“Bold,” “bright” and “bejeweled” are the bywords for wedding floral colors in 2019, floral designers tell Special Events.
“In 2019, brides are ditching subtle hues for bold and bright colors,” says Claudia Kiss, vice president of marketing and public relations for B Floral Design and Production of New York, moving away from pastels.
Travis McBurney of XO Bloom in Westlake Village, Calif., points to the power of “Living Coral,” Pantone’s Color of the Year for 2019. He sees the shade showing up in various palettes, accompanied by “softer tones of white and green.”
Other key colors this year include mustard yellow, orange, “millennial pink” (aka blush pink) and berry in wedding bouquets, centerpieces and floral installations. Emily Tolve of Newberry Brothers in Denver points to a boom of burgundy: “We’re getting a lot of requests for burgundy as the base color, with accents of peaches, ivories and navy.”
BOHO GOES SOHO The rustic look—long dominant in wedding design--is taking a step up in sophistication, according to Robbin Yelverton of Michigan-based Blumz by JR Designs. Rustic is being balanced with elegant elements and “much less burlap.” Wildflowers are being replaced by such traditional blooms as roses, orchids and calla lilies, he adds
As for the bridal bouquet, brides are starting to think small.
Kristin Banta, creative director of Los Angeles-based Kristin Banta Events, sees brides “embracing a shift toward minimalism this year,” she says, “with smaller floral statements for bouquets of one to five single stems.”
More brides and attendants will be carrying mismatched bouquet sizes and floral types this year, Kiss says. And although traditional round and hand-tied bouquets will remain popular, McBurney notes a shift towards nontraditional shapes for bridal and attendant bouquets, along with the addition of accessories such as bouquet cuffs and hoops.
BOUTONNIERE BASICS “This year, boutonnieres are all about texture and unique specimens--from cotton to hops and wheat, berries to succulents and herbs,” Banta says. Kiss agrees that texture is key to boutonnieres in 2019, with structural shapes from thistles, ranunculus, dahlias, succulents, Dusty Miller and eucalyptus adding both volume and drama.
“Grooms are loving a simple, masculine accent—and the smaller, the better,” says David C. McKnight, founder of Emerald City Designs in Farmington Hills, Mich.
McBurney sees “a trend toward smaller flowers and non-traditional floral or non-floral elements,” with some grooms and groomsmen this year foregoing boutonnieres so as not to detract from their tuxedoes and suits. Indeed, McKnight is seeing more men “embellish with a classic pocket square rather than a boutonniere" ...
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