Wedding Trends - WOW Floral Sculptures

With COVID postponing many of our nuptial plans for 2020, I really feel there is a shift occurring, taking on a ‘Go Big Or Go Home’ approach to your big day. After waiting for so long, couples are wanting a proper celebration, and a greater party and spectacle for them and their guests. Go lavish for the first big family and friend gathering we’ve had in too long a time.
In terms of flowers, this has brought on a want for sculpture, for something different and something that’ll make your guests go ‘WOW’. We brushed on this briefly when we discussed the Geometric trend in the first wedding trend instalment - if you haven’t caught up with the other posts, give them a read and get inspired. Hopefully this post will fill you with inspiration and ideas for how you could use blooms to make a bigger and beautiful impact. Gone are the small centrepieces and table runners, and in are the structural pieces that draw your eyes up, left, right and everywhere.

AWE-INSPIRED AISLES. Make an impact right from the beginning by pimping out your aisles. Maybe its a twist on the walkway itself, with bigger, blooming pew ends or a floral structure to give that ‘walking-through-a-meadow’ feel. Maybe it’s the entrance or head of the aisle you want to highlight, with big urns and vases overflowing with flowers marking the path to matrimony. Or (my personal fave), highlight your vows with a big floral structure at the top. Moongates, arches, half trellis’, floral walls, hanging pots…. there are so many possibilities!

GARLANDS. Such an underrated versatile piece. Whether you use it traditionally to live long trestle tables, or go more structurally by wrapping it around your beams and bannisters, or even wilder by hanging it from the ceiling above your tables, it’ll really make an impact. If you are going to suspend it, add some flowers hanging at different heights off the middle, to give a big of texture and a magical forest feel.

SUSPENDED WONDER. Following on from garlands, you can also use your ceilings to their full potential, and give your guests a talking point over dinner. Marquee rings have been rising in popularity for the last few years, and now people are experimenting more with over flowering pots and garden shelves, flower clouds and upside down meadows. This isn’t for the faint hearted (and budget conscious) brides, so bare that in mind when you’re day dreaming. See above for the structures we created for Sarah & Jonny last year.

THINK OF YOUR VENUE. Obviously if you want to start hanging installations, building structures, and wiring flowers to ever surface in the place, you need to talk everything through with your venue. That structure might be precious, and they might not be keen on potentially getting it dirty or damaged. That being said, most venues are open to experts using it to it’s fullest flower potential, so don’t let it put you off having that open and honest conversation. So with that out the way, let your brain go wild. Those stairs? Cover the bannister in green, and place flowers on every step. That period mantelpiece? Make it a living over flowering masterpiece with wild foliages and roses, and give a punch of colour. That doorframe could be covered in flowers too! Don’t feel constrained, unless your venue says so.

BRING THE OUTSIDE IN, LITERALLY. If you’re getting married marquee style, incorporate meadows, moss covered pieces, floor structures and trees into your thinking. If you’re having a beach wedding, why not mix in some pampas grass, sand, grasses and seas shells into your wave-inspired designs. You could even recreate an outdoor scene on your tables - just make sure you’ve got enough room to fit in the food as well!

TALK TO YOUR FLORIST. This trend is not one for a DIY bride (no YouTube video can prep you, trust me), and that’s why you’ve hired an expert. I live for these weddings, where the couple wants to dream bravely, and no question is too small or silly. Few points to think about - the time and flowers that go into these designs, from prep to installation, is usually lengthy, and so more costly. The flowers that you might want to include might not always suit some designs, and we obviously want them to survive till your guests see them, so be flexible. And following on from our post on sustainability last week, think of the environment and ask your florist to do so too!

With that being said, onto the mood board!