Wedding Flowers for Summer Bride

If you're getting married during the summer, you're definitely choosing the best time for flowers. Particularly during July, there are so many options to pick from. And whether you’re opting for a clean, modern look or you’re planning a summer soirée with a beautiful, wildflower vibe, there are flowers in efflorescence in summer that will perfectly match your aesthetic.

TIP: There are several experts in wedding flowers in the US. I would strongly recommend that you find a florist who can also organize all the flower arrangements for your wedding except for the flowers themselves. With other words, choose a florist who can offer you a complete service.

Choosing flowers in the Summer

Choosing from Summer flowers in bloom can offer so many options for your bouquet and centerpieces. Standards such as roses and carnations are certainly available, but you can also opt for statement pieces such as dahlias or sunflowers during this month as well. And the best part is that choosing in-season floral options makes it easier for your florist to get them, your flowers will be fresher, and you may even save on your floral budget. Choosing locally in-season flowers is the least expensive way to go. The higher the demand, the more expensive.

Using flowers that are out of season means that you're importing flowers, which greatly adds to the cost of your floral pieces. Using in-season options, bridal bouquets range from $150 to $350, while centerpieces featuring in-season blooms can range from $30 to $250, depending on the size and arrangement, of course. White notes that it's important to keep in mind that pricing can change from year to year and even week to week. The grower or wholesaler your florist works with and the part of the country they are located in can have an impact as well. But overall, choosing a fresh, beautiful bloom that’s in-season will ultimately produce a better product for your florist to work with, and will help to reduce your final bill.

WHAT WEDDING FLOWERS ARE AVAILABLE IN SUMMER?

• Agapanthus

• Peonies

• Roses

• Stocks

• Hydrangeas

• Dahlias

• Sweet Peas

• Nigella

WEDDING FLOWER IDEAS

Fresh and Elegant

This summer we’re seeing an outburst of colour with brides daring to choose a beautifully bright and bold scheme for their wedding day flowers.

It’s a playful look that’s full of optimism and works particularly well when brought to life with seasonal flowers such as peonies, hydrangeas, dahlias and nigella.

Dress your ceremony room to impress with flower arches, decorative chair backs or pew ends and bring some of that memorable summer colour inside.

For brides, the trend of wearing flowers in your hair is set to continue with flower crowns being top of wish lists. Ask your florist to guide you on which varieties are best suited for this purpose and don’t forget to order a sample for your hair trial.

Tropical

Whether you’re getting married at home or abroad an enthusiastic, tropical wedding theme is perfect for the bride who wants something a bit different for her big day.

Tropical flowers, by their very nature, are bold and colorful, so they lend themselves wonderfully to large and show-stopping designs.

To get the look ask your florist to incorporate strelitzia, ginger and heliconia into your big day blooms. Gloriosa and Calla lilies are also good choices for hand-held bouquets as they add structure and texture to designs. The inclusion of props such as shells, sand and cocktail umbrellas help to carry this theme.

Sophisticated

For a sophisticated take on summer wedding flowers choose a purple colour palette. This wedding colour scheme is very much on trend f with Pantone having named Ultra Violet as their Colour of the Year.

The look is bold and unique but can be modified by asking your florist to include varying tones, hints of pink and shades of lilac.

Using large-headed varieties like hydrangeas and peonies builds impact for large, beautiful arrangements, while the addition of mirrored accessories and scattered jewels provides a glamourous finishing touch.

One great idea for your bridesmaids is to give them personalised bouquets which have been designed to allow their individual personality to shine through. For example, if your Maid of Honour’s favourite flowers are dahlias, why not incorporate them in her bouquet?

Pretty Designs

Pink and blue, offset with metallic rose gold and copper tones, is certainly a strong combination for weddings this summer, if not this year!

Whole bridal parties are being decked out in variations of the theme pairing bridesmaids in pink dresses with groomsmen in on-trend blue suits.

To get the look for your wedding day flowers ask your florist to combine pastel pink and soft blue flowers in loose arrangements with lots of fabulous foliage for a more formal take on the ‘just-picked’ look that has been popular in recent years with the surge of vintage inspired weddings.

Wedding Flowers: The average cost

Whether you’re looking for a few simple bouquets for your maids or an complete floral arrangement for your venue, floristry is something that will almost absolutely play a part in your wedding. But how much should wedding flowers cost?

With so many differences of orders, it’s really hard to put price brackets on how much your wedding flowers should cost, but to give you some guidelines we’ve spoken to a variety of expert florists, who offer all kinds of services, to give you the best idea of wedding flower prices.

Before you determine any floral plans, be sure to start with your wedding flower budget early on. This will give you a better idea of your must-haves, wants, and pieces of traditional floral design that you may want to skip. But how much do wedding flowers even cost? Where’s a couple to begin in building that budget? Read on for a few tips and tricks from floral and wedding planning experts to help better understand the average cost of wedding flowers, how to save on flowers, and a few sample budgets to get you started.

Wedding Flowers: Average Cost

This is almost an impossible question to answer, with levels of services ranging so much, but some experts say: “We find that weddings tend to start on an average of £1,200-£1,500, although we offer bespoke packages for all weddings.”

Coming in at a similar number, others advised that couples should expect an order for bridal party flowers and some venue décor to come in at upwards of £1,000.

To help couples get a better idea of what to expect, another wedding florist says: “Something that’s really helpful as a florist is when your clients are upfront and open about their budget from the start. Once your florist knows what you’re able to spend with them, they can design something that will look beautiful, but within your budget.

“It’s worth knowing that from our experience most florists will charge around three times the wholesale value of a stem. At first this may seem ludicrous, but when you consider they have to order, collect, condition, get them to their ‘peak bloom’, arrange, deliver and install them – you begin to understand where the extra cost comes in”.

What Factors Will Play a Role in the Cost?

When it comes to your floristry order, three main areas can affect the total cost of your wedding flowers; where your wedding is (and where your chosen florist is based), the time of year you’re getting married and the floral order itself.

Location

Whilst it may not be the biggest factor in flower pricing, the location of both your wedding and your florist can absolutely affect the cost of your order. Floirst are able to travel far and wide for weddings, however if the wedding is quite far then your delivery charge will depend on how big the distance is for us to travel.”

Although location was fairly irrelevant when pricing up orders, it has a relevancy if the wedding takes place outside of the perimeter of the florist, making it well worth checking whether or not your dream florist will charge you extra for traveling.

Other say that it isn’t so much the location of the wedding that affects their prices, but the style of location that could cause an increase in prices: Some venues don’t need a lot of decoration, for example country manor houses, however venues such as marquees and blank canvases are likely to require more décor, making it more expensive.

Wedding Date

One common theme amongst all of our experts was that rising prices during certain times of year wasn’t down to high wedding seasons, but instead due to changes in the flower market.

For example, red roses around Valentine’s Day are always going to be more costly, or if you are getting married between Christmas and New Year then your selection of flowers can be limited and again, more expensive.

Stick to seasonal blooms, they will be at their most beautiful and less expensive when they are in season. Most of our couples let us have free rein over the selection of blooms as long as we stick to their colour scheme – meaning they are getting the most beautiful selection for their money

Your Order

The size, style and details of your flower order will undoubtedly be the biggest factor when your florist prices up what you’ve asked for.

The scale of your brief will hugely affect the cost of your flowers. Lots of couples now want something which will make their wedding stand out – like hanging installations or wall designs. These, you might have guessed it, come at more of a cost than your bog standard table displays!

What services does a wedding florist provide?

A wedding florist provides a variety of services, some of which might not be obvious at first.

• Consultation: Your wedding florist will meet with you to discuss your vision for your wedding—your venue, your wedding style, your desired color palette, and the types of flowers you like and dislike. Your florist will then create a proposal which will describe the arrangements he or she will create as well as the prices.

• Samples: After you’ve signed a contract and shortly before your wedding, your florist may also provide sample arrangements to ensure that you’re on the same page about how your wedding-day flowers will look.

• Flowers: A big part of your wedding flower budget will go to the actual purchasing of the flowers. It actually takes several hours for a florist to put a flower order together—and the flowers your florist will receive from his or her wholesaler or grower are far better quality than the ones you can buy at your local grocery store. They’re grown especially to be featured at events and are hand-selected for their quality.

• Flower processing and storage: Once your flowers arrive to your florist, he or she will take several hours (often a whole day!) to process your flowers (taking thorns off of roses, counting the flowers, etc.) and storing them in a refrigerated space to ensure they look amazing on your wedding day.

• Labor and production: Now, it’s time for your florist to create those beautiful arrangements! Each arrangement takes time to design (probably more than you would think!), so it’s quite a long process.

• Delivery and set up: Your florist and his/her team will then bring your arrangements to your venue. A good amount of work needs to be done on premises to make sure that your ceremony and reception looks picture-perfect, from the altar to the reception table arrangements.

• Cleanup: After your wedding, your florist and his/her team will go to your venue to remove all of the arrangements and vessels, and assist with cleanup.

Wedding Flowers by Season

Your wedding flowers will have a huge impact on the overall look and feel of your big day. From your bridal bouquet and boutonnieres to your table arrangements, flowers are the perfect way to add colour, fragrance and texture into your wedding. But have you taken a moment to think about the seasonal availability of your dream flowers for your chosen wedding date?

It’s an important consideration that is often overlooked by newly engaged brides, but the reality is that flowers are strictly seasonal, with different varieties being available at different times of the year. It can be all too easy to find (and obsess over) your dream bouquet on Pinterest without stopping to think about the costs, logistics and availability of your favourite blooms.

Choosing your wedding flowers by season is not only cost effective and convenient, but also allows you to have floral designs that truly reflect the current climate. But without being a professional florist, it can be tricky to identify which flower varieties are going to be readily available for your wedding.

Why Choose Your Wedding Flowers by Season?

If you’ve never stopped to consider the seasonal availability of flowers for your wedding, you might be wondering exactly why it’s so important.

The main benefit here all comes down to your budget! Choosing your wedding flowers by season is by far the most cost-effective solution when it comes to putting your floral selections together.

Think about it like the local produce you buy from the supermarket every week. It’s always cheaper to purchase the fruits and vegetables that are seasonally available, right? So during summer, you can purchase berries, oranges and melons for a much cheaper price than you’d find during winter. This is because these varieties are readily available during this time of the year, which brings the cost down.

The same rule applies when it comes to flowers! When a flower variety is blossoming at a certain time of the year, it becomes much cheaper for florists to source, and this reduced cost is passed onto you, the bride-to-be.

If you are specifically requesting a certain flower variety that isn’t in season, this is where the additional expenses start to add up. Extra labour, handling, transport and freight costs will all apply if flowers are being imported, resulting in a much higher invoice. So if you really want to maximise your flower budget, choosing your wedding flowers by season is definitely going to be the best decision for you.

The other thing to consider here is the logistics and convenience of choosing your flowers based on seasonal availability. If you are a DIY bride planning to create your own floral arrangements, think about what this means when it comes to sourcing blooms. Are you planning on a trip to the flower market before the big day? If so, you’ll need to rely on the flowers that are going to be available there.

And finally – choosing your wedding flowers based on availability allows you to create floral arrangements that are truly reflective of the season. Think pretty pastel blooms for spring, or bright colourful bouquets for summer.

With so many beautiful varieties to choose from each season, it’s safe to say we are pretty spoilt for choice! If you’ve already chosen your wedding date, we’ve outlined some of the most popular flower selections for you below.

Spring Wedding Flowers

Lily of the Valley

A favourite of the royals, Lily of the valley was the the floral showpiece of Kate Middleton’s bridal bouquet.

The flower symbolises return of happiness and is a fond favourite of real-life brides.

Anemone

Hard to say, but beautiful to look at. Anemones are perfect for a vintage-style look with its colours moving from white through to shades of pink, scarlet, lilac and purple with the contrasting green and black centres.

Sweet Peas

Sweet peas are available in a rainbow of colours, and are perfect for a bride’s bouquet.

Symbolising blissful peace, they’re ideal for laid back brides-to-be looking for a life of happiness and tranquility.

Ranunculus

Part of the buttercup family, ranunculus are ideal for country garden-styled floral decorations.

In the language of flowers, a bouquet of ranunculus says ‘I am dazzled by your charms’.

Tulips

Great for a modern, minimal look, tulips come in a multitude of colours to match the colour scheme of your wedding reception, as well as various shapes and sizes.