Fabulous Floral Wedding Ideas

Flowers play a starring role in most weddings, but if you’re big on blooms, floral details can run throughout your celebrations: it’s not just about bouquets!

Using the hitched.co.uk inspiration galleries — an endless source of brilliant ideas — we’ve handpicked some unusual and interesting ways to build floral touches into your big day, from flowery invites to a cake adorned with flowers. So get your petals ready and prepare to be inspired…

Sensational Floral Stationery

Choosing a traditional paper invite that features a beautiful bloom (preferably one you’re planning to incorporate on your wedding day) is a simple and stylish way to bring a floral theme into your wedding stationery — but there are many other gorgeous options. You could use a fresh floral display as the frame for your table plan, for example, or use tins filled with wildflowers as place cards. A 3D floral invite looks amazing when your guests open their envelopes, and you could continue the three dimensional theme at the wedding with origami flowers used as place name holders. Or choose more subtle (and quirky) details such as a monochrome illustration of a beautiful bouquet for a vintage celebration — or shabby–chic floral china used to display paper place cards or table names.

A Romantic Floral Ceremony

If there is one element of your wedding that is crying out for floral décor, it’s the ceremony. From the heady scent of fresh flowers to the dazzling colours a floral display can add to the setting, nothing is more romantic than a floral backdrop as you say your vows. If you’re mad about flowers, you don’t need to worry about subtlety; consider everything from fresh flowers tied to pew ends to a gazebo covered in blooms. Trees in blossom make a dramatic wedding arch — inside or out — and flowers in jam jars on a registry office mantel give a ceremonial room a rustic touch, softening the formal décor. From traditional centrepieces on the altar or registrar’s table (that can be moved to the top table at the reception) to small arrangements placed on hymn books, flowers will enhance your ceremony beautifully.

Decadent Floral Décor

Floral wedding décor may sound traditional but — creatively speaking — the sky is the limit when it comes to dressing your reception with flowers. Play with props to present your blooms: flowers showcased in crates, or suspended above the tables in small silver buckets, look amazing at a rustic reception, and mismatched milk jugs filled with a mix of flowers make a cost effective option if you favour a vintage theme. Use flowers to enhance the features of your venue too; in a barn, flowers can be attached to beams to create a tree effect, or make the most of a character mantel with a lavish fireplace arrangement. And for a thoroughly modern and unusual twist, include a confetti bar at your reception, inviting guests to shower you (and each other) in fresh, highly–scented petals.

Classic Floral Table Dressing

Wedding tables need flowers: how you choose them depends on your theme, your style and just how high you want to turn up the floral details on the day. Bountiful arrangements can look spectacular, and if you want a contemporary edge, try using several vases, each filled with a bunch of a different types of flower (this looks stylish in the same colour or create a rainbow effect with a single colour in each container). Rustic touches come with labelled jam jars (carrying messages for your guests) filled with garden flowers; keep the rustic theme going by mixing floral arrangements with living herbs and pot plants as favours. For a fun twist, match marshmallows with pink and white roses, and petals look so pretty scattered across a table. Finally, if you love synergy, splash out on a traditional arrangement that stretches the whole length of the top table and mirror the same selection of blooms on each and every table.

Delectable Floral Cakes

A fabulously flowery wedding cake: surely it’s the ultimate floral–inspired feature. From a traditional tiered confection adorned with edible roses to a funky chocolate creation decorated with fresh blooms, floral cakes look as delicious as they taste. There are so many styles and combinations to choose from, but we’re particularly partial to a “naked” sponge cake with fresh fruit and real roses; a bouquet presented on the top tier looks breathtaking; roses and lace make for a timeless combination; cupcakes look all the more scrumptious with a floral twist; use silk roses in between tiers to hide your stand; painted roses add absolute elegance; a mixture of polka dots, painted flowers, petals and blooms is simply spellbinding; and you don’t even need a sweet tooth to enjoy the effect of a floral cake — choose a cheese tower and you can still dress it up with flowers. Delightful!

The Hitched top five tips for making your floral décor dreams come true…

• Check with your church/registry office and venue to make sure your ideas are allowed
• Speak to your florist early so they can order and arrange your flowers in plenty of time
• Seasonal flowers will always be more cost effective and they tend to suit the colours and atmosphere of a wedding too
• If you have a tight budget, consider buying blooms from a wholesaler or flower market and arranging them yourself
• Don’t waste your beautiful blooms: remind guests to take table arrangements home, or consider donating flowers to a local elderly people’s home or hospice