Oh blushing Brides, you carry your flower bouquet throughout your wedding day not knowing what it represents. If you only knew what florists went through! The magic they make today is simply divine but how it came to be is a legend entwined.
When we think of a wedding our thought goes out instantly like magic to the white dress in the room carrying a bouquet looking divine. This image looks as close to perfection as humanly possible. A bride looks so natural to the outside eye, when in reality there is a lot of planning that goes into that one special day.
One of the more important parts would be the bride’s bouquet. They might just seem like pretty flowers but the truth is that someone somewhere put effort and knowledge combined with some fashionable aesthetics to create that beautiful bouquet.
There is a history behind the wedding bouquet and to be honest it is not exactly a tale that goes with the fairy tale know as your wedding. Let’s just shortly say that the bouquet was used to cover up certain smells that the body might acquire over long periods of time while not bathing (they did not have running water back then! Do not judge them!). The flowers were used to cover up the body odor on the day of the wedding. Nowadays we have running water and well we like our flowers just for their beauty and we love our friends at Fabulous Flowers, give the a sniff and you won’t regret it for your wedding bouquet. I personally do not believe this legend but I do believe in Fabulous Flowers and what they can do for you.
I do however believe this story that states that the flowers were about purity. They represented the brides “flower basket” which is why the unmarried women were gathered into a group and shortly after the wedding ceremony the bride threw her flowers into that group. The bride-now wife no longer needs her purity = flowers. But until you no longer need your bouquet, you might want to go and pay a visit to The Flower Shop .
This brings us to the throwing of the bouquet part of the wedding that has oh so many women go crazy and do very devilish things to other women in a desperate attempt to catch the flowers. We all know what it represents to catch the bouquet and this is a moment when you can pinpoint exactly who wants to get married.
This is how the throwing of the bouquet tradition started. In ancient times, a bride was considered especially lucky on her wedding day. Guests were compelled to tear off parts of her dress to obtain a good luck talisman for themselves. Not all brides cared for this activity ( you can imagine why!), as it seemed unpleasant to have their clothing ripped from her bit by bit, compliments of the guests just so they can have some extra luck. The years went on and so it evolved to the point that the bride outsmarts her guest by giving an offering of herself. Enabling a guest to obtain a lucky talisman and allowing herself to keep her clothing intact: she starting throwing her garter and bouquet in lieu of pieces of her dress. That is what I call a smart bride.
Another old and popular custom for carrying a bouquet was to ward of evil spirits. These bouquets were usually made from very pungent herbs, spices and yes, garlic could be involved. You could kill two birds with one stone with a garlic bouquet; evil spirits and evil odour could be knocked out with one bouquet! Oh the old days! But now a day you don’t need garlic in your bouquet!
The legends might all be real or they might as well not be, as our time is now and the past is irrelevant in the face of your future. Choose your flowers wisely and with the help of our fellow florists. They will best provide the knowledge most of us lack when it comes to flowers.
Whatever season your wedding might be, let it radiate straight from your bouquet.