Bridal Bouquets – Traditional Round Bouquets or Trailing Bouquets?

East Anglia-based wedding florists Tolly’s create beautiful and elegant arrangements of wedding flowers in Essex, Suffolk, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, to make every couple's special day complete.

Along with the dress, the bridal bouquet is one of the most important things for the bride-to-be to think about. As well as holding stunning blooms in colours that match the theme of the wedding, the bride will also want a bouquet that will complement her dress.

When it comes to choosing your bouquet, there is no right or wrong option, as it is a very individual choice and you will want to consider your own favourite look and the style of your dress. The most popular choice is a round bouquet and this looks fantastic with dresses with a full skirt. Meanwhile, A-line and empire line dresses and figure-hugging mermaid-style dresses, with a skirt spreading out dramatically like a mermaid's tail, look equally good with round or trailing bouquets, also known as cascading bouquets.

However, it is not just the style of the dress you should take into account when choosing the perfect bouquet of wedding flowers for your Essex ceremony, but your height and size too. The more petite you are, the smaller your bouquet should be – and either a posy or round bouquet will look fabulous with your smaller frame. If you choose anything too big this will look too overpowering, so keep it small.

If you are a curvaceous, fuller-figured bride, you are in luck when it comes to choosing the bouquet, because there are more options available and you will look fantastic with a larger round or cascading bouquet. Very tall brides also look stunning with cascading or shower bouquets.

Wedding Florists Essex  – See a selection of our creative designs for Essex, Hertfordshire, Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire weddings.

As well as choosing the shape for your bouquet, you will also need to make a decision about whether to go for a traditional or more contemporary look. Which one you prefer really depends on your personality. If you are someone who loves nostalgia and are opting for a wedding dress in a traditional style, complete with a veil, then you will probably want a traditional round or trailing bouquet to add the finishing touch.

The Traditional Round Bouquet – Roses and Peonies are among the flowers which often feature in a round wedding bouquet, both for their beauty and because Roses in particular are traditionally seen as the flower of love. White Roses are a classic choice, going well with a white gown, while pink and white arrangements of Roses and Peonies are also popular. A selection of roses varying from pink to a deeper orange could also look stunning, again depending on your style of dress and chosen colour scheme for the wedding, while a green and cream arrangement would give a more subtle touch.

Traditional Trailing Bouquet – A trailing bouquet, which features flowers with longer stems trailing from the main arrangement, is another traditional wedding choice, echoing the shape of a gown with a train. Again, Roses are a popular choice to include, and you could go for a champagne colour or white, cream and pink, perhaps combined with Freesias and Orchids.

Other Bridal Bouquet Ideas

If you want something slightly different from the norm, here are some other bridal bouquet ideas to help give you inspiration when choosing your wedding flowers for your Essex venue.

Contemporary Bouquets – A bride who is going for a more modern, or alternative type of dress may well want to choose a very different floral arrangement to match her gown, and Tolly's can help here too, creating just the kind of display you are looking for. Bright red Roses arranged together with Sweet Peas would make an unusual and stunning contemporary round bouquet, while trailing Orchids could add an exotic touch to cascading blooms. You may want to choose a pomander bouquet (also known as a kissing ball) or have flowers wrapped around your wrist. Contemporary bouquets are perfect for brides who want something more fashionable or original.

Jewelled Bouquets – Brides who love attention to detail may want to incorporate certain features of their dress or jewellery into their bouquet – such as lace, pearls, brooches or netting. Pearls set against red Roses in a bouquet make a dramatic contrast, and a ballerina bouquet (with netting) looks stunning; hand ties wrapped with a trail of lace also work well with a gown that has this type of detailing.

Tropical Bouquets – If a bride wants a bouquet to reflect their honeymoon destination, or chooses to make the tropics part of their wedding theme, there are a wide range of tropical and colourful flowers that look striking in a bouquet. Orchids and Hippeastrum (Amaryllis) look fabulous in a hand tie and there are all sorts of varieties and colours available. 



Colourful Bouquets – If you have a bold, outgoing personality you may want to reflect this in your bouquet, with something as equally bright and colourful. These types of bouquet are very upbeat; consider bouquets with a mix of Roses, Dahlias, Delphiniums and Clematis in purples, blues, reds, oranges and cream.

About Tolly’s

For more than two decades head designer Tolly Constantine has created stunning wedding flowers for wedding venues in Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire, and worldwide. To find out more, or to see examples of our portfolio, just click on the link below.

Tolly's Flowers  – See a selection of our creative designs for Essex, Hertfordshire, Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire weddings.