|
Popular Wedding flowers? If you could picture yourself walking through a glorious garden with every flower at it's peak, which flower would you pick for your wedding? The common place or the colorful? Perhaps the rarest or most fragrant?
Having trouble deciding from the thousands of varieties available? To help you narrow down your bouquet and centerpiece choices before you meet with your florist, we offer this overview of the top 10 most popular wedding flowers.
Roses
Long considered a symbol of beauty and love, the rose figures into many myths and fairy tales. Romantic writers and poets have used the roses as a metaphor for emotion, beauty, passion and true love throughout the ages.
The rose is far from boring, particularly when it comes to color, as the rose is available in solid colors and bicolor varieties. There are three main types which are likely candidates for your wedding flowers:
- Hybrid Tea Roses - the classic, uniformly-shaped commercial roses generally seen at your local florist.
- Spray Roses - a rose with five to 10 small heads on each stem and a "natural, garden-grown" look.
- Garden Roses - expensive, old-fashioned varieties with bushy, open heads and delicious scents.
Tulips
Although it's most often associated with the Netherlands, this flower is actually a native of Persia. The Tulip represents "consuming love" and "happy years," . Tulips can be a meaningful wedding choice.
Tulips are grown in a wide range of colors: white and cream; pastels like pink, yellow and peach; and vibrant hues like magenta, red and purple. They are available during much of the year and the most common tulips are very affordable, though rare varieties can be expensive.
The versatile tulip can enhance both elegant wedding settings and more casual venues. Three main varieties are commonly used:
- Dutch tulips - typically seen at neighbourhood florist shops and in gardens
- French tulips - expensive and elegant, with extra-long stems and large tapered blooms
- Parrot tulips - noted for their ruffled, striped petals in intense colors
Calla Lilies
Also known as the arum lily, this elegant, trumpet-shaped blossom originated in Africa and symbolizes "magnificent beauty" in the language of flowers.
The calla lily's distinctive form has been depicted in Art Nouveau and Art Deco works, in addition to twentieth-century photography. Two types are commonly available:
- A large-headed variety with a long, smooth stem and suitable for tall arrangements or presentation-style bouquets
- A miniature version ideal for nosegays and boutonnieres. Creamy ivory is the most popular color, but calla lilies also come in yellow, orange, mauve-pink and dark purple
Lily Of The Valley
With bell-shape florets dangling from a thin stem, the lily of the valley is sometimes called "the ladder to heaven." The fresh, perfumed scent from it's tiny flowers is unmistakable.
In Norse mythology, the flower is linked to Ostara, the goddess of springtim eand while most plentiful during this season, it remains available most of the year. However it is a very expensive flower. So while a fistful of lily of the valley might be your dream, a more affordable alternative may be to use just a few stems to infuse a bouquet or centerpiece with it's wonderful fragrance. Most people know of the white variety, but lily of the valley also comes in a very rare rosy-pink as well.
|
Hydrangeas
With its big bushy head and intense shades of pink, blue, burgundy and purple, it's no wonder that the hydrangea represented "vanity" in the Victorian language of flowers. One of the most popular varieties changes in color as it grows from bubble-gum pink to sky blue, depending on the acid level of the soil.
A stem or two of this moderately priced, scentless shrub flower helps fill out arrangements and bouquets and a few sprigs make a charming boutonniere. You'll find the hydrangea in white and shades of green, pink, burgundyand blue.
The Peony
The peony has a large, full head, strong perfume and bright color. The flower acquired the Victorian meaning "bashfulness." Cultivated in Asia for more than a thousand years and developed further by the French, the peony is available in two main types, the herbaceous and the tree peony, although the latter's flowers do not last as long when cut.
A bouquet made solely of peonies can be gorgeous or the flowers can also be used to create beautiful centerpieces and arrangements. Grown in single- and double-flower styles, this expensive bloom is seasonally available from late spring to early summer but can be imported in the fall (at a hefty cost no doubt).
Ranunculus
Looking for a cost-effective alternative to roses or peonies? The you may want to try the lush, multi-petaled ranunculus, which is a relative of the buttercup. To carry ranunculus is to tell your partner, in the Victorian language of flowers, "I am dazzled by your charms." A natural for the bridal bouquet or bridesmaid nosegays, the ranunculus also makes a whimsical boutonniere and is available in many colors including white, yellow, orange and pink.
Stephanotis
The Victorian meaning for this flower is "marital happiness," making the dainty white Stephanotis an obvious choice for weddings. The star-shape, waxy florets actually grow on a flowering vineand so each must be individually wired or placed onto a special holder before it can be arranged.
A bouquet of stephanotis blossoms is one of the most traditional a bride can carry and a stephanotis boutonniere is a classic choice for a formal wedding. Mildly scented, moderately priced and available all year round.
Sweet Peas
The sweet pea, which signifies "lasting pleasure," was first brought to England from Sicily in 1699and the English have had a love affair with this delicate flower ever since. It's candy-like scent and ruffled blossoms make this an old-fashioned favourite in bouquets for the bride and her bridesmaids.
The sweet pea's many colors range from white to intense pinks and purples and it's scent can be strong and sweet.
The Gardenia
Surrounded by dark green, waxy leaves, the exquisite gardenia exudes a sultry, heavy scent. It was this intoxicating fragrance that captivated an English sea captain traveling through South Africa in 1754, prompting him to bring home one of the native plants as a souvenir.
Gardenias are lovely tucked into a bouquet or floating in a low bowl as a centerpiece and a single gardenia makes a wonderful scented corsage. But be gentle as the delicate, creamy ivory petals of this expensive flower can bruise easily.
|
