Top Floral Designs for Your Wedding

Weddings are easily one of the most flower-focused days, featuring floral details in nearly every aspect. Flowers adorn the ceremonial space. The bride and her bridesmaids carry bouquets, the groom and groomsmen wear matching boutonnieres. At the reception, flowers are on every table, maybe decorating the cake, ornamenting the dance floor or doorways, or arranged in a big statement piece, like a flower wall photo booth. It’s frankly difficult to imagine a wedding without flowers. Flowers bring vibrancy, vitality and movement to a space and can transform the feel and look of a wedding.

According to The Knot, the average cost of a wedding jumped last year to a new high of just over $35,000. More than half of couples are willing to increase their budget to have their dream wedding. While the venue and photography are still the biggest areas for wedding spending, there’s a surprising increase in the spending for wedding floral and event design, too.

Or maybe it’s not so surprising. Flowers, candle light, and dreamy décor are what make weddings romantic, and now they’ve become a testament to what makes a wedding unique. From expressing personal style to unforgettable statement structures, florals are taking root in weddings with much more importance.

Blush Botanicals

Local luxury florist Alexandra Wise, owner of Blush Botanicals, specializes in niche, upscale weddings that feature unique structures that many modern brides seek.

"It allows us to create different things and do ceiling installations. I wouldn’t necessarily call us just a florist because we do so much more than that," Wise says.

In fact, Blush has a personal fabricator on staff to build anything Wise can dream up and put to paper. He works with both metal and wood, allowing the company to come up with incredibly unique pieces for brides who desire a completely custom look.

"You’ve got keep it interesting, and you have to stay on top of the trends," Wise explains. "You have to be an innovator if you want to specialize in the luxury market. If you become too monotonous, then there’s someone else that’s going to be crazy inspiring and they’re going to book all the weddings."

Blush Botanicals

Though she says Blush is a bit of a chameleon in terms of aesthetic, they are known for their lush floral displays at weddings, which are certainly the trend. The structures she designs are usually covered in flowers, in addition to the eye-catching centerpieces that decorate a table and the vibrant bouquets in the bridal party. Overall, it creates a massively dramatic look.

"We definitely don’t do anything very simple," Wise says. "There’s something really special about taking one event and being part of it, versus being more of a wedding factory where you have five events in a day. And then what are you paying for? If no one’s going to walk away saying, ‘Oh my god, did you see the décor?’ then you’re just paying for another something. But [with] us, you know that when your guests walk into that room, they will be talking about the flowers."

For a truly memorable event, it’s clear that flowers are going to be an important part of setting the mood, and it’s no wonder that budgets are ever-increasing to include breathtaking floral arrangements.

If a bride has no idea where to begin when picking flowers, she can still breathe easy. At Blush, Wise says knowing specific flowers isn’t nearly as important as the big picture aesthetic. It’s difficult to match a wedding date with a specific flower’s particular growing season every time.

Adorations Botanical Artistry

"I wish people would choose their wedding date based more on their favorite flowers and when they're in season," says LaVonne Crawford, another San Diego-based florist and owner of Adorations Botanical Artistry. She says it’s sad to be the bad news bearer and tell a February bride who’s dreaming of peonies that there aren’t any. However, she says there are easy substitutions that can be made.

"Garden roses are a great substitute for peonies, and garden roses are available in California year round. Peonies have a season from Mother's Day through the end of June," Crawford explains. "Fortunately, being in California, you can get things more often than not, but you do pay a higher price."

When flowers aren’t in season, they can be shipped internationally from countries like Holland, with temperate climates and a large flower industry. It steepens the price, but ensures the perfect flower on wedding day. Crawford, instead, prefers a different approach.  

"I really like to choose things that are seasonal and local first, over everything else," Crawford says. She says that many people care where their products are coming from in modern society, and not only is it better for the environment, but it’s also helping out bridal budgets. However, she emphasizes that sticking to a budget and staying on top of trends don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

Adorations Botanical Artistry

"I personally love greenery in all things [and] I know that right now, it's really abundant," Crawford says. Maybe it’s due in part to Pantone’s announcement of the Color of the Year, Greenery, but it’s undeniable that adding significant amounts of greenery to a floral design is a big hit right now.

"So I have a lot of brides who are loving garlands and mixed greenery garlands, and more greenery than I've ever seen. Even greenery arrangements," Crawford explains. "I love that things are feeling more natural and organic. I think that's one of the most exciting things I've seen over the years. As a designer, [I’m] always trying to meet the needs of the client, [and] there is a bit of compromise as a designer that you make for your own personal taste. But what's happening now happens to be in alignment with my own taste, so I'm really happy about that."

Greenery is also a great opportunity to include local foliage in a wedding. Here in San Diego, we may see some succulent and cactus arrangements combined with lush flowers or other native growers like stems of sagebrush or chamise. Crawford also says including more greenery in a floral design can impact a budget in a positive way, leaving more room for a bride to splurge on premium flowers or fun, trendy structures.

The most important thing for brides to remember when it comes to choosing their florals is finding the right vendor. Both Crawford and Wise stress that understanding the client and her sense of expression is the best way to create the right style of the design. These designers use their first meetings with a client as a way to discover inspiration, discussing everything from the style of one’s home and clothing to random objects that are appealing in some way. They want the client to feel like she’s chosen a florist she can put her faith in. As Wise says, "I feel like when they choose a vendor, they should feel like, ‘Oh, that took a lot off my mind. Check that off the list.’" When the final design is revealed on the big day, the client-vendor relationship is what brings a picture-perfect dream into stunning reality.

For Related Articles Try:

Interview with Adorations Botanical Artistry

San Diego Wedding Florists Voted by YOU

Flowers Forever Wedding Florist