3 Creative Ways to Incorporate Roses Into Your Wedding Flowers

When it comes to choosing wedding flowers, many brides have a clear list of blooms they think they have to have (peonies, it's always peonies) and those that they aren't so sure about. Flowers like carnations, baby's breath and, yes, even roses can be considered lowbrow; but as we've written recently, many of these "bodega" flowers have been making a resurgence as cool, trendy blooms among some of our favorite florists.

The rose, often seen as less desirable than many other flowers (like the peony or dahlia), has so many beautiful variations besides the run-of-the-mill bright red. To help educate us all on different ways your florist can incorporate roses into your wedding flowers, we worked with Emily Buckner from FLWR Studio, one of our favorite floral designers. She created three arrangements in three different styles, incorporating some of her favorite ways to use roses (and psst, the variety she uses here is a beautiful new kind called the Applause!).

1. Select a combination of shapes and sizes.

Roses come in many shapes and sizes—single blooms, pompom, rosette, high-centered, cupped, quartered, double—the list goes on! To create depth and dimension in my arrangements, I like to use multiple varieties in a similar color tone. For this arrangement I've used high-centered Applause roses, a lilac spray, and a delicate blush single as my focal flowers. The supporting Queen Anne's lace adds texture to the recipe—romantic, soft and full!

2. Use interesting shades.

When most people think of roses, they envision the crimson Valentine's Day variety. While there's definitely a place for the deli rose, it's important to note that roses aren't exclusively red. When creating the palette for this arrangement, I worked with a selection of cooler hues to highlight the blue tones in the Applause rose. When paired with the vibrant blue cornflower and the moody gray carnation, the rose takes on an cooler color, quite unique and fun!

3. Rethink the dome.

My preference is always for a garden-inspired arrangement over the traditional dome or spiral shape. If I'm looking to create a more graphic or architectural moment, I will often opt for a number of full blooms, arranged on a kenzan (ikebana) frog. Limiting the arrangement to a just a few blooms can be very eye-catching and is also a great way to create an economical arrangement.