Matching Your Bouquet To Your Wedding Gown

Think of your bridal bouquet as an accessory to your wedding gown. It should not only be pretty in its own right, but should also coordinate with and complement the style of your dress. Certain shapes and sizes of floral arrangements will work best with the various silhouettes and designs of bridal gowns. Learn how to match your bouquet to your wedding gown for beautiful results.
As a rule of thumb, a full skirted gown calls for a full bouquet. A big lush rose nosegay is ideal with a very formal bridal gown. The symmetry and classic form of the bouquet will be the perfect accent to a silk gown with Pearl Bridal jewelry. Full skirted gowns with more fashion-forward details like layers of fabric, dramatic draping, or ruffles will look well with bold cascade bouquets comprised of showy flowers like orchids or lilies.
Very slender gowns,dessy bridesmaid dresses, on the other hand, tend to not look best with nosegays. Keep in mind the flavor of the gown when pairing it with a bouquet. If the dress were a Victorian inspired lace gown with a relatively slender skirt, a delicate posy in a silver tussy-mussy holder would be gorgeous. A very va-va-voom slinky sheath dress would call for a bouquet with a very different style. A teardrop shaped arrangement or an arm bouquet of calla lilies would suit the lines of the dress well.
A dress which is both form fitted and full at the bottom like a trumpet gown needs a bouquet with equal drama and verve. A floral arrangement with mixed blossoms will work very well. A generally roundish shape would be nice, but it should not be as symmetrical as the classic prim nosegay. Exuberance is the name of the game here! The bouquet for a ######y trumpet gown should feature some splashy touches like peacock feathers, crystal accents, or even a marabou ruff. When your dress has a lot of spirit, your wedding flowers should too.
Bohemian brides should seek bouquets with natural, earthy appeal. A very loose arrangement that looks freshly picked would suit a wedding gown with a woodland or ethereal flavor. Natural grasses, herbs, berries, and wheat make nice additions to the flowers. Trailing blossoms or ribbons flowing down from the bouquet are the perfect finishing detail to a bohemian bouquet.
For a beach wedding, choose tropical flowers. They look so beautiful with a flowy chiffon or organza gown for a ceremony on the sand. A pretty bouquet of hot pink or fuchsia hibiscus, plumeria, or lilies is gorgeous for the tropics, and lends itself to a round or crescent shape arrangement. Exotic orchids in multiple shades of pink, orange, and yellow make truly breathtaking bouquets when arranged with to cascade in a long arrangement that really shows off the color combination. Traditional roses are better suited to ballroom or church weddings than the beach.
The one wedding gown style not yet covered is an A-line gown. The reason is that just as an A-line gown is flattering to virtually every bride, almost every bouquet shape complements this gown silhouette. The overall size of the floral arrangement should be "just right" like the medium fullness of an A-line skirt. As for shape, pretty much any shape looks great with an A-line dress, so match it to the details on your gown and your taste in accessories. If you chose a simple gown to wear with classic Pearl Bridal jewelry,elegant wedding invitations, opt for the clean lines of a nosegay. A romantic lace gown would be flattered by a romantic dripping bouquet, and a crystal embellished gown would look fantastic with a teardrop or cascade bouquet (depending on the stature of the bride). When your bouquet and bridal gown work in harmony, the effect will be truly stunning.