A stinky bride had to have a beautiful bouquet!!
Image courtesy of Anneli Marinovich
One of the many lovely decisions a bride-to-be must make is to choose her wedding bouquet. If you’re at this stage in your planning, you’ll know what a huge array of choice there is. With so many talented and creative florists constantly thinking of amazing designs and creating stunning bridal bouquets there’s something for everyone but the choice can be bewildering. Then it got me thinking “why do brides carry bouquets?
Where does this tradition come from?
I like to know the history of things as it often answers the question, why? But when I looked into the history of why brides carry bouquets, I was thrown off course by a story that says it was to mask the body odour of the bride!! Eughhh! The myth goes on to explain that June was the most popular month for country folk to be married and as they’d had their annual bath in May (yes one bath a year!!) by June the bride had begun to be a bit whiffy!
Flowers by Angie Les Fleurs Coupées, photograph by Firehorse Photography
You’ll be pleased to hear that this is a load of bumpkin.In fact autumn weddings were the most popular because the crops had been harvested so there was enough food for the wedding guests. January and February were also popular because there was less work to be done around the farm and so people were less busy.
But what’s the truth????
So if it’s not to hide the stinky bride, why do brides carry bouquets? Well in ancient Greece, Ivy was used to represent enduring love. And in Roman times brides wore or carried flower garlands to signify new beginnings, fidelity and the hope of good fertility. Then in the middle ages strong-smelling herbs and spices were added to the bouquet, thinking they’d ward off and drive away evil spirits, bad luck and ill health.
Bouquet created by Lilith Curiosa and photograph courtesty of Pattie Fellowes
Modern day bouquets…
Fast forward to today and the bouquet has taken on a purely decorative element of the bridal outfit. Or has it? Did you know that flowers have their own significance and meaning. You read about of the meanings the Greeks and Romans gave to certain flowers, and today you can check out the meaning here to see what your chosen flowers actually mean or to check them out before you choose them!
Bouquet and photo courtesy of Lisa Derevycka
And of course a modern-day wedding bouquet doesn’t have to be a bouquet as we know it or indeed made from fresh flowers; they can range from a traditional or cascading bouquet; a corsage type to a bouquet handle or even a handbag bouquet. And you don’t have to stop at fresh flowers because a wedding bouquet can be created from just about anything: silk or paper flowers; butterflies; jewels; sweeties (candy); fruit: feathers; buttons; seashells; a combination of all of these; and even pizza. Yes I kid you not, pizza. I’ve been collecting photographs and have a Pinterest board bouquets to dream about which shows you all of the above.
Created by Sarah at Paper Petals
When choosing your bouquet there are several things to consider. Read this step-by-step guide from Wedding Wire to find out more. Every bride wants her bouquet to reflect the person she is and making it highly personal can take many forms: you can add heirloom jewellery or memorial charms; a button bouquet can include buttons from your favourite/childhood clothes; if you’re called Rose, Lily or Poppy bouquets can include those flowers; you can also incorporate lace or material from a mother’s/grandmother’s wedding gown or veil; maybe you’d like to add dog tags to your bouquet engraved with a special date or name; and paper flower bouquets can be made from pages taken from your favourite book. The limits are your imagination.
Whatever type and style of bouquet you chose I know you’ll look stunning; every bride is so happy they radiate love and beauty. I hope you have a fantastic wedding day and I wish each married couple many, many years of love and laughter together xx
