Our members learn about all the different styles of wedding bouquets the bride and bridesmaids can carry—from the simple long-stemmed rose to a full trailing teardrop bouquet, and can complete the checklist that reminds them of their choices when they get their wedding flower quotes. As usual, they can share ideas with other couples in the members’ forum, and get answers from our certified wedding planners.
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When it comes to wedding bouquets, you have some options. Let’s start with a small wedding, and work our way up to larger weddings. This is a guideline only, and you can mix and match styles as you choose to create a unique look for your wedding.
For simple, informal modern weddings, many brides will choose just a few flower stems. The bridesmaids might have only a single long-stemmed rose (with or without ribbon), while the bride might have three long stemmed roses tied with a ribbon. Simple, and elegant, this choice usually extends to the reception tables having a single long stemmed rose in a vase on each table. The long stemmed roses of the bride and bridesmaids are then used on the head table to complete the look.
Smaller weddings allow for small bouquets, and in this situation the bride has a few choices. A circular posy or posy with ribbons is a nice choice. A posy is by definition a small bunch of flowers. A circular posy is when the flowers are arranged in a circular shape, or the posy can be a standard small bunch of flowers. Both posy styles can be accented with ribbon, or not, but most often a ribbon in the wedding colours accent the flower bouquet. These posy’s can be used on the head table as centrepieces, and similar flower centrepieces can be used on the reception room tables.
Medium size weddings often work well with a spray of flowers. A ‘spray’ as they are referred to, is usually a bunch of long-stemmed flowers held sideways along the arm as the bride walks down the aisle. Flower sprays can be held upright, and either way, is usually accented with ribbon. Wedding reception flowers are usually the same as the wedding bouquet style chosen, so in this case the reception tables would have sprays of flowers in a vase. The flower sprays of the bride and bridesmaids can be used as decoration on the head table.
Larger weddings usually have a more extravagant flower bouquet, and the classic choice is the teardrop bouquet, or the trailing teardrop bouquet. The shape of this bouquet is like an upside down teardrop—large and full at the top, tapering down to just a few flowers. A trailing teardrop ‘trails’ down further than the classic teardrop shaped bouquet. When couples choose this type of bouquet, the wedding reception flowers tend to be equally extravagant with large trumpet vases holding lovely sprays of flowers.
Before you spend $300 or more on the bride’s bouquet, stop and think about how important it is to you. Think back to any wedding you attended. What do you remember about the bride walking down the aisle? Do you remember her flower bouquet? Or do you remember her dress? Maybe you remember the overall look more than details. And how long did you get to see the flower bouquet as she walked down the aisle? 10 seconds? maybe 40 seconds? And, do you remember seeing the bouquet at any other point in the wedding?
I’ve been to weddings where the bride carried her bouquet throughout most of the wedding reception. I’ve been to weddings where the bouquet was carried at the ceremony and then not seen for the rest of the wedding. There are no hard and fast rules. How important is the flower bouquet in the overall scheme of your wedding? Only you can make that decision.