Blooming lovely

If you're planning a summer wedding, you'll be spoilt for choice when it comes to the flowers.Traditional, exotic, wildflowers, hothouse - the choice is endless and sometimes it's hard to know where to start.

To give you some inspirations for your floral decorations, we talked to South West flower expert Tina Bignall, who runs Bristol-based florists Tiger Lily, about what you should be considering when you pick your summer flowers.

 

The first thing Tina highlighted was the amazing choice available these days. "The internet is driving the growing demands of today’s fashion conscious brides," she says. "Flower growers have responded by offering more year-round availability of blooms. With the exception of traditional English flowers, grown on local farms, many flowers are now available all year from many different countries, such as Holland, Europe, South America and even Asia. Traditional seasonal flowers are becoming less common, as the specialist growers are adapting to our fast, ‘I want’ culture."

 

For those brides on a budget and who would like to keep costs down, Tina suggest supplementing your favourite flowers with lower cost items. "Add your choice of blooms together with a variety of different shaded foliages," she says. "Or possibly add some herbs such as flowering sage, rosemary and mint, all of which combine to create the quintessential English summer wedding." These have the added advantage of making your bouquet smell amazing!

 

So what are the most popular flowers for summer weddings? Without a doubt Tina says it's the rose.

"There are many beautifully scented and different colours available," says Tina, "from creamy ivory to coffee beige and lilac, all in antique shades, or bright and vibrant ones. This is one of the oldest and most traditional flowers, but it’s still the most popular and beautiful among brides." You can see from the bouquets pictured here, all of which were created by Tina, the versatility of this lovely flower and how it can be used in a variety of styles and designs.

And because of this popularity, traditional English flowers such as the rose, plus other lovely blooms such as hydrangea and peonies, are now grown all over the world. "With different climates, we are now able to buy traditional English flowers such as a large open garden rose from Ecuador, all year around."

For more expert advice from Tina on the perfect flowers to complement your day, you can visit her shop in Bristol, or give her a call on 01454 856737.