Thinking about bouquets

There are a lot of things to consider about bouquets.

Do you want a bouquet that you can keep forever?

The bouquets above are from etsy. The bottom two are fabric/silk flowers and the top two have a few silk flowers combined with tons of rhinestone and/or pearl brooches. One (top left) includes feathers, which I think is very pretty. All these options are lovely. And, unfortunately, out of our budget. If DB (dear bride) chooses a bouquet like this, we'll need to make it ourselves, so we'll have to factor in the time for making it and finding/making all the components. But it could be a beautiful floral arrangement and/or keepsake for many, many years to come.

Fresh flowers are the traditional choice. And, if you make the bouquet yourself and purchase the flowers from a club warehouse (in our case Sams' Club), then the price is well within budget. There are tons of tutorials on the internet, so figuring out how to make your own is a simple thing.

The options in fresh flowers are many.

Do you want a gathered group of flowers wrapped together? These almost have a topiary feel to me. A long, wrapped stem topped by a "bubble" of flowers. Sorta kinda looks like a topiary!

This type of bouquet is usually wrapped with ribbon, but the lower right bouquet is wrapped in sisal which is an interesting, casual/rustic option. The calla lilies in top right are wrapped with satin and accented with a rhinestone brooch which gives it an elegant, slightly formal look. I saw an example like this that had a blue rhinestone brooch, providing the "something blue" for the bride.

 

These bouquets are more free form, less structured. And three of them are much more colorful than the previous examples.

Even more colorful, bold bouquets, but equally lovely. In three of these examples, only one type of flower is used. Using just one flower choice in a bold color makes a stronger statement.

These softer-toned examples feel more romantic to me, but I'm pretty old-fashioned and traditional. And it's not my wedding. 

Sooooo, when choosing a bouquet, you have to choose color,  flower, ribbon, structured or free-form, soft or bold.  All these bouquets are beautiful.

It's your wedding, baby. Choose what feels right for you.