Assess How Many Bouquets, Boutonnieres, and Corsages Your Event Needs
- Bride’s bouquet
- Bridesmaids bouquets/corsages
- Groom’s boutonniere
- Groomsmen boutonnieres
- Flower girl’s corsage
- Flower girl’s petals
- Ring bearer’s boutonniere
- Mothers’/Grandmothers’ corsages
- Fathers’/Grandfathers’ boutonnieres
- Officiant’s boutonniere/corsage
Themes, Items, and Colors to Incorporate
Determine what colors will be used as well as any themes and specific items that may be incorporated. A good start for a color palette involves a featured color, two coordinating colors, and one or two accent colors. The featured color is often a strong hue, whereas the coordinating colors tend to be more muted. The accent color(s) are usually neutral (white, off-white, grey, black, brown). If you are building a color palette, you can take inspiration from Color Harmonies to find hues that fit well from the Color Wheel: complimentary, monochromatic, analogous, triadic, tetradic, and split complementary colors.
Is the theme clean-cut or whimsical? Tropical or wildflower? Will this wedding be traditional or nuance? Is the event season being incorporated? Are there things that are important to the bride and groom to incorporate? You’ll consider these things when choosing flowers to include.
Once you have your four or five colors set, you can find flowers, decor, and themed items that fit the scheme.
Tools of the Trade
Some tools that may help with your project come straight from the floral trade.
- Cylinder vases (for live flower bouquets day-of)
- Elastic corsage bands or satin ribbon
- Boutonniere pins (can be straight pins or safety-pins)
- Ribbon for bows (different widths for different bow placements)
- Floral wire stems
- Floral wire rolls
- Green or black floral tape
- Hot glue gun and glue sticks
- Jute string or jute wire for rustic themes
How to Choose Flowers
Whether you are choosing fresh flowers, silk flowers, or even paper flowers – there are options for just about any color scheme and theme. There are different styles of bouquet (which will be covered below) – some are made with just one type of flower, some are made with several types of flowers.
For bouquets that are made of a single type of flower, there are many options that work well. The Round Bouquet shape described below tend to be a single type of flower. Combining a “handful” of just about any flower will make a lovely bouquet. Some classic options for a bouquet with just one type of flower include:
- Roses
- Garden roses
- Hydrangeas
- Peonies
- Dahlias
- Carnations
- Irises
- Stock flowers
- Alstroemeria
Some themes will call for a bouquet that is simple but has at least two flower types involved. For these, you can utilize the 3-5-8 Rule for balance. This would mean combining three stems of your focal flower, five stems of a filler flower, and eight stems of greenery for accent. For a larger bouquet, you can scale up using multipliers of each number.
For more varied bouquets, you’ll use a mix of focal flowers, line flowers, filler flowers, spilling elements, and greenery. Different bouquet shapes/styles call for different combinations of flower categories. Choosing a shape and style of bouquet can be helpful in moving forward with choosing flowers.
Focal Flowers
As the name suggests, focal flowers are the focus of the bouquet. These are the blooms that stand out to the eye. They tend to be medium to large or extra large flowers. Great examples of focal flowers include:
- Roses
- Garden roses
- Sunflowers
- Peonies
- Anemones
- Ranunculus
- Protea
- Calla lilies
- Marigolds
Line Flowers
Line flowers are flowers whose blossoms bloom up the stem creating a taller vertical line. These flowers can be used to make a bouquet stand taller or even wider, depending on placement. Some uses of line flowers would be as a filler that makes the bouquet fuller. There are varieties of line flowers, such as:
- Delphinium
- Campanula
- Foxglove
- Stock flower
- Larkspur
- Snapdragon
- Gladiolus
- Bells of Ireland
- Veronica
Filler Flowers
Filler flowers are generally flowers with multiple clusters of smaller blossoms. These flowers give the bouquet balance by filling negative space and adding variety to the color and texture of the bouquet. Filler flowers come in a variety of shapes and colors, such as:
- Baby’s breath (gypsophela)
- Button asters
- Spray roses
- Miniature carnations
- Limonium
- Rice flower
- Wax flower
- Sweet peas
- Blue thistle
- Hydrangea
- Craspedia
- Statice
- Lisianthus
- Scabiosa
- Hypericum
- Sweet William
- Green ball dianthus
- Alstroemeria
Spilling Elements
Some bouquets employ spilling elements to add dimension and wow-factor. Spilling elements can be flowers or greenery that cascades down from the bouquet body. Some examples of spillers include:
- Wisteria
- Amaranthus
- Seeded eucalyptus
- String of pearls
- Orchids
- Hops vines
- Virginia creeper
- Ivy
- Clematis
- Jasmine
- Inchplant
Greenery
While not all wedding bouquets will feature greenery, most will. Greenery rounds out the visible balance and adds natural dimension to the bouquet. There are endless lists of floral greenery available, but common ones use in weddings include:
- Silver dollar eucalyptus
- Blue eucalyptus
- Italian ruscus
- Israeli ruscus
- Lily grass
- Leather leaf
- Maiden hair fern
- Palm fronds
- Ti leaf
- Seede eucalyptus
- Salal
- Plumosas
- Dusty miller
- Mint
Bouquet Shape Options
Round Bouquet
Tightly clustered blooms—often roses, peonies, or ranunculus—are arranged in a perfectly symmetrical dome shape. Often, this bouquet is comprised of just one type of flower.
Hand-Tied Bouquet (AKA Garden Style)
This loose, organic bouquet is exactly what it sounds like: blooms and greenery gathered together and tied with ribbon or twine. This bouquet shape often features line flowers for height.
Cascade Bouquet
The cascade bouquet features flowers that spill gracefully downward, creating a waterfall effect.
Posey Bouquet
Small, compact, and easy to hold, the posy bouquet is a favorite for minimalist brides. It’s often made with a single flower variety or a soft palette of complementary blooms.
Nosegay Bouquet
Similar to the posy but with more greenery, a nosegay bouquet is a tidy bundle of flowers with emphasis on foliage and balance. It’s elegant without being too showy.
Pageant Bouquet
Also known as a presentation bouquet, this long-stemmed arrangement is cradled in the bride’s arm, often using calla lilies or orchids.