Seasonal Wedding Flowers
Here's our quick guide to seasonal wedding flowers. This could save you a lot of frustration, if you set your heart on one type of flower only to find it is out of season when you are getting married.

The good news is that many flowers have a longer or even year-round season these days. This is due to imports from warmer climates, and commercial growers cultivating the flowers under glass, out of season.

For example, the photo shows a simple white tulip centerpiece taken as we were setting up a wedding venue. Tulips are a classic spring flower. But look more closely at the photo and you will probabley notice the lazy rays of a winter morning sun coming through the window - this wedding was in mid-winter. Commercial growing techniques now mean that flowers like tulips are available out of season.

However, expect the best quality and lowest prices to be for seasonal wedding flowers that are in their normal flowering season.

The following are flowers that should be available all year:

Roses
Anthuriums
Orchids
Tropical flowers
Lilies
Gerberas (gerber daisies)
Winter Wedding Flowers
Sometimes brides getting married in the winter worry there will not be any nice flowers available. Far from it! There are many winter wedding flowers available; some that come into season at this time include: amaryllis which make a striking table centrepiece and holly which can be incorporated into a Christmas wedding.

Although cymbidium orchids are available year round, we tend to find that the best choice and prices are to be had now.

To make a spectacular background to your flowers try using vibrant red dogwood stems and tactile pussywillow stems that are available now.

Spring Wedding Flowers
Spring is the time when nature bursts into life, and treats us to a spectacular array of colours. Flowering bulbs come into season now such as tulips and the wonderfully fragrant hyacinths.

Ranunculus also puts in its seasonal appearance. This flower is available to florists from wholesalers during winter but it's real season is Spring. Prices can go up significantly out of season, as we found out for one bride who wanted it at the beginning of summer.

Forsythia bears its yellow flowers at this time, and is unusual in that the flowers appear on the plant before the leaves. Another popular spring wedding flower is Lily of the Valley. This delicate and wonderfully perfumed flower has a very short season around April/May. Lily of the Valley is one of the more expensive seasonal wedding flowers.

Summer Wedding Flowers
In summer you have a large choice of flowers available. The flowers in season at the moment include beautiful blue delphiniums, gladioli, and columbine (aquilegia). Irises have their season from late spring through to summer.

Snapdragons (Antirrhinums) are available now. For many people like me, they evoke happy memories of childhood summers playing with the flowers and making their 'mouths' open and close. Other summer seasonal wedding flowers include cockscomb and Love-in-a-mist (Nigella).

Fall (Autumn) Wedding Flowers
In autumn, some interesting fruits become available that can be used in wedding arrangements. Crab apples last from now through to the winter and can look very attractive, as seen in the picture below where there are used with tulips.

The unmistakeable Chinese lantern fruits (Physalis), make a very appealing flower for a centrepiece arrangement.

Other autumn seasonal wedding flowers that are in season now include dahlias and ornamental cabbage.