A bridal bouquet is an object carried for eight hours
A bridal bouquet differs from a gift bouquet in one decisive way. It never goes into a vase. It is carried all day, through photographs, a ceremony and a reception, which adds weight, balance and out of water endurance to the usual list of requirements.
Every technical decision a florist makes here follows from that, and it is the part least often raised at a first consultation.
Weight and construction
Two approaches exist, and they feel completely different in the hand.
A bouquet built into a holder sits in a small block of wet foam. The flowers drink all day and the shape stays fixed, at the cost of extra weight and a rigid handle.
A hand tied bouquet on natural stems is bound with ribbon. It is lighter and looks more relaxed, but the flowers spend the day out of water, so the variety choice has to be tougher.
- A working weight limit is around a kilogram. Past that the arm tires by the middle of the day.
- Diameter follows the wearer's frame rather than a photograph from a moodboard.
- The binding is finished so it does not mark gloves or a dress.
- Order a throwing bouquet separately if a bouquet toss is planned.
Which flowers survive a day out of water
Endurance matters more than fashion here. Some flowers go the distance and some are finished by lunch.
Reliable choices include roses, lisianthus, dianthus, chrysanthemum, orchids, hydrangea when built into a holder, succulents and preserved material.
Handle with caution: peonies in heat, ranunculus, poppies, lilac, tulips. Order spares, or keep them for the cooler half of the year.
Choose a bridal bouquet against the weather forecast rather than the moodboard. Thirty degrees rewrites the list of usable flowers completely.
What to settle with the florist
Shape follows the silhouette of the dress. A cascade lengthens the line, a round posy is neutral, a loose garden style arrangement suits simpler dresses.
Palette should answer to the whole scheme rather than the dress alone. The bouquet appears in photographs alongside the venue, and a clash shows up there first.
Timelines need discussing early. Several flowers are seasonal, and matching a moodboard to a fixed date sometimes means substituting a variety.
For a summer wedding worldwide, agree where the bouquet is kept cool before the ceremony and where it stands during the reception.
JFLOO lists the bridal bouquet separately from the rest of the wedding work. Begin with three things: weight, the endurance of the varieties, and the weather. Shape and palette follow those.
