It’s playtime for wedding bouquets – and the more artfully messy, the better!

Maybe it’s blogs, I don’t know… but I’ve seen more statement bouquets over the last six months than ever before. Gone are the tidy teardrops and perfect circles, now English brides are choosing gloriously messy, cascading, multicoloured and rustic armfuls of flowers… and it’s one of my favourite wedding trends.

I wanted to show you a handful of examples, some favourite bouquets and ideas to set your Pinterest boards on fire! I asked florists and photographers on Facebook to share their very best – an excuse to share lots and lots of insanely pretty flowers on the English Wedding Blog. And the suggestions came flooding in…

Statement bouquets: big, bold and beautiful

Make a statement with the size and style of your bouquet! For flower lovers, this is all the excuse you’ll ever need to hold the most amazing flowers you can imagine! I adore Katie Laura Flowers‘ style and approach to floral design: creative and carefree, with the loveliest colour combinations and lots and lots of fabulous foliage.

… be different if you dare and carry a basket of flowers – perfect for a rustic wedding, this arrangement in a wicker basket has everything: gorgeous summer flowers, bright pinks and daisies, fruits, grasses and oodles of wonderful foliage! By The Vintage Floral Design Co.

Simple, muted and earthy bouquets

Greens are in – rustic styling is big for 2015 and very ‘natural’ bouquet colours are in. Think green and white hydrangeas, ferns and grasses, and the palest daisies and blooms for a big, impactful bouquet. Tie with hessian, muslin or linen for a classy, rustic finish. I adore this arrangement by Gwenda at The Vintage Floral Design Co.

A smaller bouquet can be beautiful too! Sophie’s bouquet combines roses and statement blooms with daisies and little green buds – and the shape is creative, exciting and just that little bit messy – LOVE!

At the opposite end of the scale, neutral and natural colours can be breathtaking – just go overboard with the size of your bouquet! Adding foliage is such a dreamy way to create beautiful, big bouquets for creative brides.

Sweet summer wedding bouquets

Sweet summer flowers can work well with just a dash of messy, creative styling. If you don’t want to carry a huge bouquet but still love your flowers, the secret is in combining colours. Never stick to one or two contrasting colours, but mix tones and shades as you would in a garden… and suddenly you have your dream ‘English country garden’ bouquet! The shape is important too… add sprigs and twigs and grasses and foliage for an interesting bridal bouquet.

Roses are our favourite wedding flower, and have been for many years – but a straightforward rose bouquet looks dull when you see how brides are combining so many flowers in modern bouquets. Add peonies and ranunculus, lisianthus and gypsophila – and again, lots of leaves and ferns and grasses – and those roses will really stand out and look beautiful!

English country garden flowers

Oh, and did I mention hydrangeas? They’re gorgeous – but mix n match is the secret to making your hydrangeas look amazing… for a true English country garden look you need to pick from the whole border – imagine a cottage garden, where the secret is the wide range of bright, colourful flowers in different shapes and heights.

The ‘just picked’ look for messy bridal flowers

So many of the brides I feature on the English Wedding Blog are making their own bouquets, or enlisting their mums, aunties and best girls to do it. The secret to getting it  right? Learn from an expert – go to a class or attend a course with a creative florist whose style will inspire you. (If any of you are coming to The Handmade Fair this year you should seek out Kitten Grayson – her sessions are just amazing!) That ‘just picked’ look for homemade bouquets is gorgeous… but it’s important to make sure your bouquet won’t wilt or fall apart!

Wild and exotic summer flowers

The statement flower of 2015 will be the protea – just one or two in a mixed, colourful bouquet is divine. They’re different, new and exotic, and I adore their fabulous colours and textures. Mix and match with berries and bright, exciting shades for a ridiculously beautiful statement bouquet! Natasha’s protea bouquets (Pumpkin & Pye) are just gorgeous – I’d love to carry one of these.

My lovely friend Emma from Tebbey and Co. has a talent for foraging… and her imagination should inspire us all to create exciting wedding flowers. Emma built this protea bouquet around the statement flower, adding shape, colour and texture with leaves, flowers and berries from gardens and hedgerows… incredible, isn’t it?!

Tone it down for autumn and winter messy bouquets

Autumn colours are so much fun to play with – choose russets and oranges, rich red dahlias or berries, and add textures with heather, catkins and ivy for a creatively styled bouquet. When winter arrives your flower choices will be more limited, but think foliage and texture: silver ferns, blue-tinged berries and lots of blue-green foliage will complement classic English roses and make your bouquet so much more than just a bunch of flowers!

 

With huge thanks to all of the florists and photographers who shared their images for this feature:

• Katie Laura Flowers
• Tiree Dawson Photography
• The Vintage Floral Design Co.
• Heline Bekker Photography
• Shell de Mar
• Paul Fuller Kent Photography
• Lumiere Photography
• Caroline Nicholson Photography
• Pumpkin & Pye
• Evolve Photography
• Tebbey & Co.
• Melissa Beattie Photography
• Amanda Karen Photography

For more messy, informal and creative wedding bouquets follow me on Pinterest and check out my 17 boards of wedding flowers (all organised in alphabetical order under F), especially Flowers – messy bouquets!

FlowersKatie Laura Flowersmessy bouquets