I’m not going to lie—I’ve never been much for flowers. They all seem to die within a week of getting them [but I have gotten a couple arrangements to last up to two weeks—amazing for me.] However, I do appreciate how they can dress up a space with their colors, textures, and dimensions. So when it came time to thinking of the kind of flowers I would want for the wedding, I knew I wanted something a bit out of the ordinary—no roses, no calla lilies [though I do love calla lilies], nothing too common. Well, I’ve come to realize that some of the florals I have picked out—or on my list of possibles—are becoming trendy. Take Billy Balls for example [Crespedia as the real name.] They’re so darn cute with their yellow color, and now you constantly see them pop up in every other wedding. But that’s not going to stop me from listing them off to my florist. I think that as long as they’re used in a tasteful way as an accent flower, then I’m okay with having a trendy flower.
As for the rest of my flowers, I definitely wanted to bring more country-esque flowers, more greenery/plants, and to stick within the autumn season as much as possible. I’m a sucker for succulents and dusty millers in bouquets. I fall in love with almost every bouquet I see with those two plants. We even have dusty millers growing here at home. Another plant I’m seeing more often in bouquets is cotton. Looove the use of raw cotton in bouquets and arrangements. Will cotton fit in with my scheme of flowers? No, probably not. But I still kept it on my possible list. And that goes for a lot of the flowers I wrote down and took with me when meeting florists. I know not all of them will look cohesive together, but the florist is the one that should be able to pick the ones out of my list to make an awesome looking bouquet.
Since I’m wanting to stay within the autumn floral season as much as possible, my flower choices did become a bit limited. That’s probably why I gravitated towards some of the plant–like florals. And because I’m not willing to budge on the my floral budget, I will probably end up with slightly smaller bouquets—which I actually prefer. We haven’t finalized any flower choices [because the wedding is still a year away], but I do know that the maids and boys’ flowers will be more colorful [monochromatic yellows?], while mine will be more muted [whites, silvers, blue/green undertones] to let my dress stand out a bit more. Oh, and I almost forgot…I’m only using a florist for the wedding party and families’ flowers. I’m going to buy flowers wholesale for the reception decor. That will save me some serious money.
Keep in mind that the color of some of the flowers in the pictures are not what they would be in the arrangements. I’m also trying to categorize these the best I can, but there is some overlapping. Click on the names to see them larger.
PLANTS/GREENERY
1) Succulents 2) Dusty Miller 3) Wood Sage 4) Cotton 5) Wheat
BUDS/BERRIES
1) Crespedia [billy balls] 2) Silver Brunia 3) Celosia 4) Tallow Berries 5) Rose Hips
FLOWERS
1) Dahlia 2) Zinnia 3) Babies Breath 4) Ranunculus 5) Wildflowers [2 pictures—daisies, sunflowers, forget–me–nots, eryngium] 6) Yarrow 7) Tansy
I was seriously over–the–moon happy when I found out that dahlias are in season during the fall. They are probably one of my favorite flavors. I’ve also come to love ranunculuses. To me, they’re like a modern rose; an uber spiral–y rose that is. That is probably going to be one of the main flowers in my bouquet. Ranunculuses aren’t really an autumn flower, so they’ll end up being my splurge. Wildflowers may be left for centerpieces, but I love the country, carefree, laid back feeling associated with wildflowers.
I know it may be hard to imagine some of these flowers/plants being together for an arrangement, but that’s what Part II is for—real bouquets and arrangements made with these flowers that I am in love with.
—m.