Best Wedding Perfumes: What to Buy & How to Make it Last All Day
Editor-approved bridal fragrances you'll love – plus, expert tips on how to make them last all day. Don't go scent shopping without reading this first…
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Dress aside, what’s going to make you feel really beautiful on your wedding day? A chic pair of heels, perfectly tousled hair – or how about a mist of the perfect wedding perfume?
It’s no secret that smell is the most memory inducing of all our senses, so choosing a fragrance that makes you feel your most beautiful is important to get right. But how to choose a wedding perfume?
First of all, don’t be guided by the top notes or that first hit – this will disappear after around 20 minutes. Perfumes develop through top notes, heart notes and base notes – and it’s the heart notes that you need to fall in love with. When trying fragrances, let each one develop on the skin for a good few hours before deciding whether or not you like it.
When it comes to your wedding day, if you spritz the fragrance into the air as you step into your wedding dress, by the time you meet your love at the altar it will have settled to reveal its true scent.
To help you choose between the hundreds of fragrances out there, we’ve compiled our edit of the most wedding-worthy perfumes to put to the test before you pick the one that’s right for you. Our list includes luxury wedding perfumes well worth splashing out on, as well as those that offer smaller travel-size minis you can pop into your bridal clutch.
Ready to find your dream wedding perfume?
20 Best Bridal Fragrances For Every Type of Nearlywed
Discover our pick of wedding perfumes to fall in love with.
1. Elie Saab Le Parfum Eau de Parfum
- Best for: A heady, expensive-smelling scent to take you from day to night
If you're looking for a wedding perfume that even your wedding guests will remember, Elie Saab Le Parfum could be the one. The Lebanese fashion house launched this perfume more than a decade ago and there's a reason it's still around and as popular as ever.
The base notes are woody and earthy, while the top and middle notes feature orange blossom and jasmine.
2. Jo Malone London English Pear & Freesia Cologne
- Best for: English countryside weddings
We couldn't do a bridal fragrance edit without including a Jo Malone wedding perfume. With exquisite notes of ripened pears and white freesias enveloped in rose and patchouli, Jo Malone’s English Pear & Freesia Cologne is a bestseller for good reason – it only takes one spritz to see why.
This gorgeous scent has a familiarity about it. It's deliciously wearable and comforting – yet sophisticated – everything you want from a wedding fragrance. And while the idea of ripened pears is synonymous with autumn, this elegant and fresh fragrance definitely works year-round.
3. Diptyque Rose Roche Eau de Parfum
- Best for: A beautifully light floral scent
Blended with lemon, centifolia rose and textured notes of patchouli, the latest fragrance drop from Diptyque Paris is perfect for the warmer weather of a late spring or summer wedding. The fragrance is part of the Les Essences collection, and is one of five inspired by a natural element. In this case, Rose Roche is inspired by the crystal formations that occur in deserts – the desert rose.
The packaging is as beautiful as the light, citrus-meets-floral scent. The bottle, with its slender square shape and tactile embossing, is a thing of joy to unwrap and have on display. Plus it comes with a chic pouch to store your bottle in when you inevitably take it away with you on your honeymoon.
4. Molton Brown Delicious Rhubarb & Rose Eau de Parfum
- Best for: The party loving bride
With tempting notes of sweet lychee, delicate peony, juicy raspberry and rich cedarwood, this punchy and vibrant fragrance from Molton Brown oozes sophistication – but with a raucous and playful energy that’ll take you seamlessly from aisle to dancefloor.
We adore the statement bottle, too, with its one-of-a-kind resin cap. You’ll find a body lotion and shower gel in the same range to help you nail the art of scent layering.
5. Coco Mademoiselle Eau de Parfum
- Best for: A strong classic
The perennially popular Chanel Mademoiselle is a pretty, powdery and timeless wedding scent that you’ll love as much on your big day as you will in 20 years' time. It's a comforting, yet still somewhat seductive wedding perfume for a bride that manages to feel familiar yet intriguing every time you wear it.
As well as the perfume, there’s a body lotion, shower gel, moisture mist, deodorant, body oil and hair mist to really envelope yourself in the scent to make sure it lasts from dusk till dawn.
6. Miss Dior Eau de Parfum
- Best for: Floral lovers – and a wedding worthy bottle
Of course, it matters how wedding perfumes smell, but you also want a bottle that'll look gorgeous in the wedding photos, right? And wedding perfume bottles don't come much prettier than Miss Dior.
This classic fragrance is sweet, floral, powdery and full of energy, with notes of lily of the valley, peony accord, iris, musk, tonka bean and sandalwood. Upon dry-down it lasts, too, with a lingering scent that feels warm and inviting.
What's more, you could treat yourself to a large 150ml bottle which will last until your first wedding anniversary (at least!), with the option to have it engraved.
7. Connock London Kukui Eau De Parfum
- Best for: A floral fragrance with body
The Connock London Kukui wedding day perfume is delightfully tropical, but unlike other floral wedding scents, it has luxurious notes of bergamot, Moroccan rose, tonka bean and white jasmine that give it that extra something. The scent is Connock's signature fragrance – and it's easy to see why.
Hitched Editor Zoe Burke is a big fan and adds, "This perfume is one of my all time favourites – I find myself using it sparingly to make the bottle last, but every time I wear it without fail I get complimented on my scent. It lasts so well, and it's such a rich, striking, unusual scent people feel compelled to comment on it. The perfect pick if you want a luxurious wedding day perfume."
8. Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb Eau de Parfum
- Best for: A wedding scent that's light and fruity
If you love wedding perfumes that celebrate floral and fruity notes, you'll love Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb. The clue really is in the name when it comes to the inspiration behind this wedding day scent.
This cult fragrance has seen many iterations, but the original is still the one we’d reach for on our big day. It feels vibrant from first spritz, with patchouli, rose and jasmine muddling together to create a sensual scent that makes you feel bold and powerful – ideal if you're looking to soothe any big day nerves.
9. AERIN Lilac Path Eau de Parfum
- Best for: Elegant, mood-boosting florals that aren’t rose
With notes of lilac, sun-drenched jasmine and dewy orange flower, this heady fragrance from AERIN is reminiscent of a lilac bush in full bloom – like your bouquet crushed into a bottle. It’s light and delicate but it lasts beautifully. The perfect springtime wedding fragrance.
Zoe is also a fan of AERIN perfume: "There's a great range of scents so you're guaranteed to find the perfect one, and each one is striking in its own way. The bottles are also gorgeous, with crystal-style lids, meaning they'll look amazing in wedding photos too."
10. L’Occitane Néroli & Orchidée EDT
- Best for: A budget-friendly bottle that lasts
Everything about the beautiful white flowers of neroli and orchid just oozes bridal. And with additional notes of peach, fig milk and lily of the valley against a creamy base of musk and iris, this bridal fragrance from L’Occitane feels far more expensive than it actually is. Layer up with the body milk of the same scent range to enhance its intensity and longevity.
11. Floral Street Wonderland Peony Eau de Parfum
- Best for: Complementing a peony-filled bouquet
For a light-as-air, ever so slightly sweet wedding scent, try this bridal fragrance from Floral Street. It’s delicate and dreamy and would work beautifully in a stately-home setting. It has woody notes with berries as well as the classic floral notes – even a touch of creamy hazelnut. It’s charming, not cute, and we love it.
Reviews state that this fragrance has real staying power, but isn't overwhelming. It's also a great choice if you want a perfume you can wear every day after the wedding and not just on special occasions. You can also get an adorable 10ml version to fit in your bridal clutch.
12. Miller Harris Scherzo Eau de Parfum
- Best for: A heady mix of floral and oud notes
If you want to rock one of our favourite wedding scents, allow us to point you in the direction of Miller Harris Scherzo. Alongside notes of sweet tangerine and peony there's also a strong hit of oud, davana and earthy patchouli to temper the sweetness, making the end result rich and memorable.
You can order a 2ml sample to give you an idea of if you like it before you commit.
13. Le Labo Thé Matcha 26 Eau de Parfum
- Best for: Cool-girl appeal
Santal 33 may be Le Labo’s most popular and bestselling scent, but you can more than trust this luxury fragrance house to serve up other wedding-worthy perfumes, too. You'll love Thé Matcha 26, infused with creamy fig notes and matcha accord, soft vetiver and cedarwood with uplifting notes of bitter orange – but you'll love its soothing effects even more.
“I got married a month ago and wore Thé Matcha, which really helped me to relax in the last 30 minutes before walking down the aisle. Then I had Labdanum 18 sprayed all down my veil, so it carried the scent,” reveals one bride.
14. Argentum Apothecary Innocent Eau de Parfum
- Best for: A fresh, crisp scent
This bouncy, citrus-meets-floral scent from Argentum is one of the cleanest we’ve ever experienced – think summer-fruit-filled orchids and spring meadows. With distinct notes of crisp green apple, grass, basil and lemon that only mellow on the skin, there’s a lightness to it that couldn’t be more perfect for brides-to-be.
The holistic silver skincare specialist has a whole collection of divine wedding scents, with 2ml vials available to order online if you're unsure of which to buy. Or, for the ultimate wedding fragrance experience, stop by its welcoming boutique in Notting Hill for a unique fragrance reading to discover which of the scents you're most drawn to in person.
15. Maison Margiela Replica Lazy Sunday Morning EDT
- Best for: Matching products
If you want to take your wedding day scent to the next level, Maison Margiela's Lazy Sunday Morning Eau de Toilette is a laid-back fragrance with matching room-scenting products to allow you to be completely surrounded by the smell.
This calming scent is effortlessly cool, with notes of freshly washed linen, post-rain breezes, rose petals and orange blossom. It’s subtle, and you won’t notice immediately, but it lingers long on the skin, warming up for a relaxed, creamy fragrance that you’ll soon become obsessed with.
To go with the perfume, you can also purchase the Maison Margiela hand cream, body lotion, room diffuser and candles.
16. Kayali The Wedding Velvet Santal Eau de Parfum
- Best for: A rich and romantic wedding aroma
The Wedding Velvet Santal is part of Huda Beauty's Kayali scent range (which, when translated from Arabic, means my imagination). For those who prefer a more opulent, oud-based scent to see them through autumn and winter, this luxurious fragrance is exactly that – with base notes of sandalwood, middle notes of white musk and cedarwood, and top notes of jasmine and paradisone.
It's a good wedding perfume if you're looking for a warm scent that lasts all day. The fragrance is beautifully layered with rich ingredients that develop well over time.
17. Miller Harris Secret Gardenia Eau de Parfum
- Best for: Classic white florals with a twist
Opening with crisp, zesty notes of Japanese yuzu and nashi pear, this refreshing and long-lasting wedding fragrance from Miller Harris makes for a seriously moreish fruity floral.
It deepens on the skin with heart notes of gardenia, ylang-ylang and violet petal and feels beautifully subtle, modern and elegant.
18. Chloé Eau de Parfum
- Best for: An all-time classic fragrance
With florals like peony and rose petals against base notes of cedar and ambergris, the OG wedding fragrance from Chloé ticks every pretty box imaginable. And would you look at that packaging – the iconic pleated bottle comes adorned with a hand-tied pink ribbon. A solid wedding day perfume choice for every kind of bride.
19. Creed Queen of Silk Eau de Parfum
- Best for: A luxury, feminine fragrance
With a delicate softness and seductiveness that quite literally feels like silk on the skin, Creed's Queen of Silk eau de parfum isn't the brand's most popular fragrance for brides, but it's certainly our personal favourite.
With white floral notes like patchouli and tuberose effortlessly weaved into a creamy base of Chinese cedarwood, vanilla and osmanthus, this is the best bridal fragrance for nearlyweds seeking a floral fragrance with oomph. The brand offers complimentary engraving, too, if you want to treat yourself to a keepsake bottle or buy this as a wedding gift.
20. Hermès Twilly d’Hermès Eau de Parfum
- Best for: The non-traditional bride
For the bride looking for something a little different – and a wedding perfume she'll love well beyond the romance of the big day – Twilly d'Hermès is joy in a bottle!
With ginger, sandalwood and tuberose, it's the perfect, irresistible mix of floral, spicy and oriental notes. We love the playful coloured silk ribbon on each bottle, too.
How To Choose a Wedding Perfume
1. Consider the Season and Style of Your Wedding
“When choosing your wedding scent, keep these three points in mind: your wedding day, your current fragrance tastes and how you want to feel when you wear it,” says Emma South, fragrance and lifestyle expert at Jo Malone London. “The setting, the season, the flowers and even the colours of your wedding day may draw you to scents that mirror these details.”
For example, if you’re getting married in winter, you’re more likely to lean towards a more opulent and sensual fragrance, while light and uplifting florals are more suited to spring nuptials.
2. Think About Your Existing Fragrance Wardrobe
Take a look at all the fragrances you currently own and see what they have in common. Chances are, you’ll have a type when it comes to perfume – be it floral, woody, warm or citrusy. See if they all share a certain note. If yes, seek out that note in a new fragrance and it’s highly likely you’ll find one you love.
3. Seek Out Your Signature Scent
If you always wear the same scent, research whether there are any special editions of it – that way, you’ll still smell like ‘you’ but with a subtle twist. Tom Ford’s Black Orchid is one such scent that comes in various iterations. Picking a limited-edition version of your signature fragrance is a great way to still feel like yourself but with a nod to the occasion.
4. Take Your Time
When you’re experimenting with scents, don’t spray too many at once. Pick three or four fragrance cards, maximum, otherwise the scents start mixing and it becomes hard to decipher which one you like.
Likewise, give it time. As we mentioned above, you need to allow time for the fragrance to develop to see how it warms and reacts on the skin.
5. Think Sentimental
If you’re reluctant to wear a brand-new scent, why not wear the fragrance you used to wear when you first met your partner? Or the scent you wore on your first date? This is a particularly sweet option if you’ve been together for a long time and the fragrances you wear now have changed over the years.
6. Coordinate Scents
Gender-neutral scents are more popular than ever and actually, wearing the same fragrance as your partner is a romantic way to coordinate on the big day.
7. Look to the Classics
Iconic scents are iconic for a reason – they have universal appeal and never go out of style. If you’re stuck for a scent that feels right, allow us to point you in the direction of Chanel Mademoiselle or Chloé EDP (you can thank us later).
8. Have a Fragrance Consultation
If you feel like you’ve sprayed endless cards and still can’t decide, many fragrance houses will offer bespoke workshops to help you choose the perfect wedding scent.
Jo Malone offers in-store consultations and also specialises in scent layering to help make your fragrance last, while Floral Street offers a wedding-specific service, and Argentum Apothecary also specialise in unique consultations with its wedding fragrance readings.
9. Look at the Bottle
For aesthetically minded nearlyweds, it’s also worth considering what your chosen wedding perfume looks like – it’s often a detail wedding photographers love to capture in those all-important getting-ready shots, so make sure you like the look of it!
10. Stick With Your Favourite
If you’re simply wondering, can I wear my everyday perfume for my wedding, the answer is yes. If you’re feeling particularly nervous about the wedding, there’s a lot to be said about sticking to your signature scent. It will feel comforting and familiar and sometimes that’s exactly what you need on a stressful day. Plus, it’s one less thing to add to your wedding to-do list!
How to Make Wedding Perfume Last All Day
1. Always Choose Eau De Parfum
Since you’ll unlikely be thinking about top-ups throughout the day, having a wedding perfume that lasts is key. EDP has a higher concentration of perfume than eau de toilette, so it’s guaranteed to offer more longevity.
2. Moisturise First
“Fragrance will last longer on moisturised skin, so ensure you moisturise well before applying,” suggests Amanda Morgan, UK managing director of French fragrance house Diptyque. “To really intensify the scent, see if your fragrance comes with a matching body lotion, oil or mist.”
3. Spray Generously
“Traditionally fragrance application is focused on pulse points, but for enhanced longevity, mist your wedding perfume into the air and walk into it so it lands on your clothing. It’ll leave behind a lovely trail of scent as you move,” adds Amanda.
4. Avoid Rubbing Your Wrists Together
Admit it – we all do it. It’s second nature! While pulse points are a good place to spray your perfume because they generate heat, intensifying the fragrance, rubbing your wrists together can actually break down the fragrance molecules and affect the longevity of the scent.
What is the Best Wedding Perfume?
Of course, the best wedding perfume for each nearlywed is going to be different because it’s such a personal choice.
“Florals certainly sweep in and steal the show when it comes to weddings,” suggests Emma. “Peony & Blush Suede is one of our most popular wedding scents at Jo Malone, but for coastal weddings we also see the more exhilarating Wood Sage & Sea Salt take the lead. The latter is particularly favoured across the genders, too.
“Winter typically sees us drawn to richer, warmer scents that envelope us like cashmere – our Myrrh & Tonka is a favourite at this time of year, as is the iconic Pomegranate Noir.”
How Far in Advance Should I Choose My Wedding Perfume?
We’d always recommend choosing your wedding perfume several weeks or even months in advance of the big day. It can take time to choose the perfect wedding scent – you should wear each one all day to ensure you understand how it works with your body chemistry and develops on the skin.
Is Perfume a Good Wedding Gift?
Perfume can be a great gift for a nearlywed, however, it’s likely they would have already chosen the scent they’re going to wear for the wedding – unless you’ve had a discussion prior to you gifting it.
If you’d like to buy a wedding perfume for someone to wear on their wedding day, have a conversation beforehand and find out what their preferences are. Fragrance is a deeply personal choice.
Alternatively, if you want to gift a wedding perfume for someone to wear after the wedding and enjoy as a newlywed, then we think fragrance is definitely a good gift to give.
What Perfume Did Kate Middleton Wear on Her Wedding Day?
It is said that Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, wore White Gardenia Petals by British perfumier Illuminum London on her wedding day. Unfortunately for royal-loving brides, the fragrance is regularly sold out!
Now you've got your scent sorted, have you thought about what your wedding nails will look like?
