The Power of the Flower

The Power of the Flower

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You’ve booked in your qualified marriage celebrant. The venue has been arranged. The guest list is coming together. The wedding dress is undergoing final alterations. What have you forgotten?

Oh heck! Flowers!

Choosing wedding flowers to create a bouquet can be a bit of a challenge. You’re walking down the aisle with them. You’re tossing them back for single ladies to have some fun scrambling AFL style to catch them. They’ll appear in a lot of the wedding photos.

My personal opinion is this: Choose flowers that you like whether that’s for look, feel, scent, sentimentality, or a mix of those reasons. Don’t overthink it. Use the “blink” method where you go with what immediately impresses you and your heart jumps at. But maybe I’m just cavalier that way because in truth floriography or the ‘language of flowers’ has a long and important history that dates back to Victorian times. Floriography was used as coded communication. By offering certain flowers and arranging various flowers into bouquets, people could express feelings that may not be prudent to speak aloud.

So, if you do want to be more considered and you enjoy symbolism, here is a rundown of the symbolic language that can be found in some popular wedding flowers. Note that some flowers have been given multiple meanings and can depend on culture.

Angelica

Inspiration

Bluebell

Humility

Calla Lily

Beauty

Carnations (Red)

Love

Carnations (Pink)

Boldness

Carnations (White)

Talent

Chrysanthemum (Red)

Wealth, truth and when given can be essentially saying “I love you”

Daffodils

Happiness

Dahlia

Commitment and eternal bond

Gardenia

Purity and Joy

Hydrangea

Understanding

Iris

Understanding

Lilac

Love’s first emotions

Lily of the Valley

Happiness

Orchid

Beauty, love fertility

Peonies

Love, happiness, ambition

Rose

Romance

Stephanotis

Good fortune, marital happiness

Tulip

Love, passion

Zinnia

Enduring friendship, lasting affection