My favourite scented wedding flowers.

Did you know the sense of smell is the most important memory trigger? Each season brings with it a different smell in the air. Autumn is one of my favourite seasons and you can definitely smell a shift from summer. The cold, crisp air, the fallen leaves. Mother Nature is a clever lady. So smell is closely linked with memories but why?

Here comes the science bit : ”The answer is likely due to brain anatomy. Incoming smells are first processed by the olfactory bulb, which starts inside the nose and runs along the bottom of the brain. The olfactory bulb has direct connections to two brain areas that are strongly implicated in emotion and memory: the amygdala and hippocampus. Interestingly, visual, auditory (sound), and tactile (touch) information do not pass through these brain areas. This may be why olfaction, more than any other sense, is so successful at triggering emotions and memories.” (https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/brain-babble/201501/smells-ring-bells-how-smell-triggers-memories-and-emotions)

This is why a sweet smelling flower is an important part of any wedding flowers. Memories of your perfect day and perfect flowers will come flooding back. Sweet scents always help to calm the nerves and bring out a smile before the all important walk down the aisle.

Here are my top 5 scented wedding flowers and the meaning they convey in the language of flowers. It was difficult to choose. Do you agree with list?

1) ROSE.

Perfumes made of this flower are popular for a reason; roses smell heavenly. Fresh roses actually have a much lighter scent than perfumes would have you believe and are excellent calming flowers. A rose bouquet is perfect if you are feeling stressed, ideal for a bridal bouquet. There are many highly scented roses available. Particularly the popular David Austin variety of garden roses. In the language of flowers each colour offers a distinct meaning: red,signifies enduring passion; white, humility and innocence; yellow, expressing friendship and joy; pink, gratitude, appreciation and admiration; orange, enthusiasm and desire; white lilac and purple represent enchantment and love at first sight. It really is the perfect wedding flower.

2) MUSCARI.

Muscari commonly known as grape hyacinth is a popular spring flower. The scientific name Muscari actually comes from the Greek word for musk and refers to the sweet fragrance; they pack a heavenly sweet scent for such a delicate flower. Rather wonderfully it will grow anywhere - in gravel or in grass. Muscari isn’t specifically known for its symbolic meaning, rich blue tones are commonly associated with power and confidence, while the more purple shades tend to represent mystery, calm and creativity and white means loveliness.

3) PEONY.

The peony has a delicate, feminine note that carries a perfect summery fragrance. It is ideal for the warmer months and is a great addition to late spring and early summer weddings. This flower is one of the most popular wedding flowers, perhaps only succeeded by roses. With it’s many layers of crimped petals it is a truly beautiful, lush bloom and alongside it’s intoxicating scent it is easily to see why this is so popular a wedding flower.

4) FREESIA.

These beautiful flowers were my mum's favourite, I can see why she loved them so much.
Freesia is a very sweet-smelling flower, almost reminiscent of summer fruits, this makes it the perfect bloom to use in your wedding flowers. The trumpet-shaped highly fragranced waxy flowers come in a wide range of colours, including white, cream, pink, yellow, orange, brown, red, lilac and purple. The red, orange and white varieties tend to be the most highly scented.
Each colour freesia carries a different meaning. They include friendship, trust, passion and innocence, among others.

5) LAVENDER.

As any of my brides will tell you I am a champion for using herbs in my wedding arrangements and lavender is one of my favourites. The famous relaxing effects of lavender is real, it does help you relax and will increase the quality of your sleep. Did you know it can be used to help treat anxiety? Perfect for any bride nervously waiting to walk down the aisle. When given as a gift, lavender flowers represent purity, silence and luck. Lavender flowers also convey a message of devotion.

Hope you have enjoyed reading this blog. What do you think? Do you have a favourite scented flower? Please let me know if you do. Really there are too many to choose from but this list is a good place to start.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hi! I'm Anne-Marie, Petal Power is me. I run my event floristry business out of Creigiau, Cardiff.

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