The Joys of June (The Seasonal Series)

So, you’re getting married in June? Let’s dive straight in and find out what’s in season for this lovely, summery month!

Wedding favourites like roses, peonies, alliums and gypsophila already started to appear in May but they are still blooming and when it comes to roses, there are thousands of varieties to choose from!

If you are looking for scent, along with roses and peonies, sweet peas, lilac (syringa) and stocks (matthiola) are all still available and each have a rather country-garden-like feel to them. Perfect for white, pink and purple colour palettes. Phlox comes in these shades too and has a lovely sweet scent. Think cottage-core!

If you are going for that natural, picked-out-of-the-field look, then there’s plenty to choose from in June. Ammi, is definitely something you’d imagine seeing in a meadow! Most commonly white, there is also a variety called Daucus that has a burgundy tint to it. This, along with achillea, both have slightly domed heads with lots of little flowers on. Achillea however, has more choice of colours, ranging from shades of pink and purple to a brighter yellow. Astilbe is also a very pretty flower. Coming in shades of pink and white, it has a pointy head and fluffy texture. And of course we can’t forget the daisy, also known as marguerites (although that does sound more like a pizza!) These are bigger headed daisies and belong to the aster family. If you are looking for smaller headed daisies then tanacetum is a better option. Rudbeckia, although looking a bit like mini sunflowers, also belong to the aster family. They commonly have dark centres with yellow, orange or red petals.

As with most wild flowers, all of these options do wilt quickly, so keeping your bouquet in water for as long as possible before you walk down the aisle is a good idea. You could even keep a vase to hand at your venue to pop them in when you’re not having photos.

Of course, you can actually have real sunflowers too! And did you know, they don’t just come in yellow either?! There are some very funky shades of orange and red too! They don’t work so well in floral foam because the stems are generally very thick, so ask your florist for advice about the best way to include these in things like centrepieces. The smaller ones tend to work better if they have thinner stems.

One of my favourites, (I have a few!) is the hydrangea. These luxurious blooms add real impact to your wedding and although they aren’t cheap, the large heads fill a lot of space, so you may not need as many stems. They come in a variety of colours including pink, purple, white and green and are particularly good if you have blue in your colour scheme, as there are fewer blue flowers to choose from. They don’t last long out of water, (it’s in the name), so if you want to include them in your bridal bouquet, I tend to suggest popping them in water vials which can then be added in to your bouquet. They can also be broken down into smaller clusters, so you can include them in this way if you don’t want them to take over your arrangements. I also recommend using it for confetti if your venue requires fresh petals. They go a lot further than rose petals and are smaller too so are more suitable for confetti.

When it comes to lilies, people tend to either love them or hate them! They may give you a headache or you may love the smell. Other people love the smell, but worry about the pollen staining their clothes or carpet! Here’s the good news along with a few tips… You can get L.A lilies that don’t have a scent. If you’re looking for bright colours, they are perfect as they come in red, orange, yellow, pink as well as white and cream. And it gets better. You can also get scented lilies that don’t have pollen! Like other oriental lilies, they only come in white and shades of pink, but this particular variety has multiple layers of petals and they are called rose-lilies. If you do go for lilies with pollen, your florist should remove all the anthers beforehand to avoid any danger of staining. That’s the last thing you want on your lovely white wedding dress!

So, to the tips... all lilies take a while to open and how long depends on the temperature. Your florist should do their best to get them open for your wedding day but they can be temperamental! If you do ever get lily pollen on your clothes or carpet, don’t scrub with water and soap. Although this is the most tempting thing to do, it can make it worse. Brushing it off whilst it’s dry or using some sticky-tape is the best method of removal.

You’ve had top tips as well as some seasonal suggestions but I’d love to hear from you if you have any questions or would like to book a consultation to chat through your ideas further.