There are so many varieties of flowers and plants in our natural world, that the possibilities for bridal bouquets are endless! While on one hand this could seem overwhelming, for a florist that thrives on conceptual design, this is what makes floral design both fun and challenging – the good kind of challenging!

When designing bridal bouquet for my clients, many things are taken into consideration, from the overall wedding aesthetic to any personal flower preferences of the bride to seasonal availability of the flowers at the time of the wedding. All these considerations are used to refine the specific combination of flowers for a perfect bridal bouquet. After all, the bridal bouquet is the floral star of the wedding.

Here are the things to consider when deciding on the bridal bouquet for the wedding of your dreams.

Do I Need a Bridal Bouquet?

The bridal bouquet is often one of the central floral arrangements at a wedding. The tradition of carrying a bouquet started with the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians. Bouquets of fragrant herbs were carried by brides to ward off evil spirits. Later on, during the Victorian era, the fragrance that came from the flowers in a bouquet masked body odor. Humans of that era lived in a world where regular bathing was quite rare. No indoor plumbing meant no baths and no showers. It seems like they mitigated that issue with flowers!

Brides today carry wedding bouquets as symbols of beauty, and for both traditional and sentimental reasons. Bridal bouquets are so central to wedding celebrations that a wedding gown almost looks incomplete without one. Once in a blue moon I will have a bride tell me she doesn’t need a bridal bouquet for her wedding day, whether it’s because she is walking down the aisle with both parents and won’t have a free hand, whether it’s an expense that can be easily cut, or whatever the reason.

While I am definitely in support of going against the grain and for making your wedding day what you and your partner want, as a wedding florist who has flowered many weddings and as someone who has gotten married herself, I know that bridal bouquets are not only joyful to hold, but that having a bridal bouquet is it gives you somewhere to put your hands during the lengthy wedding day photos process. While a day of excitement, the wedding day is also one of high emotion, and having something beautiful in your hands that can help focus your nervousness on is a gift.

Popular Styles of Bridal Bouquets

There are a few different styles of bridal bouquets, each with their own aesthetic and flair:

• Garden Bridal Bouquet: The garden bridal bouquet might be the most popular bouquet style of this century. For good reason! A lush, organic hand-tied bouquet often celebrates movement and texture. Flowers are chosen for their individual beauty, but also for the symphony they create when grouped together. The garden bridal bouquet is for the flower-lover who wants their flowers to be lush, organic, and romantic.
• Round Bridal Bouquet: If your wedding day is timeless and classic, you can’t go wrong with a round bridal bouquet. This style of bouquet has stood the test of time and it is a sweet beauty. Often on the tighter and more compact side, the round bouquet is a clean and elegant approach to
• Cascading Bridal Bouquet: The cascading bridal bouquet is not for the faint of heart. This dramatic and often large-scale arrangement is a statement piece. Perfect for brides who are wearing a full dress, brides who love the ‘go big or go home’ vibe of the 80’s, or brides who just really, really love large bridal bouquets. You can never have too many flowers!
• Wild/Boho Bridal Bouquet: The boho bridal bouquet style is one for the whimsical bride, who loves a touch of messy and a touch of rustic. This style of bouquet can sometimes incorporate dried elements, grasses, or even other non-floral organic items such as feathers. Boho brides are free-spirited and the whimsy nature of their bridal bouquets match this energy.

Choosing Bridal Flowers That Match Your Wedding Color Palette

One of the first places I begin when designing beautiful wedding floral arrangements for my clients is looking at their wedding color palette. Finding flowers in shades that both match their wedding color palette and complement their wedding color palette, provides a great design foundation.

Color theory plays a very important role in floral design. The colors of the flowers can influence the tone and the mood of a wedding. Nature is amazing in that plants and flowers come in a variety of shapes, sizes, textures, and especially colors! And there are nuanced colors in plants of tone and shade. A floral color palette that is cohesive with the overall wedding color palette can create an event where all design aspects, floral and non-floral, can look their absolute best.

If you are struggling with choosing your color palette for your wedding, I wrote an extensive piece on How to Choose Your Wedding Color Palette.

Seasonal Flower Varieties for Bridal Bouquets

The season in which you get married will determine what varieties of flowers will most likely be available.

• Spring Wedding Flowers: Spring in the Pacific Northwest is absolutely gorgeous. The cherry blossoms come first and then the colorful rhdodendrons. In the cut flower world, there are an array of delicate and sweet blooms that are absolutely lovely for a wedding – ranunculus, butterfly ranunculus, anemones, delphinium, lilac, and of course, the wedding world favorite – the peony!
• Summer Wedding Flowers: Dahlias might be our favorite summer wedding flower! Showing up on the scene in July, dahlias take front and center all through August, all through September, and even into the first part of October. Not only do they come in a tremendous variety of colors, but a few different shapes and several sizes. They are one of the most versatile flowers. And my husband’s favorite flower, as well. In summer you can also find roses, scabiosa, thistle, cosmos, zinnias, and straw flowers.
• Fall Wedding Flowers: Fall might be my favorite season for a wedding, or for anything really. I love the cool mornings and the changing fall foliage. Dahlias are usually still going, but some other beauties come on the scene, like heirloom chrysanthemums, and berries, such as snowberries.
• Winter Wedding Flowers: As a florist who tries to be as sustainably minded as possible, source flowers for winter weddings.

How to Differentiate the Bride Bouquet from the Rest

The role of bridesmaids is to support the bride on her wedding day. They offer emotional support and logistical support, allowing the bride to relax and enjoy her wedding day. While it’s important for the bridesmaids to look and feel beautiful, it is the bride who takes center stage at her wedding. Her bridal flowers should do the same.

Differentiating the bridal bouquet from the bridesmaids’ bouquets can be done in a number of ways.

• Size: Size of the bouquet is a first step. As a seasoned wedding florist I always, first and foremost, make the bridal bouquet larger than the bridesmaids bouquets.
• Color: A secondary approach is to use color. Sometimes the bridal bouquet will include more vibrant colors than the bridesmaids’ bouquets, and other times it will be the only bouquet to incorporate white.
• Specialty Blooms: The final approach is to use specialty blooms. Bridal bouquets with premium flowers elevates the bouquet into a luxury stratosphere and allows it to really stand out from the rest.

Bridal Flower Bouquet and Wedding Gown Cohesion

Looking at the color, style, and detail of a wedding gown to refine the flowers chosen for a bridal bouquet is the last step in choosing the perfect bridal bouquet.

Most wedding gowns are white, but the tone of the white can be quite different from gown to gown. Some wedding dresses are very clean whites, while others have a yellow, champagne, or blush undertone. So it’s important to choose flowers that complement the dress color. Pairing clean white flowers to a wedding gown with a beige undertone can sometimes make the dress feel dirty.

Some wedding gown materials are seamless, while others are intricate and detailed with a lot of beadwork, embroidery, and/or lace. Wedding bouquets can either closely match the feel of the wedding gown, or sometimes contrast, but have some elements of similarities. If we are working with a modern gown that is very clean, but the bride likes lots of interesting textures and movement in the flowers, incorporating “clean” flowers can tie into the dress. Likewise, if a wedding gown is quite detailed, using flowers that are also small and detailed, can gel the dress to the bouquet.

Contact Holly Yee Floral Architecture for All Things Bridal Bouquet

Designing a bridal bouquet is one of my favorite floral arrangements to make! I love working with brides to choose the perfect combination of flowers for their bridal bouquets.

If you are a bride and want to collaborate on the most amazing bouquet for your wedding day, please get in touch!