I know that many of you have had to postpone your spring and summer weddings. I know you must be feeling sad and disappointed. But autumn is a beautiful time to get married, not least because of the gorgeous array of flowers available. Here, Liz from Blue Sky Flowers shares some autumn flower inspiration to give you all some ideas of how to style your autumn wedding beautifully.
Orange is not the only colour…
Autumn is possibly the most underrated time of year to plan your big day. It may not have all the pretty delicate blooms of spring or the warmth of summer. But an autumnal wedding brings with it fresh, crisp air, gorgeous russet tones and cool, manageable weather. And being a little off season, it could be much kinder to your big-day budget
But which flowers will be available for your wedding? How can you make the most of them to create spectacular bouquets, centrepieces and floral arrangements that fit your venue? I’ve done quite a lot of Autumnal weddings over the years. I thought I’d share some top tips on Autumn wedding flowers
Find out what’s in season
If you have your wedding heart set on peonies then this isn’t the season for you. However, there are still plenty of beautiful and diverse blooms readily available for autumn weddings. Hydrangeas take on a beautiful, multi-coloured hue around autumn, which makes them perfect for more natural, earthy weddings. Dahlias offer a perfect pop of colour for something a little more contemporary
From dahlias to scabious, cosmos to roses, ranunculas to rudbeckia, the first step is to know what you have to work with. Make a list of all the flowers that are available around your wedding date so that you have a good understanding of what is what. When you meet your florist, look through that list with an eye to what colours and flowers you like and don’t like
Think about your colour scheme
Not every wedding has to have a grand theme. But, it’s good to have an idea of a colour scheme so that everything looks cohesive. If you’ve opted for berry hues, then plum roses and aubergine ranunculas could be a beautifully bold choice teamed with apricot or mustard coloured dahlias or accent your bouquet with adorable blackberry scoop scabious with their little nodding heads
Warm up the palette with more fiery hues such as salmon coloured ranunculas and burnt orange strawflower. Any of these would be amazing teamed with the gorgeous natural turning foliage of beech, cotinus and abelia, plus the interesting additions… grasses, seed heads and herbs like rosemary and purple sage
If the Autumn colours aren’t for you, there are plenty of other palettes to choose from. End of season white garden roses can be paired with seed heads, white or blue thistles and pale blue oxypetalum for a lighter theme. You could even go for delicate fluffy clouds of gypsophila or the light tones of pastel roses and soft pink dahlia and nerines. There’s no right or wrong colour scheme for an autumn wedding
Think outside the box
Your florist can create stunning centrepieces and bouquets with creativity and a little leeway. Whether it’s adding trailing ivy and jasmine to your bouquet or creating an arch with twisted willow and masses of foliage. Why not embrace the idea of a little non-traditional floristry? This will help give your wedding flowers that “wow” factor.
There are so many ideas to choose from: painted white, gold or black pumpkins and pine cones look amazing on tables and as part of arrangements, as do brambles and blackberries, figs and plums. Get that autumnal enchanted forest feel using bare wood or moss – basically, use all the amazing gifts that nature has to offer at that time of year.
I hope this autumn flower inspiration has ignited your love for autumn. If you’re planning an autumn wedding do get in touch with myself and Liz to help you create the wedding day of your dreams.