Wedding Invitations

Roses? Hydrangeas? Peonies?  You are certainly not alone if you are feeling overwhelmed by sorting out the flowers for your wedding.  If you are planning on honoring your mothers and grandmothers and other special women in your lives, definitely mark down corsages for these ladies.  It’s a good idea to add in a few extras for any you might have inadvertently overlooked).  Also think about what flowers to order for the reception site, the ceremony site, the rehearsal dinner site, and of course the flowers for the wedding party. 

Brides might wonder about the etiquette involved in selecting wedding flowers and we’d like to help clear up any confusion that might be out there.  Both tradition and wedding etiquette suggests that the groom himself give the bride her bouquet as a gift, as well as the flowers for the bridal couple’s mothers and grandmothers and the groomsmen’s boutonnieres.  Traditionally, the bride takes care of ceremony and reception flowers as well as the bridesmaids’ bouquets.  Another lovely gift of flowers you could make together would be to send flowers to family members who are unable to attend the wedding due to distance or poor health.

No matter how large or small a wedding is, one thing that is almost guaranteed to be a part of the day are the flowers.  Flowers adorning the church door, scattered by the flower girl, worn proudly as a corsage by the mother of the groom, and of course carried happily by the joyful bride, there’s no question that weddings and flowers go together and make a winning combination.

We all can agree that flowers are a beautiful and classic decoration for brides and weddings in general.  But did you know that brides have not always carried bouquets of flowers at their weddings?  History tells us that brides in ancient Egypt carried bouquets of sweet-smelling herbs at weddings, as this was believed to ward off evil spirits on such an important day.  Romans carried on this tradition for much the same reasons.  Many brides in ancient Rome carried handfuls of the herb rosemary that symbolized fidelity and fertility, two very highly-prized things.  Orange blossoms were also chosen, to symbolize happiness and fulfillment for the newlyweds.  

It was Queen Victoria (and then, of course, Victorian-era brides) who first selected roses for wedding bouquets, and even today roses are chosen by the majority of brides for their bouquets.  Why roses? Well, the Victorians felt that the rose symbolized deep and true love, so what better flower for a bride’s bouquet than a rose? Wedding flowers are scattered by a small girl preceding the English bride and her wedding party, who walk together to the wedding chapel or the wedding site. The flowered path and symbolic walk express hope for the bride’s path through life to be happy and lovely.

In terms of wedding etiquette and flowers, matters are really very simple.  A bride can select the flowers that she desires and stay on the good side of etiquette as long as she keeps her groom in mind as well as her wedding party.  Remember, etiquette has the groom paying for the bride’s wedding bouquet!

No matter how large or small a wedding is, one thing that is almost guaranteed to be a part of the day are the flowers. Flowers adorning the church door, scattered by the flower girl, worn proudly as a corsage by the mother of the groom, and of course carried happily by the joyful bride, there’s no question that weddings and flowers go together and make a winning combination.

Are you overwhelmed by sorting out the flowers for your wedding? You’re not alone! If you are planning on honoring your mothers and grandmothers and other special women in your lives, definitely mark down corsages or nosegays for these ladies (and add in a few extras for any you might have inadvertently overlooked). You might also want to think about flowers for the reception site, the ceremony site, the rehearsal dinner site, and of course the flowers for the wedding party.

Some brides in the early stages of wedding planning might wonder about the etiquette involved in selecting wedding flowers and we’d like to help clear up any confusion that might be out there. Wedding etiquette (or tradition) suggests that the groom himself give the bride her bouquet as a gift, as well as the flowers for the bridal couple’s mothers and grandmothers and the groomsmen’s boutinieres. Traditionally, the bride takes care of ceremony and reception flowers as well as the bridesmaids’ bouquets.

Another lovely gift of flowers you could make together would be to send flowers to family members who are unable to attend the wedding due to distance or poor health. Trust me, no one doesn’t like being remembered with a gift of flowers.

One thing that my wedding (and related events) taught me about was writing thank-you notes. I must confess, before getting engaged to my prince, thank-you notes were not a very high priority to me. But as the engagement, bridal shower, and wedding gifts started arriving on my doorstep and the UPS and FedEx deliverymen started calling me by my first name, I realized that the etiquette of thank-you notes really do serve a purpose.

To begin with, when out-of-town guests send you wedding gifts, many times they truly have no idea if that meaningful and possibly valuable and/or pricey gift they selected, wrapped, and shipped to you even arrived on your doorstep. It’s absolutely not unheard of for gifts to be lost or mis-delivered while in the shippers’ possession. By sending your thank-you note for that bridal shower gift (in a timely manner, of course), you’re not only conveying your gratitude for the gift, but also relieving their minds that their gift ended up right where it was supposed to be.

Don’t forget, though: wedding etiquette does say that wedding gifts aren’t the only things that should trigger you to reach for your notecards and favorite pen. Friends and family members who help you, financially or otherwise, with your wedding are also due a thank-you. Included in that general “otherwise” grouping would be someone who hosted your bridal shower, your grandmother who said she’d take care of the wedding flowers bill, and even your bridesmaids and groomsmen. You’re just as grateful for these gifts as those super-soft bath towels, right? Be sure to let them know!