The top wedding flowers for every season and why

When you think of weddings, you also think of flowers. Flowers are a huge part of any wedding. From traditional to boho, to even elopements, flowers play a significant role in wedding décor and traditions.

Flowers were traditionally used in weddings to symbol hope, fertility, and new life, as well as to ward off evil spirits. Now, we use flowers in weddings to act as centerpieces, as bridal bouquets, as arbor swags, and more.

Choosing the right flowers to compliment your wedding is something many brides stress over. From color, to shape, to cost, your wedding flowers are going to be a massive part of your décor and budget.

Here are some of the most popular flowers for a wedding by type and season:

1. Roses

Roses are an absolute classic, but many brides think of them as being overdone! JJ’s House designer of wedding dresses and flower girl dresses, Jessica says: “there are tons of different roses to choose from, vintage roses look especially beautiful at weddings because of their lush, romantic look.” They work year-round and are available in every color you can think of.

2. Camelias

Lovely camellias are perfect for late winter to early spring, and in fall. They’re multi-petalled with a mild, sweet scent and come in warm wedding colors like white, cream, pink, and red.

3. Ranunculus

This relative of the humble buttercup is an excellent choice for winter weddings and is a perfect option for a cost-effective alternative to roses or peonies. Lush and brightly colored, they work exceptionally well in a crown of flowers.

4. Hydrangeas

Bold and summery, hydrangeas massive blooms are the perfect accompaniment to a summer wedding. They come in warm whites, greens, pinks, burgundy, purples, and blues and their large size makes them ideal for garlands, swags, and table runners.

5. Cosmos

The daisy-like Cosmos are glorious for a mid-summer to an early fall wedding. These playful flowers are gorgeous in pale and dark pinks and work perfectly for your flower girl bouquets, making the colors pop against the white flower girl dresses.

6. Carnations

Don’t turn up your nose at the humble carnation! These affordable, year-round flowers are a perfect way to add more blooms to your floral décor without wrecking the budget. Look for carnations in white to bulk up bouquets, or to add pops of saturated color.

7. Dahlia

The bold Dahlia is a go-to flower for summer and fall weddings. With its signature spicy scent and rich, fall-friendly colors, dahlias are a perfect way to add drama to your floral arrangements.

8. French tulips

The graceful French tulip is different from the traditional Dutch tulip in length, and the large, tapered heads. More expensive than Dutch tulips, French tulips look beautiful in cream, soft pink, and yellow and work well for centerpieces. They are an elegant addition to any winter wedding.

9. Gerbera daisies

The Gerbera daisy is so bright and fun, it doesn’t look real. With an insane range of shades (over 300, in fact) the Gerbera daisy is perfect year-round and works especially well for fun, boho weddings and for flower girl bouquets.

10. Lisianthus

The elegant, cupper Lisianthus bloom is an excellent secondary flower for your bouquet. It comes in a wide range of shades, is available year-round, and is very affordable.

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.