Bouquet Styles
The bouquet along with the dress is often the star of the day and sets the theme for the other decorations. Talk through your ideas and potential themes or be guided if you are at a bit of a loss. Your chosen florist should be up on the trends (see separate section on this site) and most importantly choose something that you will love and feel comfortable carrying.
The hand tied dome shaped bouquet
This tends to be the most popular style as the round bouquet suits most styles of dress. The stems are tied with bridal ribbon and can be accented with accessories to complement the wedding dress (pearls, diamante, clear crystals, etc). These bouquets suit most flower types so you are possibly less restricted in your choice than other styles. Hand-tied bouquets can often sit in water which is ideal in the hot summer months as you can keep your bouquet fresh in a vase, if you put it down during the day, you can just pop it back in the vase too. This is also useful if you are sending it off to be preserved as the flowers will stay fresh making it easier for the preservation company. Beautiful and more informal, you can easily carry it in one hand whilst shaking guests’ hands along the formal receiving line or holding a glass of champagne!
The Compact Rose hand tied bouquet
This bouquet is a stunning choice if you want a single rose variety in a compact dome. Particularly effective with red Grand Prix or ivory Vendela roses. A classic stylish choice. If you want the flowers to look gorgeous but don’t necessarily want them to steal the show from the dress (or yourself) then this design is potentially for you. Simple, stylish and chic.
The teardrop
the teardrop bouquet has a dome shaped top and gradually trails to a point at the base. The teardrop works well with most styles of dress as it isn’t too heavy and the gradual tapering makes it a very flattering shape. The bouquet is designed in an oasis holder which will have complementing ribbon tied around the handle and the flowers are usually glued and wired in which is highly skilled. The flowers used need to be able to withstand this treatment, some soft stemmed flowers may not be suitable for this design so bear this in mind when meeting with your florist .Price wise you should expect to pay more.
The trailing shower
Similar to a teardrop in the way the bouquet is created and here again there may be some soft stemmed flowers which may not be suitable, the shower bouquet is generally more formal, larger and instead of trailing to a point, trails down to a single flower. It is a very dramatic look, very traditional and perhaps not as popular as they once were, however some styles of dresses are really complemented by this style of bouquet – see below. If you are wanting to be more informal and hold drinks and put your bouquet down a lot then you may find this sort of bouquet is less suitable to your needs than the hand tied.
It has to be said though that if you have always wanted to have this style of bouquet you definitely should as it’s your special day! Due to the time and skill required expect to pay more for this style.
The posy
A posy is a smaller version of a round bouquet, used for bridesmaids or flower girls. It’s also ideal for bride’s wearing a simple, straight dress who don’t want anything too heavy or overpowering.
The over the arm freestyle bouquet
Ideal with calla lilies and orchids and very stylish and easy to carry. It suits a contemporary wedding and certain dress styles when you don’t necessarily want to carry something in front of you, but to the side. Or there is a decorative feature of your bodice or dress that will be balanced by carrying your bouquet on the opposite side.
Throwing Bouquet
This is a bouquet that has been designed for the traditional moment when all your unmarried girlfriends will be hoping to catch it. Ideal if you have had a complex trailing bouquet designed and don’t want to throw it or you plan to have your own bouquet preserved. Bear in mind that this tradition is very much a personal choice, not everyone wants all their single girl friends under the spotlight or particularly if you do not have many single friends, then you may decide not to throw your bouquet at all. Consider this before you order an extra bouquet as it will potentially save you money. Throwing bouquets need to be light to ensure they do not cause injury where they land!
Bouquet ideas to complement dress styles,
This is not a definitive guide and your dress designer may have useful input too. It can be a good idea to visit a wedding fair where your chosen florist will be present as exhibiting florists will have bouquets you can hold and are also used in the fashion shows. (Check our wedding fair dates feature) Wherever possible we have tried to show real Pollen brides in our galleries too, to give you ideas and inspiration.
- Dress and complementing bouquet guide
A traditional large skirt – Suits a large shower bouquet - An ultra-slim gown/petite figure – probably best to avoid large and overwhelming bouquets, they can be heavy to carry too.
- A princess line dress – Suits a teardrop or trailing bouquet
- A simple dress – Suits a more extravagant bouquet to add detail
- A detailed dress – Suits a simple bouquet to avoid taking away the splendour of the detail on the dress, but not a small one because it may get lost amongst the detail. Alternatively, you may like to carry a bouquet which is held in the crook of your arm (see above over the arm bouquet), which allows the bodice to be on full view
- Light or floaty fabrics – Choose small and delicate flowers, the garden vintage rose theme is very popular
- Heavy fabrics e.g. velvet and satin – Choose richer and stronger coloured flowers