Wedding Gazette

Wedding Flower Trends

By Jennifer Baumann

Away from the hubub of downtown Boston sits a big old beautiful house that has been home to Cedar Grove Gardens flower shop for 20 years. We visited them, and had a chat about spring wedding flowers.

Richard O'Mara, proprietor of Cedar Grove Gardens in Dorchester, Massachusetts told Wedding Gazette that the average bride is going to spend about $1500 to $2000 on her wedding flowers. Keeping that in mind, we were interested in just what you could get for all that cake.

Lisa Ahern, one of the down-to-earth florists that works in the countryish Boston flower and gift shop, sat down one morning and showed us the best flowers to choose for a spring wedding.

Wedding Gazette:

Okay, first things first, what's the most popular wedding flower? (We kind of already know the answer, but want to hear it straight from the expert's mouth.)

Lisa:

Over all, the rose is the most popular flower used for weddings.

Wedding Gazette:

Aha! We thought so! What kind of bouquet do you get the most requests for?

Lisa:

Today's brides want that tight, French domed cluster of solid roses that is very simple and modern. Very Martha Stewart-looking. Either that or they want the dome of roses mixed with other flowers and greenery. Those two are definitely the most popular bouquets. The cascading bouquet is no longer popular; everybody wants the tight little cluster of roses.

Wedding Gazette:

What about centerpieces?

Lisa

Which reception centerpieces are the most popular? I would have to say the 8" rose bowl (goldfish bowl shape) filled with an arrangement of mixed garden flowers and greenery, that accompanies the bridal bouquet and church decorations.

Wedding Gazette:

What do you focus on while designing a bridal bouquet?

Lisa:

What I think makes Cedar Groves unique is that we try to blend a mixture of flowers and different kinds of unusual greenery of different shapes to create texture and drama in the arrangement. Lots of people don't know this, but the key to an interesting flower arrangement is the kind of greenery you use. Incorporating various types of greens makes very interesting bouquets.

Wedding Gazette:

What about ceremony decorations?

Lisa:

Depending on how much the couple wants to spend, you can be as simple as using only a bow on the end of each pew, or as complex as hanging little bouquets of fresh flowers and greenery from the end of each pew. No matter what, most brides opt to have two altar arrangements, which usually run about $100 a piece.