Make a budget.
Before you build a bouquet, this is your first step. The budget for floral pieces at you wedding determines the types of flowers you can use in your bouquets, centerpieces, and floral décor.
Most couples spend 8% of their wedding budget to purchase flowers for their wedding. That number varies depending on the types of flowers that they purchase and how many bouquets, centerpieces, and floral decorations they'll need.
Finding a Florist.
It’s important to find a florist that understands your vision because this person will bring your design to life. Sandy (pictured right), the founder of Bridal Builder, has been connecting with brides in this way for nearly thirty years.
Your florist will give professional input on what flowers would look nice in certain times of the year, what goes with the color scheme, and what would work well with you.
Checking reviews online and taking notes is helpful when you are going through this decision.
Gather Inspiration.
Research flowers from wedding photos that you find online (try sites like Pinterest). These options offer millions of ideas and flowers that you could potentially want to see on your special day. When you start collecting these photos, you might notice patterns in what you're choosing and begin to piece together what you're looking for.
Find inspiration in your local grocery store flowers, go through magazines, and watch movies to see what they had in their bouquets.
The Bridal Bouquet Builder app is a great tool that can help you experiment with different flower combinations against a backdrop that matches your wedding colors!
Your florist will be able to help you make decisions depending on your preferences: shape, color, or texture.
Know the Basics.
While you are researching flowers, take time to look at popular flowers that people have been using the past few years. You should research if certain flowers are fragrant and which are not.
Try remembering the names of flowers that you find interesting and possibly want to use. With the Bridal Bouquet Builder Premium app version, you can save different bouquets so you can reference what flowers you want later.
This could help your florist understand what type of flowers you may be interested in and by telling them what you do not want will help the picking process easier and more efficient.
Use your Color Scheme
Choosing colors for wedding flowers makes many brides to stress out. Fortunately, you do not have to pick flowers that are the same exact colors as your décor. You should be picking blooms that complement your overall wedding color scheme. Look at the colors for the invitations, attire, table decorations, and random accents that you are including in your wedding.
Start with Bouquet(s)
When choosing flowers, you should always start with picking flowers for your bouquet. The bouquet is the statement piece that will probably end up in most of your wedding photos so it's important to work with your florist to pick the perfect bouquet flowers to make your wedding day perfect. Once you have decided on the specific flowers in the bouquet, you can then move on to the bridesmaid's bouquets, boutonnieres, and floral arrangements on the tables. They do not have to be the same as the bridal bouquet, but you can add flowers to each to create a cohesive design.
Embrace your Wedding Season
Depending on the time of the year you are getting married, you should research flowers that work well in certain seasons. For example, tulips and peonies in the spring or dahlias and mums in the fall. In general, you can choose whatever flower you want at your wedding but is the flower in bloom during that season. It may be difficult for your florist to get those flowers ready in time and it could also be more expensive if you ship the flowers in.
Match your Wedding Style
For your wedding day, flowers should stick with the theme. If you are having a black-tie traditional wedding, you should stick with tidy arrangements. At informal weddings, you can make the bouquets more creative and looser with the flowers and include this same theme in the wedding centerpieces.