Interesting Facts
Today no one can say exactly where and when exactly this tradition originated. But it is known for certain that different nations had their own customs of giving a piece of happiness to unmarried girls at a wedding.
Interesting! Many people attach great importance to the “language” of flowers, because in this way the groom can express true feelings for his chosen one. Roses speak of passionate love, lilies - of sincerity, tulips - of hope and love, orchids express deep affection.
In Rus', girls closed the eyes of the newlywed and danced around her. The bouquet went to the one who ended up next to the bride after the girls stopped moving.
In European countries, unmarried girls were confident that if they could tear a piece of fabric from the bride’s robe, they would be guaranteed happiness in their future family life. For this reason, by the end of the celebration, the newlywed was often left not in her wedding dress, but in terrible rags.
In France, in order to keep the bride's outfit safe and sound, bouquets began to be sewn onto the bottom of the dress, which were not a pity to be torn off. Along with bouquets, brides often presented single people with garters, key chains, chains or pendants.
And in Great Britain they practiced the following tradition: single men threw their socks at the groom. The one who hit the newlywed with his toe in the face, in their opinion, became a potential groom.
There is such a beautiful story in America: one newlywed gave her wedding accessory to her closest friend and wished her happiness with her future husband, which later came true. This story became known to everyone and everything, and the tradition of “throwing the bride’s bouquet” to the unmarried took root.
The traditions of many peoples changed, became overgrown with legends, and finally came down to us in this form.
The tradition is wonderful, it makes young people happy at weddings and gives them hope. But you can’t take a moment that is just a custom so seriously. Therefore, it is not necessary to throw the bride’s wedding bouquet - it is still impossible to embody the traditions of all countries in one celebration.
Bride's bouquet and wedding decor. A florist-decorator's view
I am sure that among you there are brides who are preparing for their wedding and have already thought about flowers and the bride’s bouquet, are you thinking about what kind of bouquet of your dreams it is and where to order it... My article will not be standard, but very truthful. I hope this helps many of you make the right choices for your big day.
No matter how much you say that we have a common cause, we are still on different sides of the wedding industry. And, whatever one may say, you need an excellent result, and we need excellent reviews and new orders, so there is a mutual interest in success and this makes us happy.
In the next series of articles, I will try to reveal all the intricacies of wedding decor from the inside, tell you what is normal, good and frankly bad. I will share our floral and creative problems, and also try to explain how to make sure that we hear you, understand you and do everything exactly as you dreamed. And, of course, the most delicious thing, I will debunk many myths about floristry that we ourselves, florists, often create.
Let's start with the myths:
Myth 1. There is a secret ingredient that is added to water and this makes the flower last longer.
Maybe there is, but in five years I still haven’t found it... The secret is in the freshness of the flower! This also includes the answer to the question “why is it so expensive” - “because we specially process flowers in a secret way and choose the best ones for the wedding bouquet.” Brides, don't be upset, but the flowers are still the same. At least from any good florist. Whether for a wedding or a birthday. In a good workshop, the price depends only on the number of colors, and not on their quality (quality should always be the default). It’s just that there is almost no greenery in the bride’s bouquet and a lot of tightly gathered flowers, which reduces the diameter of the bouquet and increases the price.
Myth 2. If the bride’s bouquet has not “stood” for several days, it is a bad bouquet.
No one strives to make a bouquet for a week, the main thing is that it survives until the end of the evening and beautifully flies into the hands of an unmarried guest! They often come with a request to make a bouquet with hydrangea, but so that it doesn’t wilt during a walk without water in the July heat, but it can wilt even in water... Which leads to point 3.
Myth 3. If a Florist says that a certain flower will not survive under certain conditions, then he is not a professional and does not know about the first point.
But in fact, we are just trying to take care of you so that there is no unpleasant surprise. It is in our interests that you are completely satisfied.
There is another side to the coin. Florists are playing it safe. We really don't like to work with some flowers at weddings, as they can fail at the most inopportune moment. Usually, these are all the most beautiful flowers: hydrangea, peonies, ranunculus, muscaria, forget-me-nots, lilies of the valley, etc. Then you may hear something like “out of season”, “incredibly expensive”, “impossible”. Some of this is true. For example, lilies of the valley will cost incredible amounts of money out of season. But peonies are almost always equally expensive. One thing is certain: it is quite possible to get any flower at any time of the year. The Dutch are great, they have succeeded in this. Many flowers are really “harmful”, they wither, dry up, or hang their heads for no reason... And we are afraid of them! I'm afraid of hydrangea. Sometimes you buy it in the store for free sale in the refrigerator and it sits for a week, and then happy people come with stories about how it almost took root in their vase; and sometimes you buy a brand new, fresh one for the bride’s bouquet, and she starts to wilt in her hands... But this is a wedding, responsibility... And you almost play a tambourine over her! Therefore, of course, we are trying in every possible way to dissuade you from flowers that we ourselves are afraid of.
I found such a way out, I tell the bride that such and such a flower may die unexpectedly and, in this case, we make her a spare bouquet, very similar to the first of the more reliable flowers at a very big discount.
Myth 4. I want a blue bouquet!
There are no blue, really blue, flowers in nature! They are either blue, or with purple, or something else, but not pure blue. Photos on the Internet are a consequence of Photoshop, monitor color rendering, etc.
A good florist-decorator must:
— He will meet you at least once on the site (we usually go there when we go to work), if this is the decoration of the hall, or will meet you personally in the workshop, if this is a bridal bouquet. We, as doctors, do not treat over the phone or on social networks. We need to see you. Your height, eye color, your image. Otherwise, how to understand what will suit you.
— He will bring the bride’s bouquet and boutonniere to the specified address, when (!) you need and conveniently. This is your wedding, but we, florists, have work and we cannot be “early” or “inconvenient.”
— Since grooms (sorry, men) are usually crooked, we always have a spare boutonniere as a gift. Hard-earned by experience. It’s easier to immediately make a spare one and leave it in the restaurant’s refrigerator than to later try to do something with the first one that’s tired and wrinkled under your coat.
— He will definitely tell you in detail what flowers will be in the design, in the sense of not “white and red”, but “rose and lisianthus.”
— And, probably, the most important thing. If some flower did not arrive, arrived bad, etc., then this is usually known in advance, at least 24 hours in advance. As soon as this becomes known to us, it should immediately become known to the client, and not at the moment of receiving a bouquet or upon entering the restaurant hall.
Yes, this happens, and quite often. We have no power to influence suppliers. To be honest, for example, there are so few of them in St. Petersburg that we cannot even punish them with a ruble and no longer order flowers from them. I consider it professionalism to paint a picture for the client in advance, describe all the pros and cons and, if something goes wrong, inform in a timely manner. Unfortunately, this scares off many brides... Many falsely turn to masters who promise anything and without problems, and then receive negative reviews about unfulfilled obligations.
But our common desire should be for everything to go great!
To be continued.
When they throw flowers
According to custom, flowers are given to friends at the end of the wedding or registration. But it’s such a pity to part with a beautiful attribute, especially since the newlyweds will have to film and photograph, so the bride tries to get rid of the bouquet at the end of the celebration.
Bottom line
There are a lot of signs associated with a wedding bouquet. Although it is not at all difficult to comply with them. Since a flower arrangement is considered one of the most important amulets, a girl should still approach it with all responsibility.
To do this, try to correctly place accents, choose the right colors and plant varieties. In addition, note that the man is currently giving flowers, so he should also be involved in the actual composition.
Give him a similar responsibility. Together you can make the right decision by deciding what is considered more important for your future family.
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Summary
The tradition of throwing a bouquet remains unchanged at every wedding. Brides are happy to select flowers for an accessory to please their friends. How this will be done does not matter much, the main thing is the gifted accessory and sincere wishes for the soon creation of a family and mutual understanding with the betrothed. Well, girls who did not receive the desired award should not be upset - there is still more to come.
Anastasia Belozerova
Wedding planner
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Favorable color of the bouquet
Signs of the color of the bride's bouquet.
Remember that the choice of color should be based not only on personal preferences, but also on the kind of relationship you would like to build. They can be completely different: from calm to passionate and violent.
Many people make the mistake of building their relationships based on passion. And for this, a rich scarlet color is often chosen. In fact, in doing so, they make a fatal mistake, because sooner or later the passion will fade away, and, unfortunately, there will be nothing left behind it.
The ideal favorable color for the bouquet will be white. It emphasizes the image of the bride, thereby talking about her innocence and purity. It is the white shade that is considered a symbol of the image of a beautiful girl and is most often used as the main tone for many decorative elements at a wedding celebration.
In addition to white, it would be useful to use pastel colors. They will look even more interesting. On the one hand, pastel shades are not much different from the classic white version. On the other hand, these are the tones that look modern and stylish. For example, champagne, cream, ivory can be such options.
Florists advise using red tint as little as possible. It symbolizes only passion, especially roses, which also have undisclosed secrets.
It is believed that such a family will only experience jealousy and suspect each other of something. To avoid such comments, you should avoid excessive redness in your wedding bouquet. If you want to maintain a clean, respectful and open relationship for a long time, then be sure to choose light pastel colors.
Eastern traditions
In China, the traditional color for wedding bouquets is red. Various shades of this color emphasize the beauty of Chinese women, are used to decorate hairstyles and dresses with flowers, and are also used in celebrations and decorative elements.
For Japan, a wedding bouquet is not as typical as for other countries; fans are very popular here, which Japanese brides hold in their hands instead of the flowers we are used to. However, there is a strong tradition of decorating the bride’s hair with chrysanthemums; such an image is associated specifically with this celebration.
India is famous for its lotuses, and therefore it is not surprising that these flowers are chosen for wedding decorations and wedding bouquets. Lotuses can be used as independent decorations or act as a key figure in floral arrangements consisting of various flowers. Roses are also a feature of Indian weddings, brides often choose bouquets consisting of roses and lotuses, this is also a very characteristic wedding combination.
Roses are traditional flowers for weddings in many countries. You can learn more about bouquets of roses in our review.
