There is no better way to tie nature into your wedding theme than by selecting seasonal flowers for your arrangements. While you will likely spend months planning your wedding, your floral designer should be pointing you toward seasonal flowers and greens appropriate for your date. In addition to coordinating with seasonal colors, in season flowers tend to be more affordable. Here are a few classics to consider for spring and summer.
In spring, Delphinium are great for adding height to a display. These typically blue and purple flowers from on long fronds showing tapered clusters of small blooms of five or more petals. These are in intricate flower that grow more impressive the closer you look at them. They are hearty in arrangements and should be readily available.
Another great spring flower is the tweedia. Also in the blue color palette, tweedia is a small, five petal posy reminiscent of the forget-me-not. Its unique blue hues allow it to blend well with blooms of all colors. This is a great accent and boutonniere flower.
Peonies are very popular in the spring with their large, rose-like and fluffy blooms, ruffled petals, and wide range of bold and pastel colors in many hues. The softness of the peony adds elegance to any arrangement and makes a terrific carried flower.
Perhaps one of the most beautiful of all spring flowers, the sweet pea, may feature rather small blooms but certain species are enormously fragrant. Sweet pea is renowned for its scent and many people plant these around their home for that very reason. There is a subtle softness to the scent, but unlike some other spring flowers, it is clean and to most people, entirely pleasing. If you want to add an olfactory element to your arrangements, as your florist about fragrant sweet pea.
Summer flowers tend toward boldness. The sunflower being a great example. Tall, large and showy, the sunflower is the quintessential summer flower. In the past several years we have seen a proliferation of sunflowers in all sizes, shapes, and colors. These durable blooms can have an incredible visual impact in any wedding display.
The pineapple lily is a bit more exotic, and equally impressive. Like the delphinium in shape, the pineapple lily sports clusters of tiny flowers on a vertical stem topped with pineapple-looking fronds for a striking tropical look. The range of colors is vast with both muted and vivid hues being common. Many of the flowers are two or three colors. This is a great and unusual selection for summer.
And no discussion of summer flowers would be complete without the venerable dahlia. Generally large, round blooms are constructed of petals of a seemingly endless variety of shapes and colors from purple cones to fiery red and orange spikes. The broad availability of dahlias and the limitless spectrum make these a terrific selection for wedding day.
Be creative! Do your research and ask your floral designer about these, and other varieties you may discover on your own. But remember, try to keep the selections seasonal for the best of appearance, availability and economy.