Imagine walking in a fresh tropical garden with all the flowers in front of your eyes. Which flower suits your wedding theme? Is the classic look or something vibrant? Large or small? If you’re still confused about where to start, we’ll help you narrow down your search for the perfect wedding flowers.

Each Flower Has Its Own Characteristics

Keep in mind that there are no ‘best’ flowers as every flower is beautiful, each with its own characteristics and distinctive beauty. Perhaps a big and bold flower is your thing, or you’d rather have a light and simplistic one. The right choice can also depend on the vision and theme you have for the special day.

A wedding bouquet’s price depends on various factors, like the kind of flowers you choose and whether it is the right season or not. The arrangement and the complexity can also affect the price and of course, the bigger the bouquet, the more expensive it will be—the average wedding flower ranges from US$100 to US$200. 

1. Roses

Roses are all-time classics and are known as a symbol of love and beauty. This iconic flower is a figure in fairy tales and myths. Poets and romantic writers have used roses to symbolize passion, beauty, emotions and true love. This is why roses fit perfectly in the wedding world, as it’s far from plain as roses are available in many solid colors and a variety of multicolors, with striped and tipped roses also available. There are over 3000 varieties of roses grown today, many of them grown all year round and come at an affordable price.

Roses are often known to have a luxurious fragrance; the truth is not all of them are scented. Three main roses are most popular for weddings: 

·       Hybrid tea roses are the classic roses with uniformly shaped roses that you’ll find in your local florist.

·       Spray roses are roses with five to ten small heads on the stem with a natural garden-grown look. 

·       Garden roses are expensive old-fashioned roses with bushy and open heads and nice scents. 

2. Calla Lilies

The Calla lily, also known as the arum lily, is an elegant, trumpet-shaped flower from Africa and is a symbol of superior beauty in flower language. This lily’s special look has been featured in the art nouveau and art deco works along with 20^th-century photography. There are two types of Calla lilies available for a wedding:

·       The large-headed Calla lily comes with a long, smooth stem that works for presentation style or tall arrangement bouquets.

·       A miniature Calla lily works best for boutonnieres and small arrangements.

This lily comes in yellow, mauve-pink, orange, cream ivory, which is a favorite for weddings and dark purple, which suits an edgier or cold weather wedding bouquet.

3. Lily of the Valley

The lily of the valley is often called “the ladder to heaven” due to the small bell-shaped florets hanging down the stem. In Norse mythology, this flower is connected to Ostara, the goddess of springtime, and it’s also used for Kate Middleton’s royal wedding bouquet in 2011. Even though it’s primarily available in the spring, you can still find it throughout the year, but it may be pretty pricey.

Even though this fresh, perfume-scented little flower might be on your bouquet checklist, other affordable alternatives fit perfectly to a bouquet or centerpiece due to the beautiful fragrance and texture. The lily of the valley is known for its white variety, but it also comes in a rare rosy pink.

4. Peony

This flower is known for its magnificent beauty and delicacy with an intense stretch and vibrant color. Despite its bright appearance, the peony means “bashfulness” in Victorian. It was cultivated in Asia for a millennium and was developed further by the French. There are two main types of peonies, the herbaceous and the tree peony (where the flower doesn’t last long when cut).

A bouquet that consists of only peonies can be stunning, and the flower is also great for making gorgeous centerpieces and arrangements. This expensive bloom grows in single and double flower styles and is seasonally available from spring to early summer, but you can import them during the fall. 

5. Stephanotis

This flower’s name translates to “marital happiness,” making the stephanotis a great choice for weddings. These star-shaped florets grow on a flowering vine, where every vine is individually wired or placed onto a holder before arranging. It doesn’t get more traditional for a bride to carry a bouquet of stephanotis, as the flower boutonniere is an excellent choice for a classic or a more formal wedding theme. It has a mild scent, is available in all seasons of the year and is moderately priced.

6. Gardenia

The delicate gardenia is like a crown that’s surrounded by dark green and waxy leaves. This flower has an intoxicating fragrance that has a history of captivating an English captain who traveled through South Africa in the mid-1700s, determined to bring the native flower home as a gift.

Gardenias are best tucked within a bouquet or put into a low bowl as a centerpiece. In contrast, a single flower makes a stunning scented corsage or hair accessory. Keep in mind to be gentle with these delicate flowers, as their petals are expensive but bruise easily. They come in a bigger three-to-four-inch petal and a smaller variety.

Now that you know some of the best flowers for a wedding, it’s time to talk to your local florist to arrange your dream wedding bouquet. Good luck!