The Ultimate Guide To Choosing Your Bridal Bouquet

Playing bride as a child probably included a pillowcase veil and hastily assembled handful of daisies and dandelions while walking down the aisle to say “I do” to a reluctant teddy bear. Now that you’re planning your perfect wedding to your devoted partner, you can be a little more selective with the bunch of blooms accenting your bridal look.

Wondering how to choose a bouquet for wedding style and beauty your younger self could only dream of? We’re here with all the tips you need to find the bridal bouquet that perfectly fits your wedding vision.

Why Do Brides Carry Wedding Flowers?

Along with cascading veils and voluminous white gowns, wedding bouquets are an integral part of the wedding ensemble. Have you ever wondered why carrying a bundle of flowers down the aisle feels so “bridal”? Tradition and symbolism play a role in making bridal bouquets so iconic.

Symbolism of the Wedding Bouquet

Back in the day, bouquets weremore than just a beautiful accessory. Strong aromatic plants were carried to spread pleasing fragrance and cover up less than lovely scents. Victorians took this tradition a bit further, incorporating a love of botanical symbolism by choosing flowers for what each bloom represents — the love language of flowers.

While tussie-mussies and nosegays aren’t as much of a necessity today (thanks in part to modern hygiene), the important romantic sentiments still carry through.

Bridal bouquets play a role in event traditions as well. The bouquet toss, for example, is a symbolic way for the bride to say farewell to singledom and pass the torch of wedded bliss to the next lucky recipient.

Do I Need a Wedding Bouquet?

Do you need to carry a bouquet? No. But it’s sure to add an extra layer of alluring beauty and joy to your day if you do.

Whether you have a sentimental attachment to specific flowers and their meanings or you just really love the way delicate pink petals perfectly accent your wedding gown, bouquets are a definite beauty bonus for your bridal look.

Tips for Finding the Right Bridal Bouquet for Your Wedding

Lots of factors come into play when deciding on the perfect bouquet for your wedding day. It’s an accessory that will live forever in your wedding photos, so you’ll want to choose something that adds an extra element of beauty without taking over the frame.

Here’s some of our favorite tried and true tips for achieving bouquet perfection:

Tie Your Bouquet into the Wedding Theme & Color Palette

One of the easiest first steps in finding the right bridal bouquet is styling it around your color story. Use some of our favorite wedding color palettes as a starting point to planning your wedding theme:

• Dusty Rose & Cream — Charming and graceful, pale pinks, blush and cream combine with subdued sage for a romantic english garden feel.
• Romantic Marsala — Deep wine reds bring passion, sophistication, and romance to your wedding day.
• Rust & Sepia — Elegant neutrals with a touch of warmth bring a vintage vibe with toned down antique shades. 
  
• Sunset Terracotta — Warm earth tones in burnt orange, terracotta, cream, and burgundy harness the colors of a warm September sky.
  
• Dusty Blue & Navy — Gentle waves and ocean breezes come to mind with the cooling blues of this coastal color collection. 
  

If you want to explore even more color options, we have you covered, too! Get inspired by the Top 20 Trending Wedding Bouquet Colors to fit your taste, style, and season.

Match Your Bridal Bouquet to Your Dress

Just like choosing jewelry around your outfit when you’re getting ready for date night, you’ll want to select a bouquet that accentuates your bridal gown without overpowering or underwhelming your ensemble. Voluminous gowns work best with larger deluxe bouquets, while simpler tea length or column gowns might be better with standard sizes. Consider using flowers that complement delicate details from your dress like pearl buttons, lace, or floral embroidery.

Use the Venue for Inspiration

If you’re planning a bold and bright beachside wedding, the artistic color pops of a freeform dusty blue bouquet will stand out against the endless sand and sea. A vintage manor house, however, might be more suited to the soft elegance of a cascade bouquet in blush and cream or romantic marsala.

Consider Different Types of Wedding Bouquets

Whether pretty and understated or extravagant and overflowing, when it comes to bridal bouquets, there’s no one size fits all. Here’s some of the most popular bouquet shapes and styles that could join you in your walk down the aisle:

Round Bouquet

With sizes ranging from petite and up, round bouquets have the benefit of visual symmetry to tie colors and flowers together. They’re a perfect choice if you’re going for a classic, chic, and sophisticated vibe, and are striking when monochrome or mono-flower (like a perfectly round mound of burgundy roses).

Cascading Bouquet

The teardrop shape of a cascade bouquet strikes a unique asymmetrical silhouette that moves from lush fullness to a more delicate tapered point. Elegant and interesting, the waterfall shape of cascade bouquets complements a variety of dresses and is a good choice when you want a more full look than a round bouquet.

Freeform Bouquet

Bringing organic movement and captivating shapes and textures, a freeform bouquet is the perfect match for your free spirit. Less formal yet still appropriate for many wedding settings, they’ll make you feel like you just gathered your favorite blooms from the cutting garden on your way to the altar.

What Flowers Do I Need for My Wedding Bouquet?

The type of flowers used in a bouquet influence the overall look and feel of the finished design. Flower color, bloom size, petal shape, and types of greenery and filler branches all work together to create an aesthetically pleasing bridal bouquet.

Use Seasonally Inspired Wedding Flowers

While some flowers (like roses) are bouquet staples all year round, others bring out seasonal sensibilities that help to evoke the feeling of a specific moment in time. Here’s some blooms that bring seasonal sentimentality to your wedding day:

• Spring wedding flowers — Spring is all about the rejuvenation of life after a long, cold winter, and blooms like daffodils, tulips, peonies, and hyacinth are quintessential harbingers of the new season.
• Summer wedding flowers — Heat-loving summer flowers like cosmos, zinnia, and sunflowers bring vibrancy to a seasonal bridal bouquet. 
• Fall wedding flowers — Autumn flowers like mums, lisianthus, dahlia, and celosia are in abundance during harvest season, and evoke cozy fall vibes with warm tones and lush shapes. 
  
• Winter wedding flowers — Bold reds like poinsettia, amaryllis, and anthurium alongside deep evergreen foliage are just the thing to warm up winter weddings. 
  

FILL THE BOUQUET WITH YOUR FAVORITE BLOOMS

Just because certain flowers are plentiful at a specific time of year doesn’t mean you have to use them in your bouquet. Brides in Victorian times may have chosen flowers by meaning over style, but you’re not bound to tradition — if you adore dahlias and cosmos, then absolutely pair them together! Go for a cascading bouquet filled with flowers that make you smile rather than what you think a bride “should'' carry. For getting exactly the look you want, artificial flowers make using your favorite flower a snap without worrying about seasonal accessibility or vase life.

Consider Greenery and Fillers for Balance and Beauty

While bridal bouquets can be stunning with only flowers, utilizing textural branches and soft greenery adds visual interest and helps create intriguing shapes while showcasing the more prominent blooms.

Blooms for Beyond the Bridal Bouquet

Wedding flowers often extend beyond your wedding bouquet. From bridal party to venue decor, consider all the other ways you’re including flowers and how they tie into the style of your bridal bouquet:

Flowers for the bridal party

If you’re spreading floral beauty throughout the bridal party, be sure to cover all the bases. Some of the most common floral additions include:

• Bouquets for the bridesmaids
• Boutonnieres for the groomsmen
• Floral crowns for flower girls
  
• Wrist corsages for close family members
  

Flowers for the wedding ceremony

Whether you’re looking for grand displays or subtle touches, try some of these ways to add beautiful blooms that complement your bridal bouquet:

• Welcome sign
• Aisle decor
• Chair decor
  
• Wedding arch
  

Flowers for the wedding reception

You’ll want to dress up your party space with floral decor, as well. Think about including some of these popular flower-filled decorations to your reception design:

• Reception table centerpieces
• Head or sweetheart table decor
• Floral photo backdrop
  
• Flower-adorned candelabras 
  
• Arched floral entryway 
  

DIY vs. Premade Wedding Bouquets: Which is Right for Me?

Now that you’ve narrowed down the look of your wedding bouquet, it’s time to decide the best way to bring your vision to life. Whether you leave the design work to an expert or want to let your creative spirit guide the final product, DIY and premade bouquets are both good options for having the perfect bouquet to carry down the aisle.

While the choice is ultimately up to you, if you’re short on time a premade bouquet might be the way to go, while DIY is an excellent option if you’re getting close to maxing out the budget on catering.

Unique Wedding Bouquet Ideas to Inspire Your Bridal Style

Consider creative and different ways to incorporate floral beauty into your bridal look:

Think Outside the Box When You Carry Flowers

Break with the hand-tied bouquet tradition and consider some innovative ways to bring the beauty of flowers with you down the aisle:

• Carry a floral hoop — Easy to hold and with interesting details, hoops adorned with flowers, branches, and ribbon give a modern update to the traditional bouquet shape.
• Fill a flower basket — A charming decorative basket filled with seasonal blooms fits right in with a rustic and laid-back outdoor affair. 
• Don a flower crown — Keep your hands free for holding with a flower crown to give your wedding look an artistic and free-spirited feel. 
  
• Simplify with a single — stem bouquet — Sometimes less is more, and holding a simple but impactful single flower stem might be just the thing for your understated wedding.
  

Elevate with Unexpected Details

Whether you’re looking for extra bling or individualized details, try adding interesting elements to your bridal bouquet to make it (and you) stand out:

• Go green — A bridal bouquet that skips the focal flowers and goes straight for the stunning verdant shades and textures of greenery will make you feel like you stepped right out of a forest fairy tale.
• Embellish with jewels — Diamonds don’t need to be just for your engagement ring. Add some bling to your bouquet with rhinestones and pearls nestled between flowers or try pinning an heirloom rhinestone brooch to the silk velvet ribbon bouquet handle for sentimental sparkle. 
• Stay light as a feather — Plumes of feathery fronds add softness, volume, and a luxurious feel to wedding bouquets. There’s plenty of grasses and accent flowers that give the same effect, as well, like pampas grass and astilbe for feathery textural elements. 
  

Find Your Perfect Wedding Bouquet With Ling’s Moment

Wedding planning involves a lot of decision making, but knowing what to look for when choosing your bridal bouquet helps keep the wedding florals stress-free. Whether you want to harness your creative side and style your bridal bouquet using our designer flower boxes or prefer a thoughtfully designed premade bouquet, Ling’s Moment has everything you need to bring your wedding dreams to life.

Follow along on instagram at @lingsmoment for more wedding styling and DIY tips to add extra beauty to your big day and beyond. And don’t forget to tag us in your wedding pics holding your Ling’s bridal bouquets!