The best wedding bouquets in Vogue

In need of wedding bouquet ideas? You’re not alone: The bouquet has been a nuptial staple since the days of ancient Rome when brides carried bunches of blooms for good luck due to the longtime association of flowers with fertility and life. While such societal superstitions have faded, the beauty they bring for walks down the aisle has made this tradition survive for millennia.

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Oftentimes, the flowers within a bouquet are embedded with romantic symbolism – for her wedding to Prince Albert, for example, Queen Victoria carried her husband’s favourite flower of snowdrops. Fast forward a few royal generations, and Kate Middleton chose a bouquet of lilies (representing happiness), hyacinths (representing love), and ivy (representing friendship) for her wedding to Prince William. Both women also included a sprig of myrtle due to its long visual associations with matrimony.

Meanwhile, Jackie Kennedy opted for elegant white spray orchids – a symbol of elegance and pure love – accented with gardenias for her 1953 wedding to John F. Kennedy.

In the weddings published in Vogue, brides – and some grooms – have chosen a fascinating array of flowers to hold on their big day. Some opt for a traditional white bouquet, while others select colourful flowers that coordinate with the environment that surrounds them. Then there are those who treat bouquets as an avant-garde exercise: take PJ Magerko-Liquorice and Jordan Millington-Liquorice’s wedding, where the groom grasped a monochrome – from petal to stem – set of roses. And some don’t even opt for a bouquet at all: designer Sandy Liang held just a single allium with a black ribbon by florist Miguel Yatco during her coastal Maine wedding to Dorian Booth.

Below, take a look at the best (and most unusual) wedding bouquet ideas in Vogue. You may even find inspiration for your own.

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“It strikes just the right balance of romance and playfulness,” bride Jess Wolfe told Vogue of her wedding bouquet.

Meredith Rothman held a bouquet of violet calla lilies – her favourite flower.

Sarah Heyward embraced a dusty, desert-inspired colour palette for her wedding in Ojai, California.

“I told her we wanted organic-feeling arrangements focused on local wildflowers. I also wanted some kind of floral nod to Oregon, where I grew up,” Ella Riley-Adams says of working with Jennifer Huynh from Future Flowers on her wedding floral arrangements. “I sent her my parents’ old garden as a reference point.”

Joey King’s bouquet for her Mallorca wedding matched the colours of the Spanish sunset.

The bride’s mother designed all the florals for her Bedford, New York wedding.

Flowers played an integral role in Bel Powley’s wedding, who married at the famed Petersham Nurseries in London. Here, she holds a bouquet that includes red dahlias.

“My wedding bouquet. I loved how the abundance of florals and delicate greenery set an organic, ethereal tone,” Gloria Zhu says of her wedding flowers.

Suthia Bhriombkhadi chose an elegant, beachy arrangement for her wedding ceremony in the Maldives.

Pop Up Florist made Jamie Hunter’s colourful bouquet for her wedding at the Mezzatorre Hotel on the Italian island of Ischia.

Sophie Felt’s bouquet for Quinn Jackson and Dexter Zimet's Hamptons wedding effortlessly matched the affair's minimalistic aesthetic.

Lesea Bourke asked Darines Castro from Simply Events Design to design her colourful bouquet for her Jupiter Island wedding.

Cool-girl fashion designer Sandy Liang’s bouquet is radical in its simplicity: for her Maine wedding, she held just a single allium with a black ribbon by florist Miguel Yatco.

“The idea was to use the flowers to help set the mood of the wedding without going too over the top,” Melissa explained of her florals bouquet by Eric Chauvin.

“I had no strict colour scheme; I was happy to trust in whatever flowers seasonally grew in time for my big day,” Henrietta Rix said of her bouquet of wild-meadow florals for her English countryside wedding.

Molly Bernard actually forgot to bring her Fleurotica Flowers bouquet to her wedding at the Boathouse in Prospect Park, Brooklyn – but it still makes our list regardless.

Cynthia Cervantes chose a bouquet complete with purple orchids for her wedding in Michoacán, Mexico.

Morgan Curtis held pink flowers that complemented the delicate floral motif in her Alexander McQueen wedding dress.

The grooms opted for a bouquet of fully white roses for their eccentric, fashion-centered Pennsylvania wedding.

Denée Benton’s wedding bouquet had blooms inspired by Floridian sunset colours.

Malin Akerman’s bridal bouquet for her Tulum wedding included purple blooms accented by pampas grass.

Sophia Bush’s bouquet matched the floral print on her Monique Lhuillier dress, which was inspired by peach Oklahoma tea roses, orange California poppies, Italian olives, and butterfly ranunculus.

Kara Smith opted for a wild bouquet of flowers that evoked the rugged California landscape of her family’s Santa Ynez vineyard.

“We wanted bohemian, loose flowers for all of the weekend’s events. A dear friend, who could not attend the wedding, sent an Irish good-luck charm for good measure. I wrapped it around the base of the bouquet,” Michelle Campbell Mason says of her wedding day blooms.

Moon Canyon created a bouquet of bougainvillea, chrysanthemums, butter marigolds, roses, tuberose, anthurium, ranunculus, rice flower and tropical greens for bride Kate Brien. “Inside of the bouquet I carried a heart-shaped locket, which held a photograph of my mother, as I wanted her to walk down the aisle with me. My sister had carried this locket down the aisle at her wedding, and she lent it to me as my something borrowed,” Brien said.

Latisha Duarte described her overflowing bouquet “gestural and dreamy.”

“I was not at all prepared for how heavy the bouquet would be,” Michelle Ochs said of her blush pink peonies, poppy flower, and light pink astilbes bouquet.

“I love the unique combination of flowers,” Bethanie Brady said of her bright statement bouquet for her wedding in Joshua Tree.

Lisa Salzer chose a clean bouquet of calla lilies for her Montauk wedding.

Lauren Schwab’s wedding bouquet included piano red garden roses, pink mini dahlias, black calla lilies, and magenta scabiosa, jasmine, and wire vines.

Brittany Weinstein's bouquet of clematis was accented with a tassel.

“Our floral designer, Dario Benvenuti, was a true artist, and told me that he couldn’t determine the size of my bouquet until he met me in person, which was the morning of our wedding,” Danielle Mastrangelo said of her bridal flowers. The result? A bouquet of peonies, garden roses, bouvardia, white veronica, and olive branches.

Sara Smith's lilies of the valley bouquet was inspired by her mother's and Grace Kelly's.

Ariel Dearie's bouquet as comprised of distant drum roses, scabiosa, orchids, Russian olive, and clematis vine.

"My bouquet was comprised of flowers with blush, cream, and white tones. I am obsessed with garden roses and dusty miller, so those needed to make a major appearance," Clara Samuelsson said of her bridal bouquet.

“Florist and friend Thierry Boutemy and I worked together on the flowers throughout the wedding-planning process. For my bouquet, I trusted him implicitly. Shortly before the ceremony, he surprised me with this arrangement, and it could not have been more perfect,” Fabiola Beracasa said of her arrangement.

Sophie Green's bouquet for her wedding outside of Toronto was made of white garden roses.

Phoebe Papadopoulos carried a bouquet made entirely of peonies.

“I really wanted the flowers to feel organic and natural but with an elegant feel. For my bouquet and the reception decor, we used a lot of greenery and earthy tones with pops of color and textures in various foliage and flowers," Samantha Orley said of her Aspen bridal bouquet.

Whitney Toombs asked for local and seasonal grasses in her bouquet for her wedding in Ireland.