To Have and to Hold
Centuries ago, brides clutched bunches of sage, thyme or garlic on their wedding day to ward off evil spirits.
Today, the floral bouquet featured prominently in traditional ceremonies and wedding photos is as fragrant. But it is more fashion accessory than lucky charm.
“We’ve come a long way from carrying aromatic herbs,” says Millie Bratten, editor in chief of Bride’s magazine, a bible for many of the 2.4 million brides in this country each year. “We know from focus groups that choosing the flowers for a wedding is the next greatest area of interest for our readers after the dresses.”
Though brides are still likely to be married in white or cream-colored dresses, bridesmaids are wearing bolder colors instead of pastels. That, in turn, inspires richer-colored flowers for the entire wedding party.
“I had a bride recently who wanted all orange calla lilies,” says Richard B. Davis, a designer at Amaryllis, a flower shop in Washington, D.C. Even more exotic was the one who wanted a mask of flower petals instead of a bouquet.
In their glory for only a few fleeting but life-altering hours, bridal bouquets of the 1990s reflect society’s current passion for gardening, for individuality and a new love of color. Brides a hundred years ago might have stiffly balanced oversized 2-foot-wide creations down the aisle. Today’s bride is more likely to favor a small, tightly mounded Victorian nosegay or a blowzy hand-tied clutch of seemingly home-grown flowers or a minimalist trio of individual blossoms.
Martha Stewart Living’s twice-yearly Weddings special issue, which includes bouquet ideas, is a popular reference for brides.
In the Winter / Spring 1997 issue, ideas included a “green” bouquet made of all pale-green flowers such as ladies’ mantle, green hyacinth and Achillea and a bouquet of single-variety overripe pink roses (described as being directly from Stewart’s garden) nestled in organza. The chocolate cosmos and lavender roses bouquet had tiny brown bows pinned to its handle, an homage to 1950s Paris fashions.
Historical influences abound in the wedding ceremony. The tradition of tossing the bouquet, says editor Bratten, is rooted in ancient superstitions that brides are lucky and that guests want to share in that luck. “People used to rush the bride and even grab at pieces of her clothing. One bride, in a moment of self-defense, must have tossed her bouquet.”
Brides today sometimes get sentimentally attached to their bouquets and want to preserve them by hanging them up to dry or by having them professionally freeze-dried. That’s why floral designers often make what’s known as a throw-away bouquet.
This is sometimes a miniature version of the main bouquet with some dramatic ribbons attached to it, which can be tossed to the crowd as the couple traditionally makes a getaway at the end of the reception.
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FOR BETTER BOUQUETS
The bridal bouquet adds an element of nature and a fragrance to the wedding ceremony. It lives on in countless photographs.
Here are some ideas from the pros on how to choose, what to choose and how to make it look the best.
* Clip photos of bouquets you like to show potential flower designers. Also clip photos of bouquets you don’t like.
* Don’t let the bouquet hide the bride, or vice versa. Millie Bratten, editor in chief of Bride’s magazine, advises that if you are petite, keep the bouquet in proportion. If you are tall, don’t carry a tiny one.
* For fragrance, gardenias are hard to resist. But remember that they are among the most delicate flowers for a bridal bouquet. They bruise and wither easily.
* Choose roses if you are determined to preserve your bouquet. Floral designers advise that roses dry best.
* Schedule delivery of the bouquet carefully. A bouquet delivered too early the day of the wedding can be damaged.
“I deliver usually to the ceremony site,” says Stacie Lee Banks, a designer at Lee’s Flower and Card Shop in Washington. “I’ve seen flower girls literally take their little baskets and swing them around their heads right before the wedding. These flowers are perishable, and they can be all beat up by the time of the wedding.”
* If you want a bouquet to last a little longer, put it in a plastic bag and refrigerate it after the wedding.
One secret of longevity that professionals use on bouquets is a quick spray with Crowning Glory, a preservative that seals in the moisture and helps prevent browning. But not forever.
