No matter how much time you’ve already spent thinking about your wedding flowers, choosing flowers and arrangements for your big day is a big deal. Making mistakes when choosing your wedding flowers not only has the potential to spoil the overall look of your wedding and wedding photos, it can also wind up costing you more than you planned to spend. To make sure you get your wedding flowers right, be sure you avoid making the following mistakes that our florists see couples make all the time when selecting your wedding flowers.
1. Stepping Out of Season
We always recommend sticking with in-season flowers. They’re much less expensive, meaning you can spend more on your honeymoon, and they’re usually in much better shape than flowers grown out of season. In-season flowers will also look more attractive at your wedding since they’ll match the weather and also be more likely to complement your wedding party’s clothing colors.
2. Having an Inflexible Color Story
Monochromatic color schemes are currently in fashion, but we recommend getting a little more daring with your floral arrangements. If you try to match bouquets to your bridesmaids’ gowns, they often end up clashing or blending in too closely. Selecting several colors will not only better highly the beauty of the flowers, but it’ll also ensure the floral arrangements look lovely in your wedding photos.
3. Forgetting about Allergies and Other Sensitivities
Guests and members of your wedding party might be sensitive or allergic to strong-smelling flowers. For example, daffodils can often cause a rash. Our florists can help you choose less fragrant flowers for bouquets, corsages, and boutonnieres. We also recommend less fragrant flowers for small venues. If your reception is held in a large hall or outdoors, however, you’ll probably be okay using fragrant blooms in your arrangements.
4. Forgoing a Budget
Flowers are beautiful, and it’s easy to get excited about selecting floral arrangements for your wedding day. If you head into a wedding flower consultation without a budget, it’s easy to get in over your head fast. As a good rule of thumb, a reasonable cost for flowers is usually around 10% of the overall wedding budget. When you have a set budget at the time of your flower consultation, your florist will be able to help you create a wedding flower package that meets all of your needs.
5. Ignoring Floral Symbolism
Every flower has a symbolic meaning, so it’s important your wedding flowers carry the right message. You wouldn’t want to choose flowers that represent sorrow and mourning, like hyacinths, for your wedding day. Blooms like asters, roses, and tulips, representing sentiments like happiness, love, and patience, hit exactly the right note for a wedding celebration. Check out our floral dictionary for even more ideas.
6. Being Too Traditional
We encourage our couples to have a little fun and think outside of the box with their wedding flowers. While you probably want to order all the mainstays — bridal bouquets, boutonnieres, and centerpieces — don’t forget about all the other options for floral arrangements. You can use flowers to decorate your entire ceremony to create a sumptuous, magical, and elegant space. So, remember to consider all the possibilities — garlands, chairs, gazebos, the bar, the cake and cake table, getaway car decor, and more!
7. Not Taking Your Florist’s Advice
Florists know flowers. We can help you choose blooms that won’t wilt in the summer heat and avoid those that will. We can show you which flowers will be in-season and gorgeous for your January wedding. So, although you’ve probably already done some research, it’s always good to be open to our florist’s suggestions.
8. Not Planning Ahead
Not all flowers you’re going to want are indigenous to Nashville. It’s common for florists to order a great variety of flowers from all over the world. To ensure your florist has enough time to order the flowers you want for your wedding, you should initiate the process with a florist at least six weeks before the big day.
9. Being Unprepared
When you’re ready to meet with a florist, the biggest mistake you can make is being unprepared. Do plenty of research to find examples of flowers, colors, and styles you think will work best for your wedding day. It’s a great idea to make a checklist of all the flowers, arrangements, and floral accents you’ll need for your wedding ceremony, wedding reception, and wedding day VIPs. This way, you’ll be able to take care of everything during your first meeting with your florist.
Be sure to avoid these common mistakes so your wedding flowers are perfect on your special day!
For even more floral ideas, advice, and inspiration for your wedding day, contact our floral experts at Rose Hill Flowers in Nashville!