Nothing lifts the senses like a sweet smelling bouquet. Whether in a supermarket or garden, the automatic reaction is to smell the flowers. Even if a flower has no scent the reaction is the same, which is why I love to include fragrance in every wedding I do. Scented wedding flowers and foliage will add depth and meaning to your big day, rekindle memories and stimulate the senses.
Every season offers up a different palette of delicious fragrance to delight even the most hardened wedding guest. There is something for everyone, but where do you start? A favourite flower is usually a good choice. Garden roses, lily of the valley, hyacinths, sweet peas and oriental lilies are some of the most well known varieties, but there are so many more just waiting to be discovered. So, here are some of my favourite suggestions for scented wedding flowers and foliage throughout the year.
Spring
Everything smells so fresh in spring. This is the time of year for zesty, bright fragrances that lift the spirit. Scented blossoms such as viburnum, magnolia, chestnut and apple inspire. Lily of the valley, freesias, bluebells and muscari are favourites when it comes to scented wedding flowers in spring.
Summer
Everything in the garden seems to smell soft and sweet in summer. Wonderful garden style roses bred for their scent, peonies (the white ones smell of lemon meringue pie!), delicate sweet peas, old fashioned pinks and clove scented stocks make a wonderful combination.
Summer is also the time for floral show-offs like jasmine, stephanotis and gardenias, which add an exotic touch with their heady scents. We also make the most use of herbs and fragrant foliages in summer; rosemary, mint, sage and lavender all come into their own.
Autumn
Autumn, the season of mellow fruitfulness. There’s a turn in the air, and so it seems with flowers too. The more delicate scents give way to earthier tones like bloom chrysanthemums, asters, hypericum, cotonus, heather, gladioli and chocolate scented nerines. Earthy, warm scents of wood and moss are popular too.
Winter
Just when you think it’s all over for scented wedding flowers, winter comes up trumps with the heady scent of pine. Now is the time to make the most of scented foliages including eucalyptus, myrtle, juniper and bay. Early flowering narcissi and hyacinths add floral depth.
So, take your cue from nature and include scented wedding flowers in your big day.
Guest post by Simon Nickell
Images from…
Bouquet with Yellow Freesia: Marianne Taylor Photography
Scented Pink Roses and Lavender Bouquet: Jonny Back Photography
Autumn Centrepiece: Flickr by Eden Pictures (CC BY 2.0 License)
Winter Wedding Flowers: Flickr by Chris_Watt-1975 (CC BY-ND 2.0 License)
