In designing weddings for today, it seems the flower that was always getting snubbed or treated like a weed is actually holding its head high – the carnation! For years, florist would say, “oh I don’t do carnations.” Well as one of the favorite flowers of Queen Elizabeth II, we would say if it’s good enough for the Queen then why not for your wedding.
Don’t be afraid of the carnation – we say embrace it!
When brides hear carnations they instantly think of their parent’s wedding or the time period 1960-1970’s. Some think – OMG all my flowers are going to be carnations? This is where trusting your creative designer or florist is required, to know exactly where and when they should be used to enhance the textural beauty and stature of your wedding flowers.
First, we don’t recommend carnations for personal flowers unless you are selecting it as a main flower; clustering many blooms together in mass. We encourage the use of the carnation as grouped filler, for arrangements seen from a distance and when you need structure or pops of color.
Here are some tips on where we recommend the carnation should be used:
- Entrance to the ceremony with initials on the door
- Small carnation balls as aisle markers
- Floral Arrangements – by the altar, high impact piece at entrance to church.
- Large formal centerpiece arrangements at the reception
- Cake tier dividers
