Flowers are the mainstay of any wedding bouquet, of course, but there are many lovely additions that can enhance the style of the floral arrangement. Special elements taken from the earth or which have a natural appearance are especially popular additions. Make your wedding bouquet unique with some of these natural accents.
Dried elements can be a gorgeous way to enhance the style of a wedding bouquet. Dried seed pods, cattails, and even dried grasses look marvelous in combination with fresh flowers. They add interesting textures and forms which are different than what is available in cut blossoms. Dried elements are especially nice for weddings with a rustic or autumnal flair. They pair wonderfully with flowers in warm shades like burnt orange, goldenrod yellow, and russet red. Papery-looking ranunculus are particularly gorgeous with seed pods and other dried natural elements. Picture how pretty this type of bouquet would look with a textured silk dupioni gown worn with handmade bridal jewelry.
Grapevine is another natural accent which is wonderful for weddings. It can be loosely woven around the flowers to create a “cage” or a framework. The look is very unique and distinctive, and would be incredible for a rustic vineyard wedding. Choose richly saturated flower colors which will stand out against the brownish hue of the grapevine. Deep aubergine and burgundy blossoms would be excellent choices.
Natural elements also look terrific for bouquet wraps. If your style leans towards a simple wedding dress and handmade bridal jewelry, consider a bouquet wrap with a slightly rough hewn texture. Burlap actually looks very cool as a bouquet wrap instead of traditional satin ribbon. Another idea is to use wide leaves in variegated colors to create a striking handle for the wedding bouquets. The leaves look really interesting crisscrossing around the stems in shades of light green, emerald, and yellow-green. That is a detail which works very well for both formal and informal floral arrangements; a variegated leaf wrap would look just as beautiful on a casual daisy bouquet as it would on an elegant French tulip bouquet.
Speaking of leaves, they can be wonderful accents mixed within the flowers in a bouquet. Ring a big bunch of blue hydrangeas with glossy deep green lemon leaves for a pretty summer floral arrangement. Or add soft lamb’s ear leaves to purple wildflowers, lavender, and herbs for a delicate country bouquet with a European influence (lavender is a symbol of France, of course, and herb bouquets are traditional with Swedish brides). Big hosta leaves are another great addition to wedding flowers. Their large size makes a big impact and can be a great way to add size to a bouquet without drastically increasing the number of flower stems used.
Many other natural accents can be used to enhance a bridal bouquet. Feathers or short branches are a great way to add drama to fresh flowers. Fresh fruit can be wired into bouquets for color and texture (small artichokes look particularly intriguing). Think beyond flowers to design a wedding bouquet that will be as unique as you are.
