The
bridal bouquet is probably the second most important statement at a wedding
(second only to the bride of course!)
Choosing
the style of the arrangement and selecting the flowers is one of the most
exciting elements when planning a wedding;
it gives the bride the freedom to experiment with colour themes and to
be as bold and exciting as she wants to be. It’s a great way to express herself; she carries it down the aisle with her, it
accentuates her beautiful gown and it appears on most wedding photographs.
It
was the Greeks who began the tradition of initially wearing wedding flowers as
a garland. Bouquets were then created from
these garlands which would also commonly contain garlic to ward off evil
spirits and aromatic herbs to add fragrance. Over time, flowers would become the
mainstay of the bouquets; and then many flowers would have a ‘meaning’
with specific flowers being chosen to convey messages of love. It was the Victorians who were particularly fascinated by the
meanings of different blooms, their most popular being the rose which is
said to represent true love. The colours also had their own connotations – a
red rose symbolised passion, the white rose purity and a pink rose joy.
Centuries
ago it was considered good luck to touch the bride and even more so to tear off
a piece of the bride’s dress! So, to avoid the upset of a bride having a dress
ripped to shreds, the tradition of ‘tossing the bouquet’ was born to provide
the guests with a less-intrusive piece of the bride. In more recent times this
remains a popular tradition and is thought to offer love, luck & happiness
to the friend who catches the bouquet – going so far as to say that this friend
will be the next in line to be married.
Thanks to our creative and talented florists below for supplying their bouquet images:
