only beautiful, but intensely personal to your vision for the wedding day.

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