Heritage Roses for Garden Fresh Bridal Bouquets
As someone who loves the life and joy a fresh bouquet picked from the garden brings to any occasion, I am somewhat bemused by the choice some brides are making these days, to purchase artificial flowers for their bridal bouquet. While I understand the practical aspects of this choice, it saddens me that on such a special day lifeless, plastic based flowers are chosen rather than fresh blooms full of movement and fragrance.
It had not occurred to me that there was a choice between fresh and artificial flowers that brides were making, especially as we live in an area of wineries and roses with lots of gorgeous wedding venues and easy access to fresh flowers! Perhaps I need to get out more!!
It was only after hearing a discussion between two mothers of brides about their daughters' prospective weddings where the choice of artificial flowers was raised.
In fact, I had been on the cusp of suggesting fresh, deliciously fragrant old-fashioned roses, when this statement was made, "and of course, she's only going to have artificial flowers"!! While I remained silent as it was apparent there was no way I could persuade otherwise, my immediate feeling was one of sadness; that this bride will miss out on the fragrance of live flowers used in her bridal bouquet.
Fragrance is a powerful aid to memory, so that the perfume of fresh flowers will stay as a lasting reminder for the bride of her special day. And while the flowers themselves will not last forever, their fragrance will always prompt the emotions of that special day. As a grower of sustainable, pesticide free heritage roses, I love that fresh flowers don't contribute to the ever-growing mountain of plastic in our landfill as artificial blooms unfortunately do. Eco-friendly florists refuse to use plastics, such as floral foam, in a fresh bouquet, so post-wedding a sustainable bouquet can be composted ... maybe even to provide nutrition for more flowers!
Alternatively, some brides now opt to have their fresh bridal bouquets pressed and framed as a lasting memento of their day. Similarly, dried flower bouquets are now becoming more popular and could be a sustainable alternative to artificial flowers. Dried flowers from the bridal bouquet could also be used to commemorate various special occasions after the wedding, such as on the first anniversary, or to commemorate a baby's birth, christening or first birthday.
A fresh, fragrant bridal bouquet could also create a signature scent for the bride by tucking scented violets or fragrant herbs such as mint, lavender, or even rosemary, into the bouquet. After the wedding, the bridal bouquet could be dried along with additional blooms to create a signature potpourri as a gift for bridesmaids, family members and friends as a sweet memory of a special day. While these ideas may seem overly sentimental, long-lasting memories are made through incorporating meaningful little tokens that then act as reminders of happy celebrations and perhaps even create special family traditions.
For example, my own bridal bouquet consisted of red roses to commemorate my dearly loved Grandpa. Red roses also happen to be my husband's favourite. The white orchids in my bouquet were gifted by my bridesmaid's parents, adding a special touch, and to this day, my bridesmaid remains a good friend. Little things that today still speak of family, friendship and love all aided by the seemingly insignificant ingredient of fresh flowers for my bridal bouquet.
How gorgeous would it be to choose old fashioned roses with a loved Grandmother's name to be included in a bridal bouquet. Or a floral emblem that has importance for the bride or groom's family.
I could imagine a lovely bridal bouquet with the double creamy yellow blooms of Tea rose, Perle de Jardins (Pearl of the Garden), along with the pale lemon Tea rose, Isabella Sprunt, and mixed with tiny gold baubles of wattle representing Spring and Australia's national emblem. Add pearl pins or a pearl brooch to hold the ribbon in place to finalise a special bridal bouquet that commemorates a loved one.
Or perhaps, a combination of the pale pink Tea rose, Catherine Mermet and her white sport, The Bride as focal flowers for a bridal bouquet honouring a family member who can longer be with the bride. I grew The Bride in my Sunshine Coast Hinterland Garden and her formal shape in bud and in full bloom is perfection for a bridal bouquet. And her scent is soft and sweet and would not overpower other fragrant blooms that might be included in the bouquet, such as Lily of the Valley, Jasmin, Freesias or Sweet Alyssum. Maybe the groom's name is Steven or Stevens, or even Herbert!) (well perhaps a grandpa); so that including a focal white rose of Mrs Herbert Stevens would be just perfect, I think!
Of course, there are myriad roses with noteworthy names that could be included in bridal bouquets. David Austin roses are a virtual encylopaedia of names that could be used in a bridal bouquet commemorating a family connection. Lovely as these are, there are also many old or heritage roses that would uniquely serve as a memorable link to a family connection.
For a French connection, many Tea roses were bred in France in the 19th Century, such as Madame Antoine Mari, a soft pink with darker pink reverse petals, or Comtesse de Labarthe with a luscious fragrance and shell pink double petals. For paler, cream tones, Sombreuil is a very full, sweetly fragrant Tea rose. And the small sweetly scented, white blooms of Marie Lambert would make lovely complementary button-holes and flower girl posies.
How could I conclude my discussion of my favourite, fresh Tea roses for bridal bouquets without including the luscious Devoniensis, also known as the Magnolia rose. Bred in the United Kingdom in 1838, her velvety cream blooms and sweet scent make this rose a perfect focal bloom in any bridal bouquet. The gorgeous blooms would create a fragrant bouquet that would be remembered every time the bride sees or smells this rose in the future. And planting a shrub or climbing form of this rose as a reminder of her special day would certainly mark a memorable day, especially if the first blooms each Spring are around the wedding anniversary.
And finally, using fragrant roses need not stop at the bridal bouquet. Creating a signature scent could also include the perennially popular tradition of showering the happy couple with confetti after the marriage ceremony. What could be more fun that a fragrant cloud of soft fragrant petals that complement the colours and scents of the wedding. While fleeting, it is one memory that could stay with the happy couple through creating a pot pourri mix from the same petals, just as for the bridal bouquet.
So there it is, my reasoning for using fresh, or dried, flowers in bridal bouquets rather than ubiquitous plastic based artificial flowers. While there are obvious environmental reasons for using fresh garden grown flowers, I hope I have also demonstrated that there are numerous ideas for incorporating fresh blooms that mark a celebration and hold memories for years to come.
So, if you're looking for old or heritage roses in your wedding celebration, ask around your neighbourhood. There are sure to be some old gardens with gorgeous flowers that their owners would delight in selling you. And there are also garden clubs, specialist rose growers and even our own Heritage Rose Society (Heritage Roses in Australia) that would be only too happy to point you in the direction of gorgeous fresh, scented and alive blooms for your special day.
If you'd like to learn more, I am planning workshops for DIY weddings next year, with practical ideas on how you can create your own fresh, gorgeously scented bridal bouquet, as well as bridesmaids posies and button-holes, and table arrangements. So stay tuned for information about this in 2023.
And as our new garden here in the Hunter continues to fill with gorgeously scented, sustainably grown heritage roses, we will be offering fresh bunches of our very own heritage roses.
And whenever you have the opportunity, don't forget to stop and smell the roses.
xx Lillian
