For winter brides, here is some inspiration for beautiful bridal bouquets. Each is unique and features flowers available in the winter season.
icy white wedding bouquet via Martha Stewart
bouquet featuring wheat and lotus pods by Holly Chapple
bouquet featuring cabbage roses and magnolia pods by Holly Chapple
winter greens bridal bouquet via Green Wedding Shoes
via Holly Chapple Flowers
My current floral obsession is cabbage roses. Several of my brides are using them in their bridal bouquets this year and I feel like I am seeing them everywhere. Holly Chapple’s photo above shows Patience cabbage roses that just arrived at her shop. While I love all the colors that cabbage roses come in, I have to say that Patience is one of my favorites. Cabbage roses remind me of peonies, so if you are a peony fanatic, cabbage roses can be a really nice complement as you’ll see in some of the bouquets below.
via Martha Stewart Weddings
via Alexa Jayne Weddings
via Blooms by Martha Andrews
via Everyday Minerals
Two of my favorite floral fillers are dusty miller and lamb’s ear. They bring gorgeous, silver shimmer and rich texture to any bridal bouquet. Both are very appropriate for winter bouquets.
Dusty miller contrasts beautifully with bright yellow flowers; photo via Brides.com
winter bouquet; via Real Simple
Dusty miller boutonniere; via Brides.com
Cabbage roses and lamb's ear; Photo by Aaron Delesie via Snippet & Ink (via Sweetest Occasion)
white rose bouquet with dusty miller; via Elizabeth Anne Designs
An absolutely stunning bouquet; via Martha Stewart Weddings
dusty miller tucked in amongst bright, cheery flowers; via Martha Stewart Weddings
herbal bouquet includes lamb's ear; via Martha Stewart Weddings
I am always looking for non-floral decor alternatives for weddings and other events. My husband and I went on a hike today in Great Falls and everywhere I turned I found inspiration for Fall decor! My mind is now spinning with ideas for incorporating natural elements — like pinecones, greenery, branches, and acorns — into designs.
In fact, I worked on an event recently where a team of us collaborated on nature-inspired centerpieces — we filled clear vessels with pears and apples and used acorns and pinecones as filler. I can’t take credit for the design, but it looked great!
Below are a few images that are inspiring me to go out and collect all of the pinecones I can find — then I’ll be prepared for Fall decorating next year, too!
DIY pinecone wedding bouquet via Once Wed
pinecone boutonniere via Martha Stewart
Rustic pinecone monogram via Martha Stewart
pinecone escort card table via Martha Stewart
pinecone monogram via Martha Stewart
pinecone wreath via Country Living
gilded pinecone placecard via Country Living
When coordinating wedding rehearsals, I often like to bring practice bouquets for the bridesmaids to use. Having bouquets helps them to practice holding the flowers at the correct height; coordinate the hand-off of the bride’s bouquet; and walk with a groomsman or collect their dress as they go up stairs while holding the bouquet.
Just in case, I often bring a practice bouquet for the bride in case she is not using the traditional ribbon bouquet compiled from her bridal showers.
The bouquets can be a thoughtful gesture for the bride to bring to the rehearsal as one more way to show her bridesmaids how thankful she is to have them as a part of her wedding.
Recently, I was inspired to create practice bouquets made from herbs in my garden.
ornamental sage bouquet
lavender practice bouquet
The bouquets are simple, but practice bouquets do not need to be elaborate. Creating an herb bouquet for your bridesmaids can be cost-effective, too. Snip some herbs from your garden or a family member’s garden and voila! They also smell wonderful. Just remember not to cut them too far in advance of the wedding rehearsal as many herbs wilt quickly and do keep them in water until they are ready to be used.
Other ideas for practice bouquets include small bouquets of inexpensive flowers (think the ones you see for 3 bunches for $9 at your local grocery store) or tootsie pops tied together with a ribbon.
Practice makes perfect!
On a recent trip to New York, my husband and I had the pleasure of having dinner at Daniel. While there, I couldn’t help but notice the gorgeous arrangements of parrot tulips placed throughout the restaurant. Their simplicity and elegance was absolutely striking.
Combine all that with the fact that the tulips in my front yard are beginning to sprout up through the winter-weary ground, and I definitely have tulips on the brain.
One of my favorite types of tulips are parrot tulips. I like them for their uniqueness and for the impact that adding even a few of them to a larger arrangement can make.
Here’s a sampling of bouquets featuring parrot tulips that I think would be lovely for Spring.
A bouquet of parrot tulips, fringed and viridflora tulips and double-petaled narcissus, as featured in Martha Stewart Weddings
A bouquet of green wave parrot tulips, green fritillaria, dogwood, lemon-scented geranium, maidenhair and umbrella fern, as featured on Brides.com
Parrot tulips are the star in this bouquet featured in Utterly Engaged
Bouquet of Yellow Parrot Tulips and Super Green Parrot Tulips, cuffed with Bupleurum. Featured in Ines del Mar Weddings, designed by Janie Medley
Working with Lindsay and John on their October 3, 2009 wedding at River Farm in Alexandria, Virginia was such a wonderful treat. Couples like Lindsay and John are the reason I love my job so much — madly in love, sweet and kind to one another, fun family and friends, and a desire to make their wedding day special not only for themselves but for each of their guests.
The Bride and her mother worked exceptionally hard to ensure that each guest would feel welcome. From pashminas for each of the women attending to plentiful hors d’oeuvres to special touches like chocolate-dipped strawberries to accompany the wedding cake.
The decor of the wedding was inspired by the venue — historic River Farm. Colonial-inspired touches like iron lanterns lining the walkway and hanging with garland from the top of the tent played up the history-rich setting.
Congratulations, Lindsay & John! What a beautiful wedding for a beautiful couple!
A gorgeous fall bridal bouquet
The maid of honor holds a hand-tied bouquet featuring cala lillies
The feather-trimmed boutonniere echoes the feather on the bride's gown
programs were tied with luxurious satin ribbon in coordinating colors
Adorable flower girls prepare the way for the Bride
The Entrance of the Bride
napkins were adorned with a single orchid
The tent at River Farm featured brown and gold hues and was accented with lanterns and romantic florals
Touches of gold were included in the tablescape
Lindsay and John are married!
The beautiful couple
Venue: River Farm
Catering: Windows Catering
Flowers: The Enchanted Florist
DJ: Aaron with Chris Laich
Photography: Amy Raab
Makeup: Victoria Stiles
I recently worked on a beautiful wedding that merged major modern flair with sacred, time-honored traditions.
I met Ana & Socheat while working on weddings for their friends Hyun & Tae and Sophia & Matt. The couple’s wedding reflected both their chic, modern taste and their Filipino and Cambodian heritages. (Sophia & Matt’s wedding was featured in the Spring/Summer issue of The Knot magazine. Check it out here.)
Ana looked absolutely stunning! Her bridal bouquet was exquisite and we adorned it with a special rosary that her mother got for her.
A gorgeous bouquet
The bridesmaids looked beautiful in Vera Wang dresses in the same color but different styles. The light pink bouquets provided a wonderful contrast.
Beautiful bridesmaids bouquets
One of the things I loved about Ana & Socheat’s wedding was the way they incorporated traditions from their Filipino and Cambodian roots. The two were glowing as they said their vows and exchanged rings.
The Ceremony
The traditional Filipino veil ceremony took place within the marriage ceremony itself.
The bride and groom don the veil
Chris Baltazar is one of my favorite photographers to work with. Why? Because he gets amazing shots like these that transform the space and that totally capture the spirit of the couple.
The very modern and very fabulous Bride & Groom
The Bride & Groom go for a ride
Silver, fuschia, and black accents gave the room the modern feel the couple was going for.
The uplighting in the room helped give the space a very modern vibe
The table and place settings echoed the silver, fuschia, and purple color scheme.
The menu card
Chocolate truffles for each guest
I see a lot of wedding cakes, but honestly, this has to be one of my favorites. It fit the scheme so well and it really reflected the Bride & Groom’s modern taste.
Beautiful cake from Edibles Incredible
The dancing at this wedding was incredible! Here the couple slows it down with their names shining behind them on the dance floor.
Slowing it down...
Congratulations, Ana & Socheat!
Photography: Baltazar Photography
Venue: Hyatt Crystal City
DJ: K2 Productions
Florist: Petal’s Edge
Lighting: Swank
Linens: BBJ Linen
Makeup: Picture Perfect Makeup
Hair: TruBeauty
Cake: Edibles Incredible
My husband and I have been doing a lot of landscaping around our home in recent weeks. As we pull out overgrown shrubs and prepare beds for new plantings, I now have to decide what flowers to plant. It is such a tough decision as there are so many beautiful options!
All of this focus on flowers makes me think about my Fall brides and the bouquets that they will be carrying. Each bouquet will be unique and lovely in its own right, while reflecting not only the Bride’s personal style but the season as well.
Here are a few fabulous fall bouquets to inspire Fall Brides in their planning:
Incorporating more unusual items, like the seed pods in this arrangement for example, can add texture and interest to a bouquet.
bouquet By Flowers & Finery featured on InStyle Weddings
This tight bouquet features a striking contrast between roses and berries and seed pods. Absolutely gorgeous!
bouquet by Bardin Palomo as featured on InStyle Weddings
I love the unusual “ingredients” in this bouquet by Janie Medley Flora Design: garden roses, cymbidium orchids, gloriosa lilies, orange pin cushions, fern curls and billy balls. Gorgeous!
bouquet by Janie Medley Flora Design, featured on www.brides.com
Incorporating herbs into a bouquet dazzles the the senses.
a stunning fall bouquet by Emily Thompson Flowers, featured on www.brides.com
herbal bouquet featured on Martha Stewart
Yellow and aubergine make quite a colorful pair!
a stunning Fall bouquet featured on Martha Stewart
The Rex & Regina Blog shares both trendy and traditional ways to extend gracious hospitality through weddings, other social occasions, and at-home entertaining. Learn more about Rex & Regina.