Flowers have always been at the heart of wedding styling, but how do you make your ideas feel fresh in a world of Pinterest boards and Insta-worthy arches?

Flowers are the OGs of wedding styling. I mean, we’re literally talking Ancient Egyptians. Proposing in front of “that new pyramid they’ve just built”. Writing your invites on papyrus. Choosing your wedding flowers. And now here we are—four thousand years later—and flowers are still going strong.

Evolved to be beautiful; adored by all. They have the power to completely transform a space and single-handedly carry your styling. They even smell nice. But such a well-worn path has challenges of its own, right?

How do you make something unique when it’s been done so many times before? How can you take this ancient, wildly expensive, sustainably questionable staple of styling and make it work for you? You have questions. Lucky for you, I have answers.

Cut the Cut; Cut the Cost

Cut flowers are bougie AF. They’ve got to be cut, transported (probably across the country, if not the continent), kept chilled, kept fresh and photo-ready, transported again. And then, at some ungodly hour on the morning of your wedding, lovingly arranged on-site by a team of skilled professionals.

It’s like filling your wedding with thousands of bowls of Häagen-Dazs. Imported, delicate, must-be-kept-chilled, non-edible Häagen-Dazs.

Anyway, the point is, cut flowers are fucking expensive. And if you want the kind of floral impact you see all over Instagram, you’re going to have to invest. Thousands. But there are other options.

Silk flowers are exceptionally beautiful and so indistinguishable from fresh blooms that your guests will be sneaking a feel to check.

Dried and paper flowers have their own kind of gentle beauty and can give you a wonderfully rustic, delicate, boho feel to your styling.

And the best part? Not only are these alternatives a lot more cost-effective than traditional cut flowers, you’ll even get to take them home!

Repurpose, Repurpose, Repurpose

It is categorically insane to drop a grand (or three) on ceremony flowers and only see them for 30 minutes of your day. So, if you are going to have cut flowers (or any flowers, for that matter), don’t just use them once.

Your floral meadows lining the aisle can be gathered up and used to create a ‘moment’ around the cake table. Your ceremony arch can be moved behind the head table as a backdrop during the speeches; floral urns can be put either side as a frame. If you have bridesmaids, their bouquets can be used as table centrepieces. You get the idea.

Oh, and don’t be embarrassed about asking your florist/venue about it. It’s not a ‘poor person’ thing—it’s common practice and just plain common sense.

Think Outside the Bouquet Box

Don’t get hung up on the whole ‘flower’ thing…a bouquet can literally be anything.

You can get bouquets made of balloons, brooches, and buttons. Even things like marshmallows, feathers, and traditional Chinese fans. And as I’ve said before, these things will keep! Put them somewhere safe after your ceremony, and you have a ready-made keepsake for when you get home.

One of my favourite bouquets I’ve ever seen was a wicker basket filled with wildflowers, casually carried over the bride’s arm like they’d just been picked from a meadow. I’ve even seen someone with a bouquet made of vegetables (it wouldn’t keep very well, but you could always make a soup) and bridesmaids carrying actual live bunnies down the aisle (I kid you not!)

Be Eco-Friendly

I hate to be that guy, but the average wedding produces around a quarter of a ton of rubbish. And while it’s a drop in the ocean compared to the oil, the cows, and the Kardashians’ travel habits, it’s still something to think about.

Hiring is always preferable to buying, so consider opting for dried, silk, or paper flowers and hiring them in. You could even donate the money you’ve saved to plant some trees.

Bit too extreme? Don’t worry, I got you. Find which flowers are in bloom on your wedding date, and then plan your styling around them. Use seasonal, locally sourced blooms, and it’ll reduce your emissions (and your eco-guilt) massively. If you haven’t set a date yet, you could even plan your wedding around when your favourite flowers are in bloom.

Have Personal Flowers

People do this with colours, so why not flowers? Picture this…you each have your favourite flower incorporated into your own outfit. Your wedding parties have them too; maybe a single rose in your buttonholes or peonies in your bouquets. And as you come together to get married, so do your flowers; your ceremony arrangements a beautiful combination of both.

They’re not just flowers anymore. They’re a reflection of you, your love, and the two of you coming together.

Pot Plants

My mum always says, “don’t buy me flowers, buy me a plant”. And don’t tell her I said so, but the old duck’s got a point.

Cut flowers die, pot plants survive (or at least, they’re supposed to). If you have pot plants instead of cut flowers, you’ve just made an objectively solid investment! Take them home, fill your house with them, bring some to work, plant them in the garden. If all goes well, you’ll be sick of the fucking things.

Or (how’s this for an idea?!) get shitloads of pot plants…cacti, orchids, monstera, whatever you fancy…put them all over your wedding as decoration, and then give them to people as wedding favours! Not only are you saving the planet, you’re basically making money.

Fake Plastic Trees

This is a new trend I’ve been starting to see, and I LOVE it.

Hire some silk/artificial trees, and fill your ceremony and reception spaces with them (repurpose them throughout the day, obviously). You can get silk wisteria trees, blossom trees, olive trees (the list goes on). It completely transforms the space, adds a new dimension of height to your styling, and elevates the experience to something genuinely quite magical.

Oh, and they don’t have to be fake, either. You can hire actual trees. I’ve seen a church filled with silver birch trees, and it looked incredible. Like jaw-dropping, rub-your-eyes beautiful. And actually, they’re nowhere near as expensive as you might think…

Go Big

(I just felt my battered debit card flinch in my pocket as I wrote that). I’ve seen a few weddings where florals were the absolute hero of the styling. Stripped-back, humble, understated details. And then a shitload of spectacular flowers. Floral clouds hanging from cables above the tables, floral urns, floral walls, and installations. Meadows on the floors, and hangings on the balconies. Flowers. Fucking. Everywhere.

Personally, I love this vibe. It’s timelessly beautiful, completely epic. And unapologetically opulent in a way that Freddy would love and The Rolling Stones would applaud.

Flowers are infinitely adaptable. They come in all colours, shapes, and sizes. And for every idea I’ve given you here, there’s a million more on Pinterest, just waiting to be brought to life. So, use your imagination and have fun with it. The world is your orchid. You have a whole day to decorate, and nature’s most versatile, colourful, beautiful thing at your fingertips!