During the Victorian era, the meanings attributed to different blooms were used as ultra-romantic metaphors in love poems, letters, art works and handicrafts. If you want to bring a little floral symbolism into your wedding day, check out this guide to the meaning of many popular flowers... and a few you'd best avoid!

The Safer Options:

Calla Lily - Secret meaning is 'magnificent beauty'
Carnation - Pink represents boldness, red symbolises love, and white indicates talent. Beware: some colours have negative meanings
Chrysanthemum (or mum) - Wealth, abundance, truth
Daffodil - Regard
Daisy - Share your feelings
Delphinium - Swiftness and lightness
Freesia - Innocence
Gardenia - Purity, joy
Hydrangea - Understanding
Iris - A message of faith, also mean wisdom
Lilac - Love's first emotions
Lily - Majesty, truth, honour
Lily-of-the-Valley - True Happiness
Magnolia - Love of nature
Orchid - Love, beauty
Peony - Bashfulness, the spirit of ambition and determination
Rose - Love, joy and beauty
Stephanotis - Long-term marital happiness
Stock - Lasting beauty
Sunflower - Short-stemmed sunflowers mean adoration; long-stemmed sunflowers symbolise haughtiness
Sweet Pea - Pleasure
Tulip - Love and passion

Beware Of These Blooms!
While many of you will happily flaunt superstition to have your favourite big day bloom, there are
some flowers that are said to have rather negative meanings. If you love a flower and haven't found
it to be bad luck in the past, we say go for it!

Christmas rose - scandal
Fig - idleness
Larkspur - infidelity
Lavender - distrust
Marigold - grief
Red carnation - 'Alas for my poor heart!'
Red poppy - consolation
Rhododendron - danger
Striped carnation - refusal
White poppy - sleep
Yellow carnation - disdain
Yellow chrysanthemum - slighted love
Yellow lily - falsehood
Yellow rose – jealousy