How to: Choose your wedding flowers

Today’s blog post is courtesy of Sally Wright, owner of Sally Wright Flower Studio, floral stylist and enthusiast, and a lucky woman who doesn’t get hay fever.

When planning your big day, choosing your flowers can become overwhelming – what colour to incorporate, what varieties of flowers, should I incorporate a theme, what flowers to choose for the ceremony, the table centerpieces, and of course – how much do they cost?

The task may seem momentous! However, once you have conquered the task of organizing your flowers within your budget you will feel a great sense of relief. I promise.

An example of flowers that are in season now: sweet William, roses, pineapple lilly, calla lilies, lisianthus, and my favourites – dahlias.

Below I have put together my top tips surrounding how to choose your wedding flowers. Read these and you’ll be able to breathe that little bit easier in the lead up to your wedding.

• Start the search

First and foremost, start a web search or ask friends and family in order to find a great wedding florist. Find them online and preview their photo galleries. This will give you great insight into whether or not the florist can adopt your style, as it’s very important that you and your florist “gel” well together.

• Book the florist

As soon as possible! Many florists only like to concentrate on one or two weddings in a week so they give the highest possible attention to your wedding.

• Know your budget

Before you contact your florist. The florist cannot start planning your designs until they know how much you want to spend. A basic guide is 10% of your total wedding budget or $20 per head. Of course this depends completely on how lavish or how simple you want to go. A good florist can work to any budget to create the “less is more” feeling if need be.

• Choose a theme

Is your style traditional? Perhaps you like rustic, country or seaside. Your theme will absolutely impact your flower choice, so try to have this decided early on in the planning process.

• Consider the season

Do you love peonies? Unfortunately, if you are having a March wedding they will not be available. So make a list of your favourites and a list of likes and dislikes when it comes to colour. Your florist can guide you as to what will be in season for your wedding. If peonies (for example) are your favourite but not available, then your florist will suggest similar varieties that you may love. Its also a good idea to have a second favourite flower as nature is nature so if your choice is a little hard to come by then a backup plan is helpful to everybody.

• Co-ordination is everything!

Your florist will need to know what colours your bridal party are to wear. It’s also a good idea to tell your florist if any mothers of the bride etc, are wearing light weight fabrics, as the corsage will then need to not be too heavy. If you are having roses in your bouquet then the buttonholes should probably be roses too.

Flowers play an integral part of your wedding day; thus you want to get them right. I hope my tips help and I wish you all the best with planning your special day!

What did you take into account when you were selecting the flowers for your event? Tell us in the comments below!