A Complete Guide to Wedding Flowers
From the bridal bouquet and boutonnière, through to wedding ceremony decorations and table arrangements, when it comes to weddings, flowers are generally considered a ‘must have’. If you’re a little lost among the tulips, orchids and roses though, you’re not alone, so we ‘picked’ some wedding floral experts who explain all you need to know about the options, trends and costs of wedding flowers.
Willow Bud | Trent and Jessie
Few things go together like weddings and flowers, and for many couples choosing wedding blooms is one of the highlights of their wedding planning. Discerning dahlias from daisies, working out what florals where, weighing up wedding themes and determining the costs involved can quickly grow confusing though. So, together with a team of professional wedding florists, ABIA’s Tanya Bywater ‘delivers’ this simple guide to wedding flowers and florals.
Elana K Weddings | @siempreweddings.
The history of wedding flowers
Flowers have always been celebrated for their aesthetic qualities but, historically, at weddings they served other purposes. In the days before showers and regular bathing, brides adorned themselves with flowers and carried bouquets of blooms and aromatic herbs not only to beautify, but to mask unpleasant odours. Particular flowers and herbs were also picked to ward of illness, and some were even believed to protect against negative spiritual influences.
Basia Puchalski Floral Design | @clairedavie
It's fair to say that our relationship with wedding florals has altered, but there’s no denying that flowers remain embedded in modern-day wedding traditions and, quite frankly, we wouldn’t want it any other way.
Wedding flower checklist
They can be worn, carried, pinned, tied, scattered, tossed and used to decorate everything from the wedding cake to the getaway car, but the flowers you choose to include on your wedding day will likely come down to personal taste, availability, wedding location and budgetary considerations. And whether you dream of grand over-the-top floral displays or modest minimalist arrangements, making a list of your floral requirements is the best place to start your wedding flower planning.
Of course, with the right wedding florist by your side, there are almost no limitations to where, when and how flowers can be incorporated, but here’s a list of the blooms couples commonly include in their wedding day celebrations.
Chandni Events | Wallflower Weddings
Flowers for the bride and wedding party
Bridal bouquet — a floral focal point, the flowers carried by the bride typically inspire a wedding's overall floral theme and will likely be one of the most-photographed elements of the wedding day.
Flowers By Varu | @chamorecreations
Bridesmaid bouquets — usually carried by the maid- or matron-of-honour and bridesmaids, these bouquets are usually designed to complement the attendants’ dresses and the bride’s arrangement.
Floral buttonholes — or boutonnière in French, tend to be tiny arrangements, or a single bloom, worn at the lapel by the groom or bride wearing a wedding suit.
Suit by Rundle Tailoring, Photo by Margan Photography, Flowers by @wildrosie_
Flower girl florals — vary from flower petals, tossed as they walk down the aisle, to miniature versions of the bride’s or bridesmaids’ bouquets and wreath or basket arrangements, designed for little hands to carry easily.
Basia Puchalski Floral Design | @tone_image_melb
Ring bearer flowers — as varied in form as ring bearers themselves, these wedding florals range from artificial floral collars for ring-bearing pets, to buttonholes, hairpieces and flower corsages.
Corsages — small floral arrangements often worn tied to the wrist of prominent female family members, such as grandmothers, mother-of-the-groom or mother-of-the-bride.
Floral hairpieces — range from a single statement flower to floral crowns, and are worn by the likes of the bride, bridesmaids, flower girls or female family members.
‘Bouquet toss’ arrangement — a ‘spare’ or replica version of the bridal bouquet, specifically intended to be thrown during the traditional ‘bouquet toss’, so that the actual arrangement can be kept for preservation.
Basia Puchalski Floral Design | @ashleykweddingphotographer
Flowers for the wedding ceremony venue
Wedding arbour or alter arrangements — vary from seemingly-freestanding floral arches to individual arrangements, suspended from arbours or placed on pillars for framing.
Willow Bud | Fennel & Fern Photography
Aisle or entrance arrangements — individual floral displays used either side to decorate the aisle, or elongated border-style arrangements that extend all the way to the alter.
Willow Bud | Fennel & Fern Photography
Pew or chair florals — bouquets or floral garlands often tied, strung or draped to the side or back of guest chairs or church pews for decoration.
Signing table decoration — a stand-alone arrangement to pretty up the formalities of the day.
Shannon Hawkes Artisan Florals | @grey.skies.photographics
Floral confetti — fresh or freeze-dried petals, offered as an environmentally-concious confetti option for guests.
S&S Event Specialists | @shevan_j_photography
Flowers for the wedding reception venue
Head table florals — garlands or individual arrangements used to decorate the wedding party’s table, typically in a particular colour or theme.
Table centrepieces — florals centred or interspersed along guest tables, that typically complement the main table’s floral theme.
Wedding cake florals — a careful selection of statement blooms, that can tie the simplest wedding cake into the overall decorating theme.
Overhead drapery or garland installations — suspended above the head table, guest tables or from rafters, overhead floral displays can add instant drama and intimacy to a reception space.
Added embellishment — floral displays, from a few stems to full-blown arrangements, used to decorate the likes of the entrance, food station, bar, gift or guestbook table, powder room and cake table, usually dependant on the layout and style of the reception space.
Photobooth backdrops — flower walls or displays, designed to carry a wedding’s floral theme right through to the background of photobooth images.
Getaway car — a floral garland or swathe attached to the back of a couple’s getaway car as a final floral farewell, and sweet photo opportunity.
You may not need, or want, all of the florals above, but having an idea of your wedding flower priorities can be helpful when it comes time to meet with your floral designer our experts advise.
“Bring along any inspiration you’ve seen and a list of the flower items that are important to you,” suggests Basia Puchalski of Victorian wedding florist Basia Puchalski Floral Design, who adds, “Knowing if you prefer classic/elegant, romantic/whimsical, rustic/native, luxe or a modern/minimal look is also helpful”.
Maple Florist | @andymacweddings
How much do wedding flowers cost?
“The cost of wedding flowers varies greatly, depending on seasonality, location, design, size and the florist you choose,” Basia explains.
Flower costs can also increase at peak times of the year, such as Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, but as a general rule most wedding florists advise allocating about 10 to 15 percent of the total wedding budget to blooms.
“Many couples underestimate the cost of wedding flowers,” says Queensland wedding florist Sandi Shankster of Willow Bud. “They do not realise that when they book in their wedding flowers they are hiring a full team with admin and design support throughout,” she points out.
She is quick to highlight the many ways couples can make the most of their floral budget though.
How to save money on wedding flowers
Sandi suggests one easy way to make the most of your wedding flower budget is to choose a colour palette, rather than specific flowers.
“That way, your florist will be able to be more flexible with their creativity and will be able to look out for better deals at the flower market and buy what is in season,” she expounds.
Another clever wedding florist tip is to invest in flowers for the ceremony and have these moved and repurposed to decorate the reception venue, or fill clustered bud vases with a few select blooms to spread their impact.
Western Australian wedding florist Tangerine Suares of Wedding Flowers WA adds, “using the bridal and maids’ bouquets around the reception room can also create a great effect with an abundance of flowers”.
“Reflexed roses take up more space in a bouquet,” Tangerine also shares. “So, the technique can be an easy way to help reduce costs.”
Choosing local, seasonal blooms is another tried-and-tested way to make wedding floral budgets stretch further. Buying locally-grown, seasonal flowers eliminates the export costs associated with imported florals and also makes for a more sustainable wedding day, in that it reduces transport emissions.
“Buying locally also means you will have the freshest and best-looking flowers,” Basia highlights.
Flowers By Varu | @emotionsandmathweddings
Seasonal wedding flowers
In a country as large as Australia location plays a pivotal role in the seasonal availability of florals and the variety of local flowers available, so a florist familiar with your particular wedding region will be best placed to provide the most accurate guidance.
If you’re looking to do some initial research though, here are the seasonal flowers our specialist floral designers suggest looking out for, depending on where you’re getting married in Australia.
Summer wedding flowers
- Calla lily
- Cosmos
- Dahlia
- Daisy
- David Austin roses
- Delphinium
- Gerbera
- Hydrangea
- Lavender
- Local garden roses
- Sea holly
- Sunflower
Often most economical — lavender, local garden roses, mini gerberas and sunflowers
Often most expensive — dahlias, David Austin roses and sea holly
Autumn wedding flowers
- Calla Lily
- Celosia
- Chrysanthemum
- Cosmos
- Dahlia
- Daisy
- Delphinium
- Freesia
- Hyacinth
- Hydrangea
- Lisianthus
- Orchid
- Tulip
Often most economical — celosias, chrysanthemums, cosmos, dahlias, daisies and freesias
Often most expensive — delphiniums, hyacinths and orchids
Winter wedding flowers
Willow Bud Flowers | @jenniferoliphantphotographer
- Anemone
- Aster
- Carnation
- Daffodil
- Daphne
- Hellebore
- Jonquil
- Lily
- Protea
- Poppy
- Rose
- Tulip
- Wattle
- Wax flower
Often most economical — asters, carnations, daffodils, poppies and wax flowers
Often most expensive — daphnes, lilies, roses and tulips
Spring wedding flowers
Lovely Bridal Blooms | @ballyhoophoto
- Blossom branches, like cherry blossom
- Delphinium
- Field stock
- Hellebore
- King protea
- Lavender
- Lily of the valley
- Native flowers
- Peony
- Phalaenopsis orchid
- Ranunculus
- Sweetpea
- Tulip
- Wax flower
Often most economical — blossom branches, field stock, ranunculuses, tulips and wax flowers
Often most expensive — hellebores, king proteas, peonies and phalaenopsis orchids
Lovely Bridal Blooms | @ballyhoophoto
Reasons to consider faux flowers
Of course, if you’d rather sidestep the complexity of seasonal availability, faux flowers offer an alternative to fresh florals. Artificial blooms are also reusable, won’t wilt in warm weather and can look and feel almost as real as their fresh floral equivalents.
In recent years artificial wedding florals have become so popular that many wedding florists now specialise in silk and faux flower arrangement, using carefully-sourced, high-quality blossoms that can be mixed with fresh blooms or fashioned into stand-alone displays to create everything from buttonholes and bouquets to decorative floral installations.
Wedding flower trends
By their very nature, flowers lend themselves to an assortment of imaginative applications, and for those looking to get creative with their wedding flowers, the latest floral trends offer an abundance of inspiration.
Mismatched bridesmaid bouquets — hand-in-hand with the popularity of mix-and-match bridesmaid dresses, we’re seeing and loving the trend toward bespoke mixed or single-bloom bouquets customised individually for each bridesmaid.
Boujee Blooms | @houseoflucielove
Dried floral arrangements — a far cry from the browning bouquets granny may have kept on the dresser, today’s dried floral wedding arrangements, incorporating the likes of freeze-dried blooms and pampas grass, make beautiful, everlasting floral statements.
Pick-and-mix receptacles — while uniform vases will likely always have their place when it comes to floral display, there’s been a move toward using assorted vessels and containers — from thrift shop ceramics to jam jars and bud vases — that harmonise and coordinate without needing to be strictly matching.
The New Leaf Boutique | @highmeadowstudios
Flower grannys — as a lovely gesture, that includes older family members, some couples are choosing to have their grandmothers join the bridal party in addition to, or in place of, traditional flower girls.
Floral alternatives — many floral designers are thinking beyond blooms and incorporating the likes of fruit, moss, statement foliage and even mushrooms into arrangements to create wedding decorations that cater to specific themes and wow guests with their extraordinary impact.
Willow Bud Flowers | @georgebowdenphoto
How to preserve your wedding flowers
Having researched, pondered, compared, contemplated and finally 'picked' your perfect wedding flowers, it stands to reason that you’d want to keep them for more than one special day.
Thankfully, there are now an assortment of floral preservation services that can transform almost any floral element — from your bridal bouquet to the arbour arrangement — into a permanent keepsake.
You can have your blooms professionally pressed, freeze-dried into colourful three-dimensional displays or captured eternally in resin. Keep in mind that timing can be critical though. For best results, companies specialising in floral preservation often need flowers as fresh as possible, so research different techniques, pre-book and have a preservation plan for your wedding flowers prepared in advance.
Buds N Roses | @duuetweddings
Whether you're just getting started with wedding planning or your nuptial arrangements are well underway, you're bound to find something you need on the ABIA website. You can quickly search the ABIA Directory to find wedding vendors located all over Australia, from wedding venues to celebrants, photographers, caterers, decorators, planners and coordinators, transport providers, hair stylists, make-up artists, videographers, cake designers, live music and even dance teachers and photo booth hire. Each listing is rated and recommended by newly-wed couples, who've used the service for their own recent wedding, so you can benefit from the experience of others. You'll also find the latest wedding inspiration and ideas, from sustainable wedding suggestions to destination wedding venues, multi-day wedding planning and the most amazing romantic getaways and honeymoon destinations in Australia. There's also an online wedding registry, that allows guests to contribute to a chosen holiday or experience in place of a traditional wedding gift.