I’ll start by saying, that our winter wedding flowers were fabulous. But, that was not something I expected to be one of my favorite parts of our wedding day.
When you start the wedding planning process, most people have an idea of the items that are high on their priority list. Flowers were not one of mine. I cared about the venue, the food, the dress—but flowers were definitely an afterthought. Read more about finding a florist here.
CHOOSING OUR WINTER WEDDING FLOWERS
Fortunately, we found an amazing florist by chance. My sister referred me to a former colleague of hers who had recently taken her wedding planning and florals side hustle full-time. Tanya of Starry Night Events met us at the Farmhouse at Veritas, where I showed up with a few images on Pinterest and zero idea of how I wanted everything to come together. I didn’t even know the names of any of the flowers, so I was beyond lucky that we found someone who could take my wintery vision and make it come alive.
I knew that I did want evergreen garland, pinecones, and white flowers. I’m not typically into roses, but I felt that white roses had the right look for a winter wedding, and I wanted greenery that brought in more of a sage look. Garland running down the tables was a must. I wanted my bouquet to be full and round. The chuppah was to look as if it was tumbling with greenery and flowers. Tanya took that vague guidance and turned our wedding florals into something that I’m delighted with each time I look back at our photos.
MY WINTER WEDDING BOUQUET
Given how warm it was on our wedding day (I had hoped for a typical early December Virginia warm spell and we got it with a 62-degree day!), I didn’t have to wear the fur that I had planned, which meant that my look wasn’t quite as wintery as it could have been. My bouquet is the one item that gives me away as a December bride. With sprigs of evergreen and pinecones interspersed among the white roses and greenery, it was perfect for a winter wedding bouquet.
And, Tanya totally took it in stride when my first reaction was, “OMG, are those lilies in my bouquet?!” They were not, but she quickly tucked the offending flowers into greenery and all was well.
OUR WINTER WEDDING CEREMONY FLOWERS
When I looked at wedding inspiration, I knew that our chuppah was one place where I wanted to focus our floral attention. I wanted our chuppah to look as if it was cascading with greenery and white flowers—and that’s exactly what we got. I’m not even sure I mentioned magnolia leaves or showed Tanya any images of magnolias, but, seriously, could there have been a better choice?! They’re wintery, Southern, and so timeless.
Of course, I had to go for the romantic look of white rose petals all the way down the aisle. This was something I saw at a friend’s December wedding the year prior and absolutely fell in love with.
Lastly, we flanked the aisle with two full, short arrangements sitting on wine barrels that we then did double duty with by using as table centerpieces at dinner. If you’re going to pay for the flowers, might as well use them as much as you can, right?!
OUR RECEPTION FLOWERS
We ran into a little hiccup with my reception vision the morning of the wedding when we realized the two long tables for dinner were much narrower than we had anticipated. I had imagined full, overflowing garland lining each table, but there was barely enough for a single strand of evergreen when the place settings were taken into account.
Fortunately, Tanya made it work with pinecones, small vases, and tealights sprinkled across the tables. Perhaps they weren’t full with garland, but they still looked cozy and intimate. She then added evergreen and magnolia garland to the back of the bride and groom chairs, which was one of the first touches I showed her during our planning meeting.
The pièce de résistance of our reception was one we actually hadn’t planned on. The bride from the previous week (the vineyard owner’s daughter, actually!) offered to leave a grape leaf branch chandelier and we enthusiastically took her up on the offer. Tanya removed the flowers that hadn’t survived the week and covered the entire chandelier in magnolia leaves. So wintery, so perfect.
QUESTIONS ABOUT WEDDING PLANNING?
If you’re planning a wedding, particularly a winter wedding, a Charlottesville wedding, or a winery wedding, definitely give me a shout! I’m happy to answer any questions about my experience and offer tips or advice on how to plan your own wedding on a budget (I like to think I’m a pro at this point!).
