They cost a fortune. They make you feel uncomfortable even though they look beautiful. They’re a must have for any occasion... no, I’m not talking about shoes, I’m talking about flowers.
Until you need flowers for an important occasion, you don’t realise what a huge business it is. There are a number of these prescribed occasions where flowers are not only a necessity, but expected: births, deaths, your great aunty Etna’s birthday and weddings.
There is a whole different world of flower lore – with meanings and a history of its own. With a single cut flower, you can give someone a message; by eating the leaves of a flower, you can ease the pain of childbirth. It seems befitting, therefore, that brides give such huge consideration to their flower choice at the wedding. So how does someone like myself go about choosing which flowers to have?
The wedding fayres have albums of the most beautiful bouquets and arrangements, corsages and buttonholes. The florists are so knowledgeable and helpful, you want to sound equally as knowledgeable as you nod along to their explanations of the ‘Muff Bouquet’ (no, don’t be crass, it’s apparently perfect for the winter wedding!) or the ‘Kissing Ball’ which seems apt.
So, I started looking into this whole ‘bouquets for weddings’ stuff – did you know that chrysanthemums are associated with funerals in Malta? That you can use a tulip bulb as a substitute for an onion? Neither of these seem like the ideal wedding flower! I always imagined having roses, until I saw that the rose family also includes apples, peaches and plums. Why would I want a flower with a plum as a relative at my wedding? After further research I came across a disturbing fact that put me off my quest altogether: did you know that one flower, the ‘titan arum’, smells like rotting flesh?!
I have spent a long time considering my flower arrangements for the wedding, so I hope you’ll forgive me readers, for not coming to a definitive conclusion this week. If you have any advice, please, contact me asap!
