Now that wedding season is upon us I thought I would share with you the 5 most popular wedding flowers.

Peonies seem to be the most requested flower for bridal bouquets and understandably so. They are gorgeous, lush, romantic and smell terrific! Unfortunately they are generally only available for a short period of time from late spring thru early summer.  They are often available at other times of the year, late fall and early winter and come from the southern hemisphere, but they can be extremely expensive. So if you must have peonies in your bouquet and/or centerpieces and you don’t have a big floral budget, then plan you wedding for mid-May or June.

Garden Roses are another lush, romantic and beautiful flower that is very popular these days for weddings. I often suggest these roses to brides who really want peonies but are getting married at a time when they are not available. Luckily garden roses, also known as cabbage roses, are available all year from growers here in Oregon, California and South America. Our local roses are typically smaller than the ones from California and South America but their fragrance is far superior. The David Austin garden roses are by far the best though you will pay a premium for them, generally about $10 – $12 a stem. The local garden roses are not as expensive.

Calla Lilies have been very popular for quite some time. They come in a wide variety of colors: whites, yellows, pinks, reds purples and black(well sort of). They are really a deep purple that almost looks black. For a more unusual look there are the Green Goddess callas, which as the name implies, are mostly green with some white markings. Callas look great just by themselves or mixed in with other flowers. You can make a bold statement by having an all calla bouquet, either hand-tied or presentation style. The mini callas make great boutonnieres.

Dahlias are an often requested flower especially by brides getting married in late summer and early autumn. We are very lucky that we have one of the country’s largest dahlia growers right in our backyard! While dahlias can be available at other times of the year from California, they just can’t compare to our locally grown beauties as far as cost, flower quality and variety go. Weather permitting, they are usually available from mid-July thru October.

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Hydrangea is another popular flower these days for many brides. They are available all year; from local sources during the summer and fall and from South America the rest of the year. Our locally grown hydrangeas are just spectacular and affordable with many colors and varieties to choose from. If you are looking for amazing deep blues, pinks and purples, then plan your wedding sometime in July or early August. Though once again, our season is early and the local hydrangea are starting to come in. As the season progresses the colors become more muted but are equally as beautiful. As we get to mid-August and into fall the oak leaf, lace cap and panicle hydrangeas become available and are gorgeous too. The imported deep blue, purple and pink hydrangea are rather spendy but can be ordered if you require them during the off season. The white, pale blue and mini green hydrangea are available all year from South America and are more affordable than the purples, pinks and blues.

Ok, I lied, there are actually 6 but I couldn’t pass up this opportunity to talk about one more, garlands.

Garlands are the new centerpieces replacing more traditional options and are super popular and in vogue, especially eucalyptus garlands whether with or without added floral. They are all over Pinterest , Google and wedding blogs, and understandably so. They are gorgeous, can be used in a wide variety of ways for both formal and informal weddings and events.  Along with hanging installations I have found that I use garlands most for the ceremony arch, pergola or chuppah. The only downside to them is their cost. They are expensive due to all the labor involved making them. I am not sure where this misconception started but I often hear from brides that in order to save money they were thinking of using garlands instead of centerpieces. In most cases they can be quite a bit more especially when there is added floral involved.

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