Whether a bride decides to carry a simple posy bouquet, a nosegay, a hand assembled biedermeier or a formal cascading bouquet as she travels down the aisle - it is customary to carry some type of floral arrangement during the wedding ceremony.
The debut of the bridal bouquet is historically attributed to the ancient Greeks. The tradition started as a wreath style crown worn on the bride’s head, made of a variety of herbs and plants. The adornment was seen as a tribute and gift from nature and an honor to be worn during the wedding. Floral crowns, then bouquets, were woven with aromatic dill and garlic, affixing special mystical powers to protect the bride. The use of herbs was believed to ward of evil spirits looking to disrupt the wedding day, and bring turbulence into the couple’s new life together.
Each herb selected held a significant importance, attributing values to the couple’s wedding day that would continue to bring prosperity into their marriage. The Greek’s bouquets were often filled with dill to signify lust, oak to symbolize strength, parsley to symbolize festivity, ivy to symbolize continuity and bay to symbolize glory.
Traditional bouquets carried in today’s weddings are not so drastically different from their ancient ancestors. The use of sweet smelling, colorful florals began working their way into bouquets when Queen Victoria added the edible flower Marigold into her traditional herb bouquet, for her wedding to Prince Albert. Marigolds, which open their bright blooms when in the presence of sunlight, are seen as a symbol of the consistency and endurance of love.
Ever the trendsetter, Queen Victoria not only shifted the contents of bridal bouquets for centuries to come, but impacted the size as well. At the time, it was popular to carry a hand gathered bunch of flowers that were often tied together by a simple string or ribbon. Queen Victoria opted to carry an arrangement that was smaller than normal, uniform in its round shape, and held in a cone type vessel called a tussy mussy. Today, her “posy” bouquet is still considered to be one of the top designs selected by brides.
In 2014, the call out trend of bridal bouquets draws inspiration from the 16th and 17th centuries. Teresa Wilson, floral design expert and owner of the boutique floral & home decor shop, Camelback Flowershop, sees much of today’s arrangement style mirrored in the Dutch oil still lifes of the Baroque Era. The moody, high contrast paintings were filled with dark jewel toned backgrounds and wild, loose flowers. Wilson states that the paintings had an airy and light sensibility to its richness, which translates beautifully into centerpieces and bouquets.
The size of the bouquet can vary from bride to bride, yet Wilson cautions all brides to consider the look and feel of her dress when selecting a bouquet style. She believes in a balanced look, not too big to cover the dress, but full enough to incorporate a combination of flowers and plants for an organic, unkempt feeling.
To join together the traditions of the past with the trends of today, brides can opt for a bouquet filled with a variety of large and small blooms like peonies and garden roses, mixed with varying plant shapes like veronica, scabiosa pods, and a variety of greens. Not to be forgotten - a few springs of bay leaves, sage, rosemary or thyme will keep unwelcome spirits at an arms length.
Photo Credits: Arrow & Apple, courtesy of Tea Talk Blog, and Camelback Flowershop
Katherine Thornhill is a coffee shop connoisseur, European travel fanatic, sometimes stylist and admittedly a bit wedding obsessed. She spends her days working at her dream job, as the owner of Lucky & In Love, a company specializing in wedding production and design. Lucky & In Love is a company founded with the goal of creating sophisticated, innovative and impactful weddings, rooted in tradition. Its couples find joy in the details, they value great design, and they're ready to have a little fun throughout the process of wedding planning. For more information, and to inquire about booking - visit www.luckyandinlove.com. Connect on Instagram at @sparklefarkle, or Twitter at @luckyandinlove.
