Wedding planning has many moving components. Whether you’re doing the planning yourself or you have a wedding planner or friends helping you, chances are there’s a lot of thinking, assessing, compromising, crying, laughing, and stressing going on. From finding the perfect venue to organising caterers and guest lists, there’s no denying there’s a lot to do.
Fortunately, investing in the wedding flowers Melbourne florists have on offer means you will have one less aspect to worry about. Professional florists are experts in making your floral dreams come true. However, if you’re doing the flowers yourself, the question to ask is, how much thought have you given to how you’ll keep your wedding flowers fresh all day?
Understanding How the Australian Climate Affects Your Wedding Flowers
Every bride-to-be spends a considerable amount of time secretly wishing for perfect weather on her wedding day. Whether you’re planning a garden wedding, simple beach ceremony, or an indoor event, chances are that you’re going to want to take some outdoor photos. This requires wonderful, calm, and usually warm weather.
Fortunately, Australia doesn’t disappoint when it comes to creating beautiful, picturesque weather with all the sun you need. Few brides give any thought to how this lovely, sunny weather affects their fresh flowers, especially in the outdoors.
The Australian climate can easily cause your floral bouquets to wilt within hours, turn brown, droop, bloom too fast, or even fall off their stems. Some of the common reasons for this include the following:
- Forgetting to keep your bouquets hydrated or creating bouquets that can’t accommodate water (vase-less decorations)
- Using non-seasonal or delicate flowers that can’t cope with the heat exposure
- Choosing preserved flowers that droop in humidity
- Improper storage in the hours leading up to the ceremony
- Having no AC for indoor settings
Proper Planning is Key for Flower Preservation
Alfresco weddings are as popular in Australia as they are everywhere else. Whether it’s your plan or not, the reality of getting married in Australia involves 40-degree weather, humidity, rain, sun, and wind.
Locals joke that if you’re really lucky, you get to experience all of these in one day. With this in mind, you may be wondering how you’re going to keep the flowers alive until the end of the wedding. Fortunately, we’ve got a few tips to help you.
1. Always Use a Professional Florist
The number one way to stop your flowers from wilting before your pictures are taken is to ditch any ideas of doing DIY flowers. Keep in mind that local florists have tons of experience with creating bouquets that will last for the whole ceremony. Not only will they recommend the most durable flowers to opt for, but they also know all the tips and tricks needed to sustain your bouquets.
2. Hydration is Key
Like you, your flowers will need to stay hydrated to make it through the ceremony without fainting. This is especially the case with cut flowers exposed to extreme heat. Avoid requesting vase-less bouquets where the flowers don’t have access to water. Rather, get creative and find some kind of vases, vessels, decorated mason jars, or other containers that can form part of your décor and still keep your flowers hydrated.
3. Make Smart Flower Choices
The next step to keeping your flowers alive is as simple as choosing flowers that can last out of water, also handle wind and sun. This means that you may have to ditch the airy flowers such as cosmos, Queen Anne’s lace, and even daisies. While they may look amazing in a bouquet, they are not ideal for the Australian conditions.
A tip to remember here is to plan your flowers well in advance. Give your florist as much advance notice as possible so they can make the best recommendations for seasonal and native arrangements. Be open to adding hardier blooms to your bouquets, such as roses, chrysanthemums, proteas, or even small sunflowers.
Most local florists will have catalogues of their previous arrangements. This will make it easy for you to see how certain blooms look together. It’s also a good idea to add foliage to your arrangements, as these do well in the outdoors.
4. Consider Weights
Trying to display your flower arrangements on less than flat surfaces, combined with the occasional gust of wind, can quickly cause your smaller bouquets to fall down. Always remember to anchor your arrangements down to the surface.
Strategically placed weights (or stones) in the containers is an excellent way to keep your flowers where you need them to be. Always do a dry run with one floral bouquet to see how it holds up in the space where you want to put it. Speak to your florist about the best way to anchor the flower vessels.
Final Thoughts
Your wedding day doesn’t have to be ruined by droopy flowers. Invest in a professional florist who has experience with creating flowers for an outdoor Australian wedding. Make smart choices about your flower types and ensure that your blooms have plenty of water. You’ll be glad you did!
