Bouquet Ideas for Adventure Weddings
Believe it or not how your bouquet is built can make a difference on whether or not it lasts until the end of the day. This is especially important if you are embarking on an experience driven elopement or adventure wedding. For example, you need a bridal bouquet that can stand against wind, rain, extreme heat or cold, and even on a hike! So please allow these bouquet ideas for adventure weddings inspire you!
Do You Have to have a wedding bouquet?
Likely as you begin planning your adventure elopement one of the things you will contemplate is to have a bouquet or not. But the short answer is that you do not have to have a wedding bouquet, it’s okay! Maybe it would be helpful to weigh the pros and cons to see if it makes sense for you too. Here are some things to consider as think about bouquet ideas for your adventurous wedding.
Pros of having a bouquet:
- Something for your hands to hold! Sometimes being in a wedding dress can be awkward enough. So having one hand around your love and the other with a bouquet relieves some of that potential pressure.
- It adds a pop of color and dynamic to your wedding attire!
- Can be a way to honor someone you lost. To illustrate, let’s say you lost someone special. You could having a keepsake of theirs incorporated in your bouquet (IE, a locket with a photo even!).
- Can enhance the theme and color scheme of your wedding style.
- Could be a way to incorporate local connection and flare. For instance, if you’re getting married in Hawaii you could choose to have the native flower, Naupaka added into your bouquet.
- Additionally, having one could give your loved ones a way to be there with you if you’re eloping. For example, at your bridal shower, you could ask for guests to bring certain shades of flowers that you will build your bouquet with.
Cons of having a bouquet:
- Price! Fresh flower bouquets can be quite costly. And even some “real feel” artificial flowers can be too.
- Hauling it around all day can be annoying.
- If you choose flowers or a material type that bleeds when it rains can be problematic and potentially stain your dress.
Bottom line, it is your choice to have or not!
Types of Bouquets for Adventure Weddings
There are a plethora of types of bouquets that could work well an adventure wedding. A lovely list of bouquet ideas follow below…
- Hand Tied Fresh Flower Bouquet
- Silk or “real feel” artificial bouquet
- Nature Inspired Bouquet (Think: Driftwood bouquet or moss bouquet!)
- Paper Bouquet for adventure elopement
- Wood Flower Bridal Bouquet
- Broach Wedding Bouquet
- Wildlife Inspired (Think: Reindeer horn bouquet)
- Feather Bouquet
- Burlap Flower Bouquet
- Crochet/Lace Fan Bouquet (really neat for warm destination locales)
- Flower Basket
- Fabric Bridal Bouquet
- Flower Balls
- Candles/Lighted Bouquet (How fun for a nighttime wedding ceremony?)
- Fruit Bouquet
- Pearl Bouquet
- Special note / letter bouquet (Imagine having all of your loved ones write notes that are turned into roses)
- Mixed (Think: Fresh flower and artificial bridal bouquet)
- Dried Flower Bouquet
- Wreath Bouquet
- Lantern
- Fur Muff
What are the Best Flowers for a Bridal Bouquet?
Next, let’s say you choose to have a fresh flower bouquet. Then what types of flowers will stand up against the wind, rain, sand, etc? Choosing stronger flowers and greenery types is a brilliant decision so you still have a beautiful bouquet at the end of your 10+ hour elopement adventure! A short list follows…
- Ornamental cabbage (see middle image below for example)
- Thistle
- Garden Rose
- Protea
- Roses
- Israeli Ruscus
- Eucalyptus (all types)
- Spray Roses
- Veronica
- Ranunculas
- Articoke
- Peony
- Olive Leaves
- Lisianthus
- Hypericum Berries
- Succulent (but they need to be wired)
- Dahlia
- Scabiosa Pods
- Queen Anne’s Lace
- Astilbe
However, if the above are not favorites there are ways to strengthen more delicate flower types. To illustrate, for our experience driven weddings, we always have our florist / stylist adhere to these guidelines:
- Secretly wire flowers and stems to stand against the wind (IE, Lambs ear fades quickly!).
- Send the bouquet in a larger glass holder to use throughout the day.
- Do not use any flower dyes. This avoids the bouquet from staining the wedding dress.
- Design “American Size” bridal bouquets. Rest of world often think a bridesmaid size is okay.
- Before designing she has direct feed back from the bride on color scheme, height, and / or style of dress. Basically to ensure the bouquet is complementary.
- Have a plan “b” in place in case planned flowers get denied entry at customs.
- Be on call to “fix” in case the bride needs or wants something changed.
Hopefully the above helps play into your adventure wedding bouquet ideas!
Size Matters
As you look through bouquet ideas for your adventurous wedding, it’s important to consider size. Because many times if you’re getting married outside of North America, a bridal bouquet is the size of a “bridesmaid” bouquet. Therefore, it’s important to communicate with the florist who is crafting your bouquet to make sure you’re on the same page on how big the bouquet will be. Below, we have pictured “American size” bridal bouquets next to bridesmaid sized.
Personalizing Your Bouquet
Meanwhile, personalizing your bouquet further can be exciting! Why? Maybe you had a loved one pass away (or couldn’t come) too soon and you want that individual to be near to you on your wedding day. A way to do that is to incorporate some kind of symbol of them in your bouquet. Or maybe you want to bling out your stems in some way, etc! Some fun bouquet ideas to personalize follow below:
- Have a photo or locket of the loved one tied to the stems of your bouquet.
- Tie a necklace of theirs around the base. Florist Styling Tip: Wire the item in for insurance it won’t get lost on the adventure.
- Carry a handkerchief of theirs with you. It can keep your hands dry and feel like you’re holding their hand too! Don’t have one? Create one and have it embroidered with their initials.
- Hide something inside of your bouquet that has meaning.
- Bling your bouquet out with a broach or something else sparkly that makes you smile!
How much should an adventure wedding bouquet cost?
Depending on where you will get married, costs for an adventure wedding bouquet will vary. For instance, in Iceland, Norway and Switzerland you could expect to pay between $300-400 USD because of how expensive the countries are. Whereas, other countries you may expect to pay more like $175-300 USD depending on the flower types and size of the bouquet. Alternatively, other types of bouquets could cost much less and be more in the range of $80-200 USD. Our favorite silk flower bouquet vendor is SouthernGirlsWeddings, on Etsy.
Bouquet IDeas for Hiking Elopements
In choosing to have a hiking elopement, you might think it’s going to be burdensome to have a bouquet. But don’t worry it doesn’t have to be! For instance, you can strap that baby to the back of your backpack! Usually a silk or artificial bouquet works best, but you can totally make a fresh flower one work too just be more careful with it and bring bungee cords for extra assurance.
Typically hiking weddings are rain, shine, or blizzard or no blizzard so be very aware if any of your flowers or items have been stained / painted in case they bleed on to your attire. Also very good to have the flowers wired for strength. Leaving today inspired by these bouquet ideas to plan your own adventurous elopement or wedding? Feel free to contact us for more information on getting that journey started!!
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