How to Incorporate Flowers With Meaning into Your Wedding

Want a sure-fire way to create a consistent feeling for your wedding ceremony and reception? Select flowers to decorate your ceremony, reception site, showers, and brunches that compliment your color scheme. Most brides spend a lot of time concentrating on the flowers placed at the reception because more time is spent there than at the ceremony site, but adding small arrangements of the same flowers throughout the little occasions of your wedding plans will create a “theme” that everyone will remember.

One of the most beautiful things about floral arrangements is that they can express your tastes, style, and preferences in ways that other wedding aspects can’t touch. After all, you’ve got to balance practicality and cost when you choose your gown, your cake, and even the location of your wedding. Flowers are the one thing that you can go overboard on without breaking the bank.

Popular wedding flowers include the ever-present rose, lilies, orchids, irises, tulips, and gardenias. What if you could incorporate extra meaning into your arrangements without spending a lot of money, though? By planning aead and doing just a little bit of research, you can do just that.

Victorian Floral Meaning

The Victorians were arguably the most romantic people of all the time periods. They assigned meaning to so many aspects of life, adding a touch of romance to every little thing that they did.

One of the most everlasting things that the Victorians did was assign romantic meaning to flowers and herbs. These meanings became secret messages between lovers and friends; if you received a lilac, for example, you were being told that the sender was feeling “the first blooms of love” for you. The Victorians are credited with inventing the “nosegay”, and passed on to us a host of floral beauties that we can use in our wedding celebrations that add subtle meaning and a lot of viewing pleasure.

Here is a small list of some flowers with meanings that you can add into your bouquets and floral arrangements. Not only are they pretty, but most of them are a lot less costly than your roses and lilies. So, by careful selection, you can create a standard bouquet that contains a few expensive pieces as focus, and tons of less expensive ones which add meaning.

Amaryllis – Pride; Splendid Beauty; Timidity

Baby’s Breath – Pure of heart; Innocence

Bachelor’s Button – Hope in love; Felicity; Delicacy

Bluebell – Humility; Everlasting love

Camellia – Gratitude; Perfection

Carnation – Fascination; Womanly love; Devoted love

Daffodil – You’re the only one; Regard; The sun shines when I’m with you

Daisy – Innocence; Loyal love; Purity; Gentleness; Romance

Fern – Secret bond of love; Fascination; Sincerity; Magic

Forget-Me-Not – Faithful love; Undying hope; Memories; Do not forget; True love

Ivy – Wedded love; Fidelity; Friendship; Affection

Orange Blossom – Purity; Innocence; Eternal love; Marriage; Fruitfulness; Loveliness

Phlox – Our souls are united

Primrose – I can’t live without you

Sunflower – Adoration; Pride; Sunshine

Tulip – Perfect lover; Love; Passion

Zinnia – Lasting affection

Using these floral meanings as a starting point, you can plan full bouquets and arrangements that express all your feelings.

Wedding Flower Buying Tips

Flowers can come up as the last thing a bride remembers, and oftentimes brides wait till the last minute to get a florist. If you shop in advance – 3-6 months – you can get the best prices and make sure that you know what flowers you’re interested in using will actually be “in season”.

When you’re shopping around for a florist, keep in mind the following suggestions:

• You don’t have to pay more. If you focus on the services that florists offer, and how you’re treated, you’ll be much happier than if you rely on cost. Oftentimes, you’ll find that the friendliest and most helpful people also charge the least.
• Find someone who cares. If the floral designer you’re talking to doesn’t even bother to ask questions about your wedding, or seems impatient when you start gushing with ideas and dreams, it’s not the designer you want. Instead, look for someone who honestly seems to care about your wedding, and wants to be part of it.
• Ask about delivery. Some of your arrangements can be used in several celebrations. For instance, there’s no need to toss out the arrangements you used at the ceremony when they make a perfect addition to the reception. Many florists will help you move flowers between locations, and some will even rearrange flowers for you as needed……………….
• Get it in writing. When you come to an agreement with a designer and decide specifically which flowers you want to use in which ways, get a price and get it all in writing.

Flowers add to the beauty of your wedding ceremony and reception. When they also shine with your personality and feelings, then you’ve created something that won’t be forgotten in several lifetimes.