Top 7 Wedding Flowers
By Stephanie Avent
Fragrant, lovely, delicate, or inspiring, beautiful blooms are an essential part of almost every couple’s wedding celebration. With so many natural stunners to choose from, it may be hard to decide just which you should use for your big day. To help you get started, here’s a look at seven of our favorite wedding flowers.
1. Roses
Of course, it only makes sense to start our list with the quintessential wedding flower—the rose. Th is elegant flower, widely grown for its aesthetic splendor and swoon-inducing fragrance, is available in more than 100 species and a variety of colors (and bicolors). An ancient symbol of love and beauty, roses have inspired romance in many poets, writers, and artists over time. Let them inspire your wedding planning, too.
2. Hydrangeas
With large, fl oaty orbs of delicate blooms and a reasonable price tag, hydrangeas are a popular and
smart choice for wedding flowers. The scentless fl ower heads come in white; softly colored pinks; or vivid shades of blue, purple, or green. They are an especially nice choice for outdoor weddings and for garden or rustic-themed weddings. Hydrangeas symbolize pride and gratitude.
3. Tulips
Just the thought of a tulip brings a smile to my lips. Bold, perky, classic—what more could you ask
for in a wedding fl ower? Tulips come in elegant white, vibrant solids, and beautiful striped and variegated varieties. Another plus is that they retain moisture for a long time, ensuring that your bouquet will hold up ’til the wee hours of the night. Finally, tulips are generally considered to
be symbolic of perfect love—how perfect!
4. Calla Lilies
Th e calla lily symbolizes magnifi cent beauty, quite fi tting for such a lovely fl ower. Two types of these pristine, trumpet-shaped beauties are often used in weddings: the willowy, largeheaded, and long-stemmed variety and the shorter mini calla lily, which you can fi nd in red, flamingo pink, yellow, dark purple, and many other hues. And of course creamy white is a popular choice for both varieties. The calla lily is a choice well suited for any elegant aff air.
5. Peonies
Th ese large showstoppers are pretty enough to take your breath away! Peonies are known for their likeness to oversized roses, but with lush, billowy petals that curl in just a bit at the ends. These fl owers, of Chinese origin, embody romance and prosperity and are regarded as an omen of good fortune and a happy marriage. They make lovely centerpieces, too.
6. Orchids
Orchids off er the most choices of any fl ower you’ll consider—they are the largest family of flowering plants on Earth, with more than 22,000 species currently recognized and new ones continually being added. Among the many orchids available, Cymbidium is the most popular. They have large heads and are available in pale green, white, yellow, and pink. Orchids—symbolic of rare beauty and refi nement—are a wonderful choice for a chic, modern celebration, with an exotic look that is guaranteed to impress.
7. Gerber Daisy
Th is is another fl ower that simply makes people happy! So vibrant, and exuberant, Gerber daisies are the perfect fl ower choice for a fun-fi lled, joyous occasion. (Did you know that they come from the sunfl ower family?) A symbol of innocence and purity, Gerber daisies vary greatly in shape and size and come in a variety of colors, including white, yellow, orange, red, and pink.
Roses: 1) Photo by Brian Ray Studios, 2) Photo by Egomedia Photography, 3) Photo by Stacy Richardson, 4) Photo by Stacy Richardson, 5) Photo by Melissa Grimes-Guy Photography, 6) Photo by Stacy Richardson, 8) Photo by Brian Ray Studios, 9) Photo by Stacy Richardson, Hydrangeas: 10) Photo by Egomedia Photography, 11) Photo courtesy of Flower Follies, 12) Photo by Sifu Renka, 13) Photo by Sifu Renka, 14) Photo by Egomedia Photography, 15) Photo by Clear Focus Photography and Video, Tulips: 16) Photo courtesy of Rachel’s Flower Power, 17) Photo by Stacy Richardson, 20) Photo by Stacy Richardson, 21) Photo by Melissa Grimes-Guy Photography, Calla Lillies: 22) Photo by Stacy Richardson, 23) Photo by Brian Ray Studios, 24) Photo by Brian Ray Studios, 25) Photo by richardallenphotography.com, 26) Photo by Brian Ray Studios, 27) Photo by Brian Ray Studios, Peonies: 28) Photo courtesy of Rachel’s Flower Power, 29) Photo by Sarah McGee, 30) Photo courtesy of Rachel’s Flower Power, 32) Photo by Melissa Grimes-Guy Photography, Orchids: 33) Photo courtesy of Rachel’s Flower Power, 35) Photo by Melissa Grimes-Guy Photography, 36) Photo by richardallenphotography.com, 37) Photo by Sifu Renka, 38) Photo by Brian Ray Studios, 39) Photo by Brian Ray Studios, Gerber Daisy: 40) Photo by Harvey Levine, 41) Photo by Brian Ray Studios, 42) Photo by Brian Ray Studios, 43) Photo by Tom Vadnais Photography, 44) Photo by Egomedia Photography, 45) Photo by Ira Levine
More Articles