There are so many factors at play when we are designing and composing our bridal bouquets. For example, what is in season? Or, is there a special request from our bride? And, even something to avoid. Our brides run the spectrum as to their requests, also. Shapes, sizes, color, or maybe to include a favorite flower of the bride’s or a family member. We want to share some of our most loved. Above, for a winter wedding in Charleston, an oversized luxe gathering of phalenopsis Orchids (always available and great to work with), tea roses, tulips, gardenias, and lilacs. I really love the imperfect shape of this bouquet, and the collection of blooms we put together.
What could be more “bridal” than a posey of lily of the valley? Due to their delicate nature, and cost they usually work best in smaller composures and as a collection of single blooms. They are an eternal favorite, though.
Another eternal bridal favorite, are peonies. When you get perfect peonies in, there is nothing better! But, putting them together in a monochromatic single bloom bouquet, they can often look like a big round pumpkin. Here, fern fronds, and fresh leaves are added to give it an airy touch. If you do want to stick with all peonies, try to use a variation in color. One pale blush variety that we like to use are the Shirley Temples, they pair so prettily with the white ones.
Sometimes we have a bride that has a small idea of what she wants, but doesn’t have strict particulars. A part of our process throughout the planning is of course getting to know our brides. That way when I’m designing for her on the big day, I have a strong sense of what she will like or not. This was a February wedding, which can be hard when ordering florals. So, this bouquet is anchored by vintage and tea roses, but accented with pieces we got in that looked lovely.
Also, I just love to much that cascading bouquets are making a comeback. As you can see, they come together in so many different ways. From more florals and still shapely. To including more ethereal touches with untamed results. We can also include many different materials to achieve this look. No matter, though, cascades make quite a statement.
Many brides are fans of including color in their bouquet. Against a white dress, they can be a great look in photos. One of our favorite Soiree singatures, also, is wrapping bouquets in ribbon from my vintage collection. I’m always grabbing swathes when I see them while out and about, knowing that there will be a perfect bouquet one day. Spring and summer are where we tend to see more color. This works well, since in the hotter temps, white flowers can brown and wilt easier.
Of course, we want our brides to stand to out, but the bridesmaids’ flowers often play into the design. These fall florals went more in the creamy palette with pops here and there for the bride, but the reverse for the maids. We can often use more delicate blooms when the weather cooperates. Which are so special when paired with heartier stems. The kumquats were used throughout the wedding design, so we loved adding them into the bouquets.
These bouquets centered around the Armani peonies we were able to score for this fall soiree. While, anchoring the bouquets, the real texture came in with adding berries, airy greens, astillbe, and hearty roses. And, of course, the velvet ribbon was a perfect “something blue” for our bride.