There are so many beautiful flowers in the world that choosing the flowers for your wedding can feel a little overwhelming.
Roses or peonies? Dahlia or ranunculus? Wildflowers or something more formal? Soft and romantic or colorful and unexpected?
But before you start making a list of your favorite blooms, I would encourage you to think about your wedding flowers a little differently.
What if you chose your flowers for more than just how they look?
What if your bouquet could tell a little piece of your story?
Your Wedding Flowers Can Tell Your Story
Long before I opened Studio Sprig in 2016, I owned a freelance design business called Kim Bensing Design, where I created wedding invitations that told sentimental stories about my couples.
I loved learning about how two people met, the places that were important to them, the family traditions they shared, and all of the little details that made their relationship uniquely theirs.
That experience has stayed with me.
Because I believe the most memorable weddings aren't necessarily the ones with the most elaborate flowers. They are the ones where the details feel personal.
Your flowers can be part of that story.
Maybe your grandmother grew peonies in her garden.
Maybe your mother carried roses when she married your father.
Maybe you met your fiancé on vacation surrounded by bougainvillea.
Maybe lavender reminds you of a family trip to France.
Maybe your favorite flower is one your father brought home to your mother every anniversary.
Or maybe there is a flower that simply reminds you of being a little girl in your grandmother's garden.
These are the flowers I find especially interesting.
Not just beautiful flowers.
Meaningful flowers.
Think Beyond Your Wedding Color Palette
Of course, color matters.
You may have a beautiful palette of blush, cream and dusty blue or perhaps you've fallen in love with a more colorful garden-inspired wedding.
But your floral choices don't have to begin with a color wheel.
Instead, start with your story.
Ask yourself:
What flowers remind me of home?
Is there a flower associated with someone I love?
Are there flowers from a place that is meaningful to us?
What was growing where we met, got engaged, or spent an important vacation together?
Are there flowers that remind me of my childhood?
Is there a family garden, wedding, birthday, or celebration I would love to remember?
You may be surprised by how quickly a meaningful floral palette begins to emerge.
The Language of Flowers
There is also a long tradition of assigning meaning to flowers, known as floriography, or the language of flowers.
The tradition became particularly popular in Victorian England, when flowers and small bouquets could be used to communicate feelings that were difficult to say aloud. Flower meanings also appeared in books such as Le Langage des fleurs, published in France in 1819.
I love the romantic idea of this.
Imagine carrying a bouquet on your wedding day where every flower has a little story behind it.
You don't necessarily have to follow traditional flower symbolism literally. Think of these meanings as inspiration—a starting point for creating a bouquet that feels like you.
A few examples:
Rose — love and passion
Peony — love, honor and goodwill
Dahlia — commitment and kindness
Tulip — deep love and passion
Aster — love and faith
Gardenia — trust, hope and peace
Sunflower — loyalty and admiration
Hydrangea — gratitude, grace and beauty
Rosemary — remembrance
Sage — wisdom
And sometimes the meaning you give a flower is even more important than the traditional meaning.
A particular flower might mean Mom to you.
Another might mean France.
Another might simply mean the garden where I grew up.
That is where your wedding flowers become truly personal.
Imagine a Bouquet Made From Memories
One of my favorite examples of choosing flowers with intention actually happened years before I knew I would eventually work in the floral industry.
When my daughter Kate was graduating from sixth grade, I wanted to give her flowers for her ceremony.
But I didn't want to buy just any pre-made bouquet.
I wanted to give her something that felt like her.
So I went to a local florist and asked for a handful of specific flowers and sprigs that represented the things I wanted to say to her. I even made a little card explaining the meaning behind each flower and attached it to the bouquet.
It was a very simple gesture.
But it was personal.
And that little bouquet became one of the experiences that eventually helped inspire Studio Sprig.
I think weddings can work the same way.
Your bouquet doesn't have to be a random collection of beautiful flowers.
It can be a collection of little messages.
Create a Floral Story for Your Wedding
Imagine walking down the aisle carrying flowers that represent:
Your grandmother's garden.
Your mother's wedding bouquet.
The place where you met.
A favorite family tradition.
The season you fell in love.
A place you traveled together.
Something you want to remember forever.
Now imagine those same flowers appearing throughout your wedding—in the ceremony arrangements, reception flowers, cake flowers, table arrangements or even tucked into your stationery.
Suddenly, the flowers aren't simply decorating the room.
They're helping tell the story of your marriage.
And that, to me, is much more interesting.
Let the Season Become Part of the Story
There is another beautiful way to make your wedding flowers meaningful: let the season of your wedding influence what you grow and use.
A spring wedding might naturally bring in tulips, narcissus, sweet peas, peonies and other seasonal treasures.
A summer celebration might become a romantic garden of zinnias, cosmos, dahlias and other flowers at their seasonal peak.
An autumn wedding can embrace warm, earthy tones and the flowers and foliage that make that particular time of year feel special.
Instead of trying to recreate a Pinterest bouquet exactly, consider asking:
What is naturally beautiful right now?
There is something very special about using flowers that are actually growing in the landscape around you when you say your vows.
They belong to that particular place and that particular moment in time.
And you only get that moment once.
Choose Flowers You'll Remember
Years from now, you may not remember every flower that was in your centerpieces.
But you may remember that your bouquet contained the same flowers your grandmother grew.
You may remember the scent of garden roses when you walked down the aisle.
You may remember the wildflowers from the farm where you chose them.
You may remember that your bouquet contained rosemary because you wanted to carry a little remembrance with you.
Those are the floral details that become part of your family history.
And perhaps that's the real reason to choose your wedding flowers with intention.
Flowers are fleeting.
But the memories attached to them don't have to be.
A Very Special Way to Choose Your Wedding Flowers
If you are planning your wedding far enough in advance, there is another possibility that I absolutely love.
Choose your flowers before they're even grown.
If you live in the Eastern part of Pennsylvania and begin planning approximately a year before your wedding, I can take you on a private flower farm tour where we can walk the fields together, talk about the flowers you love, and explore what will be growing during your wedding season.
From there, you can work with the flower farmer to determine which flowers you'd like to have grown specifically with your wedding in mind.
There is something incredibly romantic about that idea.
A year before you walk down the aisle, you could stand in a field and say, "I want those flowers at my wedding."
Then, when your wedding day finally arrives, those blooms aren't just flowers you ordered.
They're flowers you chose.
Flowers that grew through an entire season alongside your own love story.
And I can't think of a more meaningful way to bring a little piece of the garden into your wedding day. Read more about that here.