You’ve got your color palette chosen, your favorite flowers in mind, and maybe even said yes to the dress – now, let’s talk about your bouquet style!
Although it’s not likely the largest floral choice of your day, your bouquet style is the most personal.
Between shape, size, and price point, there are a few things to consider.
When we create your bouquet, one of the first considerations is the shape and overall style. Are you looking for a one-sided bouquet, or is your Pinterest full of rounded bouquets? Maybe neither! Our Pinterest has so many options to see as well. Check us out here!
Since we know that not everyone has a full florist vocabulary to describe their vision, we narrowed down our shapes into 4 categories to help create an easy place to start the conversation with our brides.
Our gallery page for bouquets has coordinating photos to these as well, so make sure to check them out as you read!
A Classic: Round Bouquets
Let’s start with the Rounded/Oval bouquet, as everyone can picture those almost perfectly basketball-shaped traditional bouquets. Now, not every rounded bouquet needs to look that tight and uniform, but it helps guide you to the general idea.
Whether smoothly rounded or a bit more loose and whimsical, a rounded bouquet will have florals visible on all sides, and when viewed from above will be more symmetrical.
Room for Style: One-Sided Bouquets
Maybe you like how a Round bouquet looks, but only from one side… well then that leads us to the One-Sided style! These bouquets have a set front and back, with all your florals focused on one side.
One-sided bouquets can still be a variety of shapes within this category, between a more vertical or horizontal orientation, so don’t feel like you’re getting locked into one look only here!
Free Form: Organic Shapes
Perhaps you like a little bit of both? Let’s discuss Organic Shapes!! Sometimes a bride will send us her favorite inspirational photos, and honestly, they have a little bit of everything.
There’s no need to put a specific label on anything, so this covers all of the asymmetric, modern, unique bouquets that our clients often don’t know how to describe!!
Looking for a show-stopper? Cascading bouquets may be for you.
The last of our four overall shapes is the Cascading bouquet. I saved this one for last because really, each of the above shapes can be transformed into a cascade!
Trailing stems of florals and vining greens hang down from the main bouquet, adding depth intrigue, and a good bit of romance.
Next Steps
Once you have a starting point for your bouquet shape and style, we can look at where your price point is within your budget. We joked about needing a Punnett Square for Bridal Bouquets, but honestly, it would be insanely helpful!
Each of the shapes can be built to any price point, a petite bouquet can have cascading greens, and a show stopper can be one-sided… limitless options!
Not only do budget and style ideals affect which size you choose, but also consider your stature and that of your partner – the largest size might overwhelm a 5-foot bride!
What we have to help your process:
Our wedding floral brochure (link) has three bridal price points. The first, the Show Stopper, is exactly that: our largest size, doing the most, making its moment, and drawing in lots of attention! One thing to consider at this size? The weight!! You might not think about flowers as heavy, but if you want to go big, make sure you don’t skip arm day.
You might not think about flowers as heavy, but if you want to go big, make sure you don’t skip arm day.
The Classic size tends to fit into most styles, budgets, and sizes. The Petite size price point makes a statement as well, just in the opposite direction from the show stopper.
Petite bouquets are perfect for those with a more minimal style, a love of daintier florals, or even elopements and vow renewals.
Flowers or Greenery?
Okay, we’ve looked at shape and style, and talked about size and price points, so what’s left? Think about your preference for the greens-to-florals ratio.
No idea what we mean? Take another look through your Pinterest, our Bouquets gallery, or a wedding magazine and once you have a few favorites.
Look a little closer and see if you enjoy the look of lots of textural greenery mixed in, or if are you more drawn to styles that are closer to floral-only?
Either style works well with all of our shapes and price points. It’s something that we discuss with our brides to make sure that we’re building a piece they will love!
Ribbon Details
A non-floral consideration is your ribbon wrap. We don’t wrap down all of the stems unless specifically requested, but you will have a few inches of your stems bound together with a ribbon.
[ribbon blowing in the wind gallery]
Our favorite is a chiffon, but there are satins, burlaps, and lace, and then choosing your color and if you want a trailing ribbon or not! We’ve also wrapped bouquets in fabric trimmed from your wedding dress, from your mother’s veil, leftovers from dyeing your own table runners… and also attaching a charm or photo locket. Personalizing your bouquet with these small details is so fun!
[details and charms on bouquets]
After the Ceremony
Please, please keep your bouquet in water as much as possible!! All of our bouquets are delivered in vases, just pop them out for photos, and you walk down the aisle, with a quick wipe of any water on the stems, that way they stay hydrated!!
The vases are yours to keep, which makes it easy to repurpose your bouquets in your reception. After photos and introductions, it’s nice to have a place to put you and your bridesmaid’s flowers down, without them getting all wild on you!
Moving the vases can be handled by a planner, venue coordinator, or trusty friend, or you can plan with us to remain on-site to assist with any repurposing!!
Holding er’ for Perfect Photos
A little tip on how to hold your bouquet: always hold it a little lower than you think! You don’t want to block any of your beautiful face, or the neckline details of your dress – belly button height is a good place to aim for!
Double-check that you have the correct side facing out, or if you have a rounded bouquet you can tilt it forward. You’ll thank us when you get your photos back!
Whew! All that for ONE item on your wedding florals checklist?! Like we said, it might not be the biggest but it’s one of the most personal, and it deserves all the thought and consideration!!
If you’re one of our brides, we will go through all the details with you and check in periodically to see if your vision is still on the same track, or has changed course.
And once your big day has come to an end, there are lots of ways to preserve your bouquet!! So many that we even wrote another blog post about it 😉
Go check it out!
Linked here: How to Preserve Your Bouquet
