Choosing your British wedding flowers

If you’ve had a romantic Valentine’s Day and the thought of planning your wedding is at the forefront of your mind then you’ll no doubt be thinking about your flowers. 

But did you know, that the average cut flower bouquet that comes from overseas has roughly the equivalent carbon footprint of flying from London to Paris, so imagine multiplying this up by the number of flowers you’ll be using in your wedding!

If you’re concerned about the environmental impact of imported blooms as wedding flowers and want to look at an alternative then British grown flowers offer just this.

The availability of British flowers is increasing thanks to a growing number of small scale flower farmers.  Flowers are usually grown seasonally, so only certain flowers will be available at certain times of the year.  This does mean that you might need to be a bit flexible when it comes to your wedding flowers.  Roses are not available in November, but there are some stunning chrysanthemums that are.  Likewise, dahlia aren’t available in the spring, but peony and specialist peony-shaped tulips are.

So where do you start if you don’t know what’s seasonal?

Perhaps the most important thing to think about first is colour.  Most florists or flower farmers will be very happy to work to a colour palette.  This might be very general such as pastels or bright colours, or could be a bit more specific such as creams, apricots and peach.

It’s then helpful to think about the style of flowers.  Do you want your bridal bouquet to be a relaxed, natural style with lots of foliage for example?  Sometimes having a look at some photos can be a helpful to give you some ideas.  You need to also think about the flowers that will decorate your venue.  Do you want to keep it simple with some bud vases on the tables, or are you looking for a huge flower arch with masses of impact at your wedding reception.

Armed with this rough idea, it’s time to talk to your nearest flower farmer.  You can find this person by looking at the flowers from the farm website https://www.flowersfromthefarm.co.uk/find-flowers/ and putting in your postcode.  If this grower doesn’t offer wedding flowers directly, the chances are they will be supplying flowers to a florist who does and are likely to be able to recommend someone to you.

Your flower farmer will be able to let you know what flowers are typically in season around the time of your wedding that fits with the colour palette and your style.  They may even be able to offer a visit to their farm to see flowers first hand.  You should trust in their expert knowledge to help with exactly what flowers to use, and it’s quite possible they will introduce you to flowers you have never even heard of!  This means that you don’t need to go armed with a list of flowers you love before you start.

Another option if you have plenty of time to plan your wedding flowers is to follow some flower farmers on Instagram.  They will usually be posting pictures of seasonal blooms all year round which will provide you with lots of inspiration. 

I have found that there are beautiful flowers available at all times of the year, so whichever month your wedding is I am sure that you will find you can use 100% British grown flowers.