The Best Wedding Bouquet Flowers - How I Craft Your Perfect Posy

Best wedding bouquet flowers

Your wedding bouquet is one of the most important floral elements of the whole day. It’s the treasure trove of blooms you’ll carry with you down the aisle to say ‘I do’, and the first of your bespoke floral creations you’ll lay eyes on. Your bouquet becomes a part of your bridal look, the final finishing touch to the most special outfit you’ll ever wear, and will be something you’ll revere long after your wedding day is over - maybe even forever, if you opt to preserve it. I’m going to reveal the best wedding bouquet flowers, and how I make this the most spectacular bunch of blooms you’ll ever hold.

Choosing flowers for your bouquet

I always order flowers specifically for your bouquet, and then pick out the best and most beautiful individual stems before I start making anything else. Because they are alive, each flower has its own distinct look, almost like a personality. When your flowers arrive I will reserve the most special ones for your bouquet, keeping in mind that it is usually photographed from a close distance - only the biggest, most bountiful and open flowers will be selected. Part of the conditioning process is to ensure your wedding flowers all look their best for as long as possible, but there is still a lot of variation in how they respond - my priority is to find the stars and showcase them in your bouquet.

Best types of flowers for your wedding bouquet

Unless you specifically ask me not to, I will always use roses in your bouquet. This is because they come in lots of different colours, have big silky heads and are available all year round - one flower type can help me achieve so many different looks and styles. I always order premium garden roses, the most spectacular ones I can find. Sometimes my brides request bouquets made solely from roses, and other times they like a mixture - in this case I will put in lots of different types of flowers, even as many as 8 or 9 varieties.

I always look carefully at the shapes and textures of the individual flowers to put in your bouquet, and like a good selection of delicate floaty stems that give beautiful dynamic movement when you move. I’ll also add some more structured varieties such as delphiniums and larkspur, and love to use stocks because they smell amazing and have a lovely fluffy, romantic feel.

The key for me is using different shapes, textures and tones and blending colours. For this I need lots of flowers in different shades of a colour, so your bouquet will be abundant and organic, looking as much as possible as though it all grew together naturally. Generally speaking I like to lean into the natural colour of flowers rather than using bleached varieties, and place a big focus on the five senses when designing. You can explore how I think about each of the senses in my Scented Wedding Flowers blog. Not all roses have a scent, but some garden varieties smell beautiful. I like to use these alongside sweet peas, stocks and herbs which are all fabulously fragrant.

Images by Jo Bradbury Photography

Using foliage in a bouquet

Brides are sometimes hesitant about foliage in their bouquet, so we don’t have to use it if it’s not for you! However, it gives the most gorgeous shaping effect so it can be important to the overall design. I love to use jasmine, asparagus fern, eucalyptus and British foliage types because they are soft and also look lovely in buttonholes. If you don’t want too much green in your bouquet I can choose foliage that is softer in colour, and even on the purple colour spectrum. It’s still possible to use foliage and achieve a beautiful monochrome bouquet, so don’t write it off too quickly.

Bride holding an all white modern bridal bouquet — Image by Francesca Bravo Photography

The finishing touch

I always like to add a long, flowing ribbon to your bouquet unless you ask for something different. It adds the perfect finishing touch and gives another element of dynamism to the design, the perfect addition to your naturally shaped bouquet.

Head to the Weddings page of my website to see some of the bespoke bouquet designs I’ve created in the past, and get in touch if you’d like to create your own show-stopper together.

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