If you are having an outdoor wedding in the hot summer months, don’t choose flowers that can’t stand the heat, says Sandy Bartley, a floral designer at Forget Me Not Florist in Erie, Pennsylvania. This includes bulb flowers such as tulips, daffodils and hyacinthe. These garden wedding flowers don’t like hot summer days.
“Bulb flowers like the crisp morning air. Their stems will droop in the heat and they will open. A tulip will end up looking like a poppy,” she says, adding that their hollow stems don’t allow them to hold water.
Also, proceed with caution if choosing lilacs, hydrangea, and liseanthus. These garden wedding flowers also don’t like high temps.
According to Bartley, roses are one of the most substantial flowers for outdoor weddings. Orchids also stand up well in the heat – so do sunflowers, birds-of-paradise, tiger lilies, dahlias and zinnias.
Another way to ensure your garden wedding flowers can take the heat is to choose flowers that will be in season locally at the time of your wedding. This will also save you money.
Bartley points out that no matter what type of flowers you choose, bouquets should be kept in a vase of water in a shady spot when not in use – especially if the bouquets are hand-tied. Keeping a spray bottle handy and misting your flowers lightly every hour or so can also help to keep them vibrant.
“Many brides are going with the hand-tied bouquets, which are a florist’s nightmare: Some brides just don’t know to keep them in water when they aren’t in use,” she says.
So, be kind: Give your garden wedding flowers a drink and they will thank you by staying beautiful.
