Fabulous Flowers

For thousands of years flowers, herbs, and plants have been used in wedding ceremonies around the world as both decoration and in representation of many aspects of love and family. Almost every culture has their own traditions in this regard.

By: Amanda Leigh

From the Hawaiians with their ornate leis,to the Native Americans with herbs and berries, and the Europeans with their fragrent and beautiful flowers.

In recent years however, the trend has been style over substance. Today’s bride typically choses her flowers according to the bridesmaid’s gowns and the theme of the wedding,with little regard to the meaning and attachments of the flora that are in truth a large part of this sanctified union.

The most common flower used today is the rose, but many people do not understand that there are different meanings for each color.Red traditionally is known to represent love, while the white most commonly used in the bridal bouquet, represents purity,innocence and worthiness. Pink is for perfect happiness, while dark crimson is for mourning. So you see, arose by any other name is not just a rose.

Carnations are also a popular choice for the wedding reception. A purple carnation representscapriciousness, while white represents loveliness and sweetness,and is considered good fortune. However yellow carnations should be avoided as the represent rejection, while any that are striped mean refusal. Further still, red is for admiration and pink for remembrance.

The purple hyacinth is for forgiveness,while white represents reverence,blue for constancy,and yellow is jealousy.

Here are some examples of the more exotic flowers used today,that generally have beautiful sentiment behind them: Zinnias show everlasting affection,while violets show fidelity,and the stephanotis always means marital happiness. Ambrosia is wonderful in a wedding as it represents reciprocated love and suprisingly the cactus is for endurance.

In a more modern twist,some savvy brides have returned to the rennaissance era utilizing more plants and herbs in their bridal bouquets and decorations.Here are some ideas to try in your contemporary arrangement:

The bay leafis fragrant and is representative of unchanging affection, and the bright clover is for happiness. The holly, although generally thought of as a holiday plant, is for domestic happiness, and ivy beautiful in almost any arrangement is for wedded bliss.

Another herb that is both fragrant and intersting is sage, and the meaning is domestic virtue. The house leek is representative of fidelity, and mint is virtue.Orange blossoms, for chastity, are both beautiful and sweet smelling, and can be imported throughout the year.

As you can see there are many waysto make your bouquet and decorations personal while bringing a deeper meaning to the tradition of matrimony in “World Class Style!”

Related Posts:

• No Related Post