Decorate Your Wedding with Flowers

To some degree, most weddings include flowers. From bridal bouquets to aisle runners and reception centerpieces, flowers make a wonderfully fragrant and elegant decoration for any occasion. When incorporating flowers into your wedding designs, consider the following.

Trends

According to an article by Katie Byrne for UK brides and “Flower Trends Forecast” for the US by Brittany Ulman, 2018 is a year of several distinct trends when it comes to wedding flowers:

1. Bouquets and floral arrangements often incorporate greenery or other natural elements of some sort. Often pared with a white floral element, textured foliage such as delicate ferns or strands of ivy lend an air of freshness and simplicity.
2. Brides are favoring less structured bouquets. In keeping with the addition of green elements, brides’ bouquets now tend to be more free form, with streaming tendrils of greenery or a riot of colorful blooms in artful disarray.
3. Deep, saturated colors are in the spotlight. Though brides may have a dominant flower color in mind, the trend is moving away from muted palettes and squarely toward vibrant pinks and purples and oranges and any other tone that suits the couple.

Using Flowers or Other Decorative Elements

For both the wedding and the reception, flowers are traditionally used in a variety of locations. In addition to the bridal bouquet, bridesmaids often have bouquets too. The groom typically sports a boutonniere, and his groomsmen and ushers may as well. Couples can use flowers and arrangements at both the wedding and reception.

At the wedding, a couple might have arrangements:

• Decorating the altar, and the venue
• On other structures like an arch or wall
• Affixed to aisle seats for guests
• In a crown for the bride, bridesmaids or flower girls
• In corsages for mothers and grandmothers
• On the guest book table

At the reception, there could be flowers:

• Welcoming guests to the space,
• Decorating the place cards display
• As a center piece on the head table, and on guest tables
• As an element of the room decoration
• In special drinks or on the cake

If some of your guests suffer from allergies, there are good alternatives. For example:

• Decorate your reception space with elements that speak to you and your partner. Artfully arrange old books, or elements like candles and glass containers with seashells or other colorful elements. Elements that reflect your love of cooking or travel, or places you’ve been through photos, or fabrics or other treasures can work too. 
• Use balloons in creative ways. Especially if you are in a rustic or sparsely furnished venue with a high ceiling, balloons can rise to any height or cover bare walls with relative ease.
• Investigate other options. It is easy, for instance, to find wood flowers, silk flowers, and paper flowers. Depending on other elements in your wedding, dried flowers or other natural elements can also work well.

The Cost of Flowers

Most wedding experts estimate that flowers will be about 10 to 15 percent of a typical wedding budget. In the Twin Cities, that might amount to $2,900 to $6,000 for a nice selection of bouquets and arrangements for an average size wedding. If you are planning a large wedding and intend to have flowers in a starring role, you can expect to spend much more.

When pricing flowers, be aware of extra costs associated various services, or special types of flowers that are not readily available. Make certain you understand the total costs associated with the flowers. Note any consultation fees or extra costs for special arrangements, and delivery, mileage or set up charges. You may also want to ask the florist about their design process—how many meetings it might take to finalize a plan, the point at which they may require a down payment, and the timing for the final bill.

Other Tips

• Visit florists or look on Pinterest for ideas when you’re starting out.
• If your bouquets need to withstand some time in very hot, windy or cold places, ask the florist for foliage and blooms that can survive more easily in extremes.
• If you don’t have a lot to spend, get creative—

1. Bring the floral arrangements from the wedding to help decorate your reception space.
2. If you are opting to use silk flowers, see if you can find them used on a wedding exchange site.
3. Choose floral varietals that are in season or readily available where and when you get married.
4. Avoid getting married on or close to holidays like Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day or Christmas when everything floral is already more expensive.
5. Use other types of decorations in your reception space or choose a beautiful venue (like the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center) where fewer flowers are needed to make an impact.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed with all the decisions and expenses inherent in most aspects of the wedding. Flowers are traditional for weddings, but your options are myriad so at least you can control the amount you spend to get the look you’d like. If you need a venue in which to envision your decorations,  give us a call (952-948-6502) to schedule a tour.