How to Carry Popular Wedding Flowers

Brides today have many choices in the types of bouquets they carry. They can carry a nosegay, cascade, hand tied, or contemporary flower arrangement. This article addresses the different types of wedding flower bouquets and flower choices for them.

Nosegays are small, round, and compact settings of flowers. They have been called a "tussie mussie". It is called a nosegay because it was used in the 14th century to ward off smelly odors. This is a great style for highly elegant and sophisticated weddings.

Cascade wedding flower bouquets has the focal point a very long flowing spray of flowers. It will descend far below the rest of the bouquet and be a more romantic setting. This usually is the entire focus of the bride, more so than her dress. This is the style of choice in very traditional wedding parties and floral arrangements.

Hand tied bouquets are a little less structured and are made by just wrapping ribbon around the stems. They are casual and fun and wonderful for a garden wedding. This is a great choice for those who prefer a more laid back feel and fun ceremony than one strict in tradition and elegance. It is also a very good choice for pagan handfastings.

Contemporary wedding flower bouquets have no specific form or design. They represent the creativity of the bride and the individual style of the wedding. They are simple, graceful, and yet very refined. They can have flowers with any texture or color palate.

Flower Choices for your Bridal Bouquet

The top flower choices are:

Rose

Roses and garden roses are always the first thought for wedding bouquets, as it's the staple of love symbolism. There are really three choices for roses in a wedding; the hybrid tea rose or more classic rose, the spray rose where there are several small blooms on a stem, and the garden rose where they are the busy open old fashioned roses that are dreadfully expensive.

Gardenia

The Gardenia is a wonderful smelling flower for wedding bouquets. It has dark waxy leaves and stands out in a crowd.

Lily of the valley

It is such a delicate and breathtaking flower for wedding arrangements. It has small bell shaped blooms and can be called the "ladder of heaven".

The Hydrangea
Hydrangeas are big statement making flowers. It means "vanity" in most flower language guides. Its blooms will range, usually white, green, pink, blue, and purple.

The Calla Lily
The Calla Lily means "magnificent beauty" and holds its origin in Africa. It is also called the arum lily. Calla lilies are elegant and refined, and come with two distinct varieties: a larger trumpet variety for long flowing bouquets and the smaller version for compact nosegays.

The Stephanotis
Stephanotis has a flower meaning of "marital happiness", and its small white blooms are lovely in their star look and their waxy florets.

The Tulip
Tulips are a native of Persia and are viewed as the flower of "consuming love". Color range for tulips are all over the spectrum, but most wedding flower bouquets are in pink, peach, red, purple, and white.

The Hydrangea
Hydrangeas are big statement making flowers. It means "vanity" in most flower language guides. Its blooms will range, usually white, green, pink, blue, and purple.