2020 Wedding Flower Trends Insights for Flower Farmers
The other day, we sat down and talked with some flower friends - growers, designers, and discussed the upcoming wedding season. We talked about what we see changing, what we see staying the same, and some of the overall trends we’ve been seeing over time too.
I know not every flower farmer does wedding design, but wedding trends are a good thing to stay on top of if you’re going to be offering adjunct services like bulk buckets of blooms, selling to floral designers, or looking to attract retail customers by staying on trend.
A couple major points:
Flowers grown by local flower farms and growers are definitely in (and not just being promoted by flower farmers either - we’re talking mainstream floral designers and their clients)
It seems like this is the year that the “all-greenery” look is starting to fade, and the pastel-monochromatic look is definitely coming in
Definitely a move away from overstuffed pieces towards more minimalist pieces - although I’m sensing a trend towards a larger number of minimalist pieces to still create a very dramatic effect.
Deconstructed designs
Clients may be looking for less actual complex arch designs and arrangements and more “deconstructed” arrangements composed of single stems or straight bunches of flowers grouped together to create visual impact.
We’ve been seeing this trend for a couple of years now, especially when it comes to hanging flower “walls” (with flowers suspended from the ceiling from ribbon or string).
As a flower farmer: Try and see if you can help to encourage this design by getting some product photography with deconstructed floral arrangements. This would be very advantageous as far as ake your deadheads or extra flowers and design with them - single stems in bud vases, hung upside down as floral chandeliers and floral walls.
Greenery Walls
And we’re not necessarily talking just about eucalyptus either. Instead of flower backdrops and walls, there’s a growing trend towards living backgrounds - think houseplants, tropical foliage and moss backgrounds.
As a flower farmer: Those of you who have a lot of greenery available, take note! Also for those of you who are able to grow potted plants and houseplants, this may be a great way to utilize your capability to grow those.
Bleached and dried materials
From the bleached ruscus to preserved strawflowers to pampas grass seedheads, bleached and dried and subdued colors are still a big thing. For us farmers, we can both supply the dried materials as well as offer complimentary materials that will work well with the color scheme - think Cafe au Lait dahlias, pastel colored snapdragons, ‘Salmon Queen’ scabiosa and peachy lisianthus
As a flower farmer: The ability to offer high quality dried materials at this point in time is invaluable. Dry ornamental grasses, weed seedheads (like field pennycress) and flowers like strawflower and winged everlasting and sell them all season long or use them in your own designs.
Eco-friendly
Whether we’re talking about flowers grown with sustainable growing methods, the absence of floral foam and single-use plastics, or even containers that are friendly on the environment and carbon footprint, more and more couples are interested in ensuring that their wedding follows their own personal choices to be more eco-conscious.
As a flower farmer: Make sure your customer base knows a bit more about your farm’s sustainability and eco-friendly, eco-conscious origins. Discuss as well the smaller carbon footprint your flowers have with far less shipping involved.
Locally grown
This isn’t a surprise to most of us as flower farmers, but know that in addition to being eco-conscious, many couples are interested in sourcing their blooms locally - either through their florists choosing locally grown materials or sourcing straight from you, the flower farmer. Local flowers offer something unique, with an aesthetic that is unlike anything from mainstream traditional floral materials, and are also a way of couples to support their local economy and entrepreneurs.
As a flower farmer: This is a time where you get to shine. Definitely talk up your locally grown flowers if you are a designer and encourage your floral designers to also discuss with their clients as well. Grow unique crops that are difficult to source elsewhere to give you an extra edge over imported flowers.
A move away from maximalism
Don’t get me wrong, we still are seeing plenty of brides who want the gigantic massive flowing bouquets that have been so popular these last couple years. However, we’re also seeing more minimalist flower designs as well - elegant, well-designed posies and hand-tied bouquets that are just as beautiful, but not a 13 pound lump of vegetation that makes your arms tired! In addition to that, we’re seeing less gigantic floral installations that obscure your vision of the table, and smaller, deconstructed arrangements instead. It’s not necessarily about being cheap, but about a simple understated elegance - using just the right amount of flowers.
As a flower farmer: Market the fact that you can create bouquets and arrangements to fit every couple’s unique needs and interests. You will still get some couples that want maximalist weddings with flowers poking out of every surface, and some couples that may want a much simpler wedding. Have examples to show you can do both.
More neutral tones and in-between tones
The all-green-foliage trend has perhaps peaked, with coffee-brown, dusky pink, caramels, sandy-gold and copper and faded denim increasing in popularity. Perhaps the reason why bleached and dried materials are en vogue is the trend of more pastel and subtle color palettes. Although there will always be white and jewel-toned weddings, expect to see more dusky and muted tones in the future.
As a flower farmer: Grow the flowers with muted, dusky tones. Oklahoma Ivory zinnias, Cafe au Lait and Sweet Nathalie dahlias, Voyage Champagne and Light Apricot and Rosanne Deep Brown lisianthus, peach-colored poppies, Cherry Eclipse sunflowers - you get the idea. If you’re selling to florists, they will eat up these colors - and if you’re designing for weddings, you’ll have plenty of materials on hand for this season that will mix well with color trends.
Floral aisles
Although we’ve seen this trend here for a while, there is a growing popularity for floral arrangements that line the aisles - creating the illusion of walking through a garden planted along the aisle. Whether fresh florals, a mixture of flowers and potted plants or even entire aisles created from dried flowers (with the ubiquitous pampas grass being ever present) they are definitely on trend for many weddings.
As a flower farmer: Depending on the materials your couples may want in the floral aisle arrangements, you may be able to utilize extra materials that you have overflow of in these arrangements. Extra filler and foliage are always useful to have for these arrangements. In addition, if you can utilize extra dried materials they will help to bulk these out a lot.
Ala carte wedding flowers
This isn’t mentioned in many articles, but we’re finding that many more couples are opting to skip full-service weddings and instead opt for just the personals - bridal bouquet, bridesmaids bouquets, boutonnieres and corsages with maybe a few other arrangements. This ala carte method of choosing wedding flowers may be of an advantage to flower farmers - especially for those who may not want to take on a full wedding.
As a flower farmer: Make sure you offer ala carte options for your couples, especailly if you’re not able to do full-on weddings. Bridal bouquets - once you master the art of creating them of course- are a great way to bring in some income, even if you don’t really have a major design business, and can easily utilize flowers that you already have growing. Just ensure that you’re not stepping on any toes first and ask if they have a floral designer that they have brought on for their wedding.
Are you excited for these trends?
Let me know in the comments below!
And if you’re interested in growing flowers AND designing for weddings as a flower farmer, you should check out the eBook on Growing Cut Flowers for Weddings. Wedding design was the way that we were able to really grow our business and gain attention when first starting out, and if you can do wedding design you can really boost your business and flower farm.
