12 Wedding Bouquet Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make

Since flowers are the primary decoration at most weddings, the blooms that you choose for your big day play a key role in executing your vision. Your bridal bouquet and bridesmaid bouquets are particular floral elements that can make or break your affair. Since these lush adornments will be on display as you and your bridal party walk down the aisle and pose for pictures, they’ll need to complement the rest of your aesthetic in order to create a cohesive event. Unlike other wedding flowers, these handheld arrangements of blooms are important fashion accessories that can enhance or detract from you and your crew’s looks.

Plus, wedding bouquets represent love, joy, and new beginnings, making them the perfect addition to nuptials. “It’s an accessory of aesthetics and expression of style and such a symbolic totem for the first moments of marriage,” says Sammy Go, founder and artistic director of Lambert Floral Studio.

Because bouquets have a significant job at your nuptials, choosing wisely is paramount. All too often, however, couples fail to select flowers and designs that work for their event, which can put a dent in their wallets and hinder the look and feel of their function. Some make errors when planning their design, whether it’s opting for out-of-season options or integrating an overwhelming number of colors. Others make blunders on the actual day, such as neglecting a constant source of water or carrying the prop incorrectly. 

Wondering which pitfalls are common with couples? We asked four wedding floral designers to share the top wedding bouquet mistakes they see time and time again. Read on to discover what to avoid and what to do instead.

Copying Another Design

As you’re scrolling through social media, seeking inspiration for your bouquet and your bridesmaids’ bouquets, you might come across a design that you absolutely love. Where many couples go wrong, according to Thuy Nguyen, owner and lead designer of Le Petals Studio, is requesting an exact replica of an arrangement that they found online. By copying another assortment—especially a complete stranger’s on the internet—your bouquet won’t have any personal meaning. 

While you can certainly use elements of the coveted design to inform your own, your conglomeration of blossoms should feel fresh, distinct, and representative of you. “It’s very important for couples to share their vision and preferences, but at the end of the day, they should collaborate to come up with a most unique bouquet for their most significant day,” Nguyen says.

Having Your Mind Set on a Certain Selection

Being adamant about a particular selection of blooms, whether it’s hydrangeas or orchids, is another pitfall that Nguyen advises against doing. “Couples often provide a long must-have flower list to incorporate into the bouquet, but the bouquet should flow well with the dress, wedding color, and theme,” Nguyen explains. In addition to potentially clashing with your attire and aesthetic, the blossoms that you have your eye on might not be readily available due to the season. 

Regardless, being narrow-minded about your blooms will only lead to disappointment. While it’s helpful to have an idea of what blooms you prefer, keeping an open mind and trusting your floral artist’s creative expertise will make the process more efficient and enjoyable and the end result more worthwhile.

Neglecting In-Season Options

Using flowers that are primarily out of season can put a huge dent in your wallet. If you have your heart set on peonies, but your wedding is taking place in the fall, for example, you’ll have to import these multi-petal varieties from a distant location, which will add significant transportation fees to your total bill. Instead, leaning on in-season options (in the aforementioned example, goldenrods, dahlias, and asters, for instance) will lower costs. Not to mention, seasonal buds are easier to source, and they tend to look fresher, fuller, and more vibrant.

Ignoring Movement With Your Bouquet

A collection of flowers that are overly structured or rigid will detract from the look and feel of your bouquets. For arrangements that are natural and fluid, make sure to include movement in your design. Compiling an array of blooms and greenery in a variety of shapes and sizes will help accomplish this free-flowing, organic composition.

Choosing an Over-the-Top Display

If you want to make a statement with your bridal bouquet or your bridesmaids’ bouquets, be wary of going over the top with your design. Arrangements that have copious amounts of flowers or big, bulky configurations will be cumbersome to hold as you walk down the aisle. Plus, a maximalist display will likely detract from your wedding dress or your bridal party’s attire. “I want their bouquet to look more like an accessory to their entire look, not something to compete with,” says Erin McNeff, owner of Everbloom Floral Design. 

Not every bud needs to be massive and bold to make an impression. To inject some drama into these handheld accessories, you can always showcase focal flowers, such as king protea or garden roses, as long as you balance them with accent blooms, such as sweet peas and baby’s breath.

Overlooking Your Wedding Aesthetic

When conceptualizing the design of these lush accessories, some couples make the mistake of choosing flowers without acknowledging their overall aesthetic. Failing to coordinate your bouquets with the rest of the day’s decorative elements will result in a cluttered, overwhelming look and feel. 

Each bud in your bridal bouquet and your bridesmaids’ bouquets should be intentional and reinforce your theme. Make sure the tones in each arrangement match your color palette and include blooms that fit your function, such as anthurium for a tropical affair or anemones for a modern bash.

Failing to Coordinate With Your Attire

Just like some couples overlook the influence of their wedding aesthetic on the design of their bouquets, others fail to take their attire into consideration when picking their petals. McNeff recommends working with your floral artist to select flowers, colors, and dimensions that work with your outfit. "I always ask my brides for a photo of their dresses and their bridesmaids dresses, so I can take the whole look into consideration when designing," McNeff shares. 

Placing Your Order Too Late

Waiting until the last minute to organize any of your big-day details is a big blunder to avoid, but some couples aren’t aware of just how far in advance they need to figure out their bouquet designs. Since florists are in demand, especially during wedding season, it’s important to book your vendor early on. Additionally, if you’re importing some of your blooms from another locale, which takes longer to deliver, you’ll need to give yourself extra time to plan. In an ideal scenario, you should finalize your bouquets six months before the wedding.

Including Too Many Colors

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with a colorful bouquet, but if your palette pulls in an immense number of hues, your assortment won’t have the same impact. Nguyen explains that integrating more than five colors will overwhelm your arrangement, especially if it’s smaller in size. “Instead, couples should narrow it down to two or three main wedding theme colors, which would make the bouquet flow nicely and make a statement,” Nguyen suggests.

Forgetting to Hydrate Your Flowers

Another wedding bouquet mistake is failing to hydrate the blossoms in your bouquets on the big day. Since your floral arrangements will likely include fresh buds, they’ll need a constant source of water to look fresh and full. Otherwise, they’ll wilt. 

Kristen Griffith-VanderYacht, the owner of Wild Bloom, notes that florists usually deliver bouquets in vases filled with water for a reason. “If you plan on taking photos with your bouquet prior to the ceremony, be sure to immediately put the flowers back into water when you are done," Griffith-VanderYacht recommends.

Carrying Your Arrangement Wrong

When walking down the aisle, many brides and bridesmaids hold their bouquets incorrectly. Go explains that some mistakenly carry their flowers to one side, which impedes guests’ field of view and the photos. “Bouquets are often designed not to be viewed from the side profile, but at an elegant angle from the front,” he says. “I recommend relaxing, holding the bouquet at about the navel, and gently facing it forward.” When in doubt, ask your florist to approve or adjust your position.

Dumping the Assortments in the Trash

After the big day, many brides and bridesmaids chuck their bouquets in the garbage, but this only hurts the environment. Instead of discarding your blooms in a waste bin, a more eco-friendly and meaningful option is preserving your petals, whether you press them, dry them, or cover them in wax. If displaying your bouquet at home doesn’t appeal to you, you can also deliver the arrangement to a local hospital or an elderly home, which will brighten a stranger’s day.