When preparing to decorate your wedding ceremony and reception, flowers become an important part of the process, as various blooms can create just the right atmosphere. Usually, flowers are chosen to follow a specific color scheme that the bride and groom have agreed upon, while some choose to match the dress of the bride. Wedding flowers are also chosen regarding the meaning associated with the blooms, including everlasting love, purity, or good luck.

Ceremony flowers are used to personalize the site of matrimony; decorate the hair of brides; create the bouquets for the bride and her bridesmaids; and establish a setting at the reception. Selected flowers are usually used to embellish the altar and/or podium and often follow newly married couples to the site of the reception after the ceremony. Below you will find some of the ways wedding flowers are utilized:

Alter

Flower arrangements are often placed on both sides of the altar, where bride and groom exchange their vows. The chosen blooms are usually larger or presented as an attractive spread, as these arrangements need to appear large enough to become visible from afar.

Pews

Many couples decorate the pews of a church with colorful ribbons and flowers. Sometimes, this becomes a clever and inviting way to mark reserved seats for immediate family and special guests.

Trellis

To elevate the appearance of a wedding set in the outdoors, renting a trellis is recommended. A variety of shapes, sizes, and colors are available. Conveniently, a handful of florists actually rent out this item and will decorate the trellis with flowers that match the colors of your wedding.

Saving Money on Wedding Flowers

Since wedding flowers tend to run on the expensive side, more and more couples are looking for ways on how to cut back on their overall costs. There are many inventive approaches to this part of the wedding. A few ideas include splitting the cost of wedding flowers with another couple who is getting married on the same day or soon after. Sometimes, couples save money by reusing their flowers when another holiday, such as Valentine’s Day, anniversaries, or Mother’s Day are close behind.

Some couples cut back on costs regarding ceremony decoration when they plan their wedding date close to Easter or Christmas, where churches are naturally decorated at this time. Getting married in a rose garden or other flower setting definitely cuts back on the cost of flowers for the ceremony site. When decorating pews, some couples forego flowers and select tulle bows instead.

Wedding Flower Checklist

When planning a budget for your flowers and making sure all proper orders are placed within a reasonable amount of time, it is suggested to create a wedding flower checklist to make sure you don’t forget anything. For example, the bridal party requires a bridal bouquet, bridal throw-away bouquet, Maid of Honor bouquet, bridesmaids bouquets, flower girl bouquet or basket (with optional headpiece), Mother of Bride corsage/bouquet, boutonniere for bride’s father, and various corsages and boutonnieres for grandparents.