Choosing just the right flowers for your wedding can be
challenging. Brides find themselves calculating the costs or trying to decide
which flowers best fit the overall theme of the wedding. Throughout history brides
have also chosen flowers based on the flowers’ traditional meanings, and though
most brides don’t take the time to worry about this anymore, it can be a fun
way to add deeper meaning and symbolism to your wedding.
Here are a few ideas to get you thinking:
The Bridal Bouquet
Perhaps the best modern day example of a bride following in
this tradition is Kate Middleton and her bridal bouquet of hyacinth (meaning
constancy of love or playful), lily-of-the-valley (meaning trustworthy), Sweet
William (meaning gallantry and obviously a nod to her groom), ivy (meaning
friendship, affection, fidelity) and myrtle from Queen Victoria’s 170-year-old
garden. Myrtle is an emblem of love and marriage.
You can put just as much thought into your own bouquet
without being a duchess. By including a list of your flowers and their meanings
in your program, you can let all your guests in on the meaning of each flower
in your bouquet.
The Groom’s Boutonnière
I’ve found that most grooms don’t have much of an opinion on
the wedding flowers, but if your groom is one that does, then you might ask him
to select a flower for his boutonniere that best fits his feelings for you, his
bride, or for the wedding in general.
The Bridesmaids’ Bouquets
Overall, you will probably want your bridesmaids’ bouquets
to look similar to each other, but you could include a particular flower to
include in the arrangement that specifically represents each person. Again,
most guests won’t notice this, so you will probably want to add this to your program.
(For example: Julie is my sister and dearest friend. Gardenia has been added to
her bouquet to represent the source of joy she has been in my life.)
Bouquets in Honor of Loved Ones
This can be as simple as placing a bouquet in the honorary
seat of someone who has passed on – a parent or grandparent who is dearly
missed. Perhaps, an arrangement including forget-me-not would be appropriate or
zinnia which means “thoughts of absent friends” or “lasting affection.”
These are just a few ways to personalize your wedding by
choosing flowers based on their meaning.
