When it comes to entertaining, flower people are forward-thinking and innovative

With saving the planet on many people’s minds, more and more folks are opting for natural floral looks at weddings and parties. Natch.

“The biggest thing going is green,” says flower expert Rebecca Cole rebeccacoledesign.com.

WEDDINGS
At weddings, you might see greens and branches with flowers popping as color accents and perhaps a twig jutting out here and there. These arrangements are much less structured and more relaxed than the petal-perfect, hyper-symmetrical bouquets of the past.

Natural elements like wood, bamboo and wheatgrass are also being incorporated into the overall décor at the reception.

A definite “out” is every table matching. The bride and groom might make every table different or choose three or four designs for the room. “They don’t want the cookie-cutter weddings any more,” says Cole.

She adds that there’s a lot less “swatching” going on – meaning fewer brides-to-be are bringing in fabric samples and asking that the flowers be the exact same color of the dress.

A wedding’s color scheme is often influenced by the mood of the reception venue. Cole has seen sleek and mod give way to ornate, castlelike settings (sort of Morocco meets Manhattan) with rich, jewel tones, like burgundy, deep pink, orange, royal blue and chartreuse. Flowers are then selected to complement the venue’s tones.

At the same time, mono-looks, once the domain of trendsetters, have now reached a mainstream audience. Monochromatic is all one color flower; monobotanic is all one kind of flower. And the trend of bling flowers, ie incorporating rhinestones and crystals into bouquets is still going strong.

White flower

ENTERTAINING AT HOME
That relaxed green/natural vibe is easy to create at home. For example, a branch spreading out in a low vase is a great way to decorate a round table. And May is the season for flowering branches like forsythia, cherry, pear, lilac and verbena.

Or try this: At each place setting, put a few flowers in a champagne flute or an old olive oil bottle. Then use candles for the middle of the table and each guest has his or her own mini floral arrangement.

Working with a rectangular table? Cole suggests making a long row of similar objects – favorite pitchers, tea cups, bowls or jars of different heights. Then put the same flower or the same flower in different colors, cut low, in each one.

Another option is to have a few tall clusters of big flowers (say hydrangeas in a skinny vase) as placeholders for the food. You probably won’t sit down right away so while guests are sipping aperitifs, they can enjoy the flowers. Then just before you eat, remove the flowers so you can see each other and there’s plenty of room for dinner.

I can’t wait to try that!

Flower Fact of the Day: Sweet pea was recently rated as Britain's best-scented summer flower. For more details, see dailymail.co.uk.

Jacqueline - Editor

April 9, 2008

floral trends
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Comments (2)

Comments

Kathryn Bechen

Hi Jacqueline,

I write for a wedding magazine so found this very interesting! Thank you for the post and resources. Best. Kathryn Bechen Ink

Amy

At my wedding 10 years ago, I wanted to do wildflowers for the church and bouquets. It took a while to find a florist who understood what I wanted and she did an amazing job...the flowers were perfect and I got lots of compliments on them! I'm hardly considered cutting edge, though...perhaps it was considered retro back then?!

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