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Wedding bouquet style and shape

The shape and style of your bridal bouquet will generally be determined by your wedding dress, your body shape and your personal style.

There are 4 basic shaped bouquets:-

The trailing ‘shower’ bouquet – these tend to be the most expensive (because of the time, skill and amount of flowers needed.) They best suit a formal wedding and full/large skirted dress. They can be heavy to carry. Make sure your florist shows you how to hold this bouquet – important with all wedding bouquets, but especially with this type.

The ‘teardrop’ bouquet is a neat and compact version of the shower bouquet and is a ‘teardrop’ shape (wide at the top, tapering to a point.) These will suit both an elaborate grand wedding dress as well as a more structured contemporary gown.

The ‘over-arm’ or ‘freestyle’ bouquet tends to suit tall slender brides and modern sleek gowns. They work best with orchids, (phalaenopsis, vandas or cymbidiums) and callas lilies. They are simple, stylish and understated. If you have a detailed dress you may wish not to carry your bouquet in front on you – so this type would be a good option for you as it is held to the side of your body in the crook of your arm.

The ‘hand tied’ bouquet (a circular, domed posy) suits most dress styles and body types. It is the most popular choice for brides, it photographs well (from all angles) and is easy to carry.

Some points to remember:-

  • Bouquets are made specifically for you; they can be made in different sizes.
  • Any colours can be used in your bouquet, (though not all flowers are suitable for all bouquet styles) generally the colour of the bridesmaid dress is incorporated in your bouquet.
  • Consider the time of year when you are getting married and where possible stick to seasonal flowers.
  • Decide if fragrant flowers are important to you.
  • Remember that there are no hard and fast rules and a good florist will be able to guide you and suggest ways of using your favourite flowers/colours and interpret your ideas.
  • Don’t worry about white flowers on white dresses disappearing. The foliage will help your bouquet to be more visible against your dress without stealing the show. White flowers are always a classic and very stylish choice and will never look dated.
  • Decide if you want your flowers to look formal, informal, romantic or contemporary.

Please see ‘the meaning of flowers’ also in this section.