On Saturday, May 19, 2018, I watched Meghan Markel's grand entrance into St. George Chapel at Windsor Castle on her wedding day, eager to see the wedding flowers and especially her bouquet, wondering if it would be something different, and...it was. I'm constantly looking for the next wedding trend and wondered if the bouquet style she selected would become a style I'd be receiving requests for, but in my humble opinion, I'm going to guess - not so much.
I loved absolutely everything about Meghan's choices, the understated but elegant wedding dress, the diamond tiara that belonged to Harry's great-grandmother Queen Mary, the long train on the veil, which was very distracting yet entertaining, and the beautiful decorations to the chapel which included a very full and lush garland around the arches, that took, according to a post on a floral message board, a team of 28 installers to put in place. As for the wedding bouquet, I will have to admit to being somewhat surprised to see such a small bouquet. But I totally understand one thing and that is, it's the bride's choice and the thoughts behind the bouquet had meaning to her and Prince Harry and that's all that matters.
The monochromatic bouquet consisted of Forget Me Not's, (Princess Diana's favorite flower reportedly picked by Harry from his mother's memorial garden), Sweet Peas, Lily of the Valley and Astilbe, Jasmine and Astrantia. Though some of the flowers were handpicked, it was definitely professionally put together. It was not a fashion statement, but rather a sentimental statement. The bouquet choice actually reminded me of my own wedding bouquet in it's uniqueness. I wanted my bouquet to have an earthy fragrance and chose herbs such as lavender and rosemary to accompany the fragrant red roses.
Since this was Meghan's second wedding, as was mine, I believe she purposely chose to downplay what might have been a more bold statement if she'd been in her 20's. I did the same thing. And as a result of this more toned down mindset, we saw a poised, independent woman looking stunning. I was curious to see from a couple of florist message boards I follow, what other professional florists from around the world thought and by Sunday morning there were over 300 comments on one site, with one particular word being used quite often, saying the bouquet was "underwhelming". A lot of the florists had big expectations for spectacular flowers and said they felt a little let down. But that's o.k. The bride gets to decide. I'm happy for the couple and I applaud those professionals behind the scenes that helped make her special day perfect!
Below is my wedding bouquet, also understated, but very special to me.
