Deciding on your wedding flowers can be a little bit mind blowing. Days can be lost falling down that rabbit hole called Pinterest!

Pinning photos onto your virtual wedding board can be fun, but, before long you realise you have hundreds of design ideas in countless colour palettes, and it all feels rather overwhelming.

If you don’t know where to start, or how to whittle it all down, then this step by step blog post is for you!

1. Step away from Pinterest.

Without doubt, Pinterest is a fantastic tool for gathering ideas and content, and there is literally something for everyone. But before you dive in, there are a few key points to consider.

2. Real flowers v something else.

I am a huge advocate of fresh flowers, the colour, scent, beauty and wow factor cannot, I repeat, cannot be matched by anything else.

Now, some folks are flower mad, and some really couldn’t give dandelion fluff about flowers, but trust me when I say, fresh flowers and foliage bring something to the party that simply won’t be beaten by anything else. So even if you are not rocked by the froth and frill of abundant petals, or you feel because you are having an elopement wedding and it’s just the two of you that you don’t really need a bouquet or buttonhole, please do think again. Making just a minimal investment on your fresh flowers will add that extra layer of dreamy gorgeousness to the proceedings, and when you look back at your photos, you will be so chuffed you did.

I do not use faux/plastic/silk flowers, nor do I particularly like crispy, faded, dried flowers, they smell funny and leave dead flower dandruff everywhere. I’ll park this right here, right now, both these options are not my thing, so if this is what you are looking for, then you won’t find it here.

Your wedding day and your love for each other is full of vibrancy and joy, it’s real, it’s natural and it’s living in the moment. Your love is not plastic and made in China, nor is it dry and brittle and a little bit faded, so people, pick the fresh flowers every time!

3. Decide on your floral investment aka flower budget.

The usual rule of thumb is around 10% of your overall wedding spend, and when you think, “Well, what is the overall wedding spend?” It’s basically everything you are spending on your wedding as a whole. From venue hire to feeding your guests, stationery to the photographer, dress to confetti, your Jimmy Choo shoes to the dog sitting service, the rings to your honeymoon – it’s the whole shebang!

So deciding on what you want to spend, or more practically, can afford to spend, is key, and it’s the first decision you need to make – time to grasp the piggy bank and give it a really good shake.

4. Your needs and wishes.

Personal Flowers

Start with deciding on the personal flowers, these are your needs. Have you got bridesmaids and attendants, are you wanting to provide flowers for your immediate family?

Make a list of all the people who will need some level of flowering on the day. Your list might look like this…

1 bridal bouquet
1 groom buttonhole
3 bridesmaid bouquets
1 flower girl basket
3 attendant buttonholes
2 dad’s buttonholes
2 mum’s corsages
Bob’s nanna corsage
Uncle Fester buttonhole
Dog collar for Fido

Ceremony/Venue flowers

The next list is more of a balance between your needs and wishes for your ceremony/venue.

If you are marrying in church, one option is to ask, is there a church flower team? If there is, then approach the idea of the flower arrangements that are in church for the week of your wedding be of a certain colour to tie in with your colour palette. Providing it’s not a specific time where flower colours link in with the liturgical calendar, most church flower ladies, and chaps, are really obliging. If you are happy to make a contribution towards the weekly church flower arrangements, then all the sweeter. Church flower teams usually make pedestal arrangements, so if you are wanting extra decor, you may need to ask if this is possible, or speak to your florist about it.

If you are marrying in a dedicated wedding venue, then you need to consider the space in which your wedding will be held. If it’s one specific area for your ceremony and reception, then choosing arrangements that can be repurposed means you will get maximum bang for your buck.

For example: arrangements along the aisle that can be repurposed to the guest reception tables, flowers for the ceremony table that can be repurposed to the top table, and an installation of flowers which will act as a backdrop for the entire proceedings, or that can be partially broken down to flower different areas as the day progresses.

Having that open dialogue with your florist about how much you have to spend and what your needs and wishes are is invaluable, as it helps to create the perfect design process for your wedding.

5. Colour palette & style

So you can’t decide about colour. Your Pinterest board ranges from the sublime to the ridiculous, because you’ve been on a flower frenzy, pinning anything with a particular flower onto your board. You’ve mushed together styles, you have a floral fusion going on, and you’re not entirely sure where you are going with this.

These days there is an overwhelming amount of options and choice. So many themes and vibes, so many flower choices, imports from far flung lands and home grown in the UK from cutting gardens and flower farms.

A good starting point is to look at where are you marrying and what are you wearing, and then consider the season/month. Ultimately your choices in those departments will inform you of the style of wedding you are really curating.

Let’s imagine you are marrying in a country manor house, it’s original features have all been lovingly restored. It’s set in acres of countryside with a woodland and a formal rose garden. Your gown is a full skirted Disney princess affair in the palest blush pink. You hope with all your heart that on your big day in July, the sun shines down through the leaves of the trees creating dappled shadows of sunbeams on the pond with the water lilies in full bloom. In all honesty, your flower arrangements are highly unlikely to be in a contemporary, minimalist style with sharp lines and angles, and a bird of paradise as your focal flower.

Take your floral inspiration and your colour palette from the choices you have already made on where you are marrying, what you are wearing and when it is happening. This will then allow for a seamless transition of how your whole wedding will look on the day.

Just a small point to note – photographers, like florists, have their own style and artistic flair. Many photographers create their own signature style in the way they document their work, this may include their own unique filter/s. When you choose your photographer, look at their images and their style of photography. A carefully chosen colour palette of fresh flowers will have a totally different look when filtered, so if retaining true to life colour is important to you, don’t be afraid to ask if a tog uses filters which alter colour.

6. Choosing your florist.

Once you have worked through these first few steps it should be more apparent on what your wedding flower needs and wishes look like. There is absolutely no pressure to know the names of flowers, which flowers will look the best and even the exact style of the arrangements that you want. It’s the role of your florist to suggest and guide you in deciding on those finishing touches.

Depending on your thoughts regarding your wedding flowers, there are a two main ways to choose a florist – one is selecting a creative whose work you admire or, by convenience, and that could be based on locality or price.

Let’s not be coy about it, sometimes choice is dictated by cost, and with the best will in the world, not everyone has a bottomless pit of cash to splash. There is nothing wrong in choosing a supplier who offers a cheaper price. There are many reasons why supplier prices may vary – experience, overheads, choice of flowers used etc. If you live at the other end of the country to where you are marrying and want to use a florist who also has to travel a similar distance, be prepared for a chunk of expenses to be added to your final bill. At the end of the day choosing any supplier is all about what works for you, factoring in the service you are receiving, cost and confidence.

If costs are dictating your choices, then I would suggest when looking for your florist be upfront about what you can afford spend, and don’t inflate your budget. Ask the question, “I have £xxx to spend, what can I expect for that?” or “I need x, y, z and have £xxx.”

Starting that dialogue will help your florist to give you ideas and suggestions you may not have considered, and being open to florist choice of flowers can also be a great way to get more for your money. Not being too precise on what flowers must be in your wedding florals gives the opportunity for your florist to buy smart, rather than using all your dollar on specific types of luxury garden roses. Having lots of varieties of high quality flowers can also offer a far more beautiful floral experience, giving interest, depth and fragrance to your arrangements.

I hope you have found this blog post useful. If you are interested in any of my wedding services, please get in touch as I would love to hear from you.

You can find more information here on my The Limited Edition, Us and Ours and Just Us Elopement packages plus the Bespoke Wedding Floral Design Service.

Photo credit: Rosie McGhie – Lakes Wedding Photography

Venue – Cragwood Country House, Windermere