Summer Flower Bouquets for Weddings

Summer is undoubtedly the most popular time of year for weddings; the weather is (hopefully) more settled, there are long evenings, flourishing backdrops and good light for photographs.

Summer brides have a vast selection of flowers to choose from – there are more in season than other times of the year and you can take advantage of this by selecting flowers which also cost less in the summer months.

Any colour theme can be accommodated at this time of year, be it subtle or dramatic. You can take the season as a theme and use brilliant yellow sunflowers in your bouquet and table centrepieces or you can take inspiration from the wildflowers in the hedgerows (such as brilliant blue cornflowers) or the shapes and colours of an English garden. Many people take the opportunity to use the vibrancy of summer flowers to make a colour statement. The endless variety of flowers available in the summer also makes fitting to any other theme possible – whether it is shabby chic, rustic, vintage or cutting edge modern.

In the summer you can make great use of accessories in your bouquet that will catch the light, such as shiny or sparkly ribbons, pearls or diamante. Match these in with elements from your wedding dress, tiara or hair accessories to tie everything together beautifully.

Some ideas of the flowers that are popular in the summer are sweet peas (especially if you love the scent), peonies, sweet williams, gerberas, hydrangeas, sunflowers, stargazer lilies, calla lilies (beware the cost), daisies and roses of every style and hue.

For stand out tall table centrepieces consider agapanthus, foxgloves, lupins, gladoli or delphiniums, all of which are numerous in the summer.

If you are aiming for eco-friendliness at your wedding, then you can ask your florist to provide flowers that are in season in Ireland and haven’t been shipped in from abroad. Traditionally, Irish brides wore and carried wildflowers. This is a custom that you could incorporate into your wedding flowers if you are looking for a traditional element. Irish wildflowers you could consider are dairy, sweet allysum, myrtle, red clover, bell heather, anemones, scarlet pimpernel, thistle, agrimony, montbretia, green rosemary, bluebells, foxglove, sea aster, purple orchids and forget-me-nots.

Whatever colour or theme you choose; you should discuss it in detail with your florist. They should be able to take your initial ideas and turn them into reality to create something truly memorable.