Flowers in general symbolise fertility and healthy children, and any
purple flower symbolises Christ's blood, while white flowers symbolise
innocence. Strong smelling herbs were thought to ward off bad luck,
evil spirits and ill health by their strong smells, so were entwined
around the flowers in the bride's bouquet. A red rose and white snowdrop
separately mean joy and hope, but for the superstitious, red and white
flowers together have a bad omen from the First World War, and have
come to represent blood and bandages.
Orange Blossom worn in the bride's hair or on her dress used to signify
virginity, and because it is an evergreen, it also symbolised the
everlasting nature of the newlyweds' love for each other. An old wives
tale states that a newly wedded couple are to destroy any artificial
Orange Blossom used at their wedding otherwise they would experience
misfortune. Forget-Me-Not has been a symbol of undying love even since
before the Middle Ages.
You can personalise your bridal bouquet with hidden messages that
are personal to you. The following list gives the meanings of many
flowers and foliage that can be used at your wedding to create special
symbolic meanings on your wedding day:
 almond |
hope and indiscretion |
| amarylis |
splendid beauty and
pride |
| ambrosia |
love returned |
| angelica |
soaring thoughts and
inspiration sincerity |
| anthriscus |
sincerity |
| apple blossom |
better things to come,
preference, perfection and good luck in the future |
| arum lily |
ardour |
| aster |
variety andii partake
your sentiments |
| baby's breath / gypsophilia |
fertility |
| basil |
luck and good wishes |
| bay |
glory |
| bluebell |
everlasting love, constancy
and kindness |
| broom |
humanity and neatness |
| buttercup / crowfoot |
you are rich in attractions |
| camelia |
gratitude and loveliness |
| carnation / pinks |
generally means love,
good luck, divine love, deep love fascination and marriage.
White Carnations mean constancy, and red ones are the masculine
symbol of love. Pink ones in particular mean a woman in love.
With Pinks, red ones mean pure love and white ones mean talent |
| cedar leaf |
i live for you |
| celadine |
joys to come |
| chrysanthemum |
red ones mean 'I love
you', while white represents truth and constancy |
| clover |
faithfulness. a four
leaf one means be mine. |
|
cow parsley / Queen Anne's lace
|
festivity |
| cornflower |
delicacy and hope |
| daffodil / nacissus |
regard, chivalry and
a sunny marriage |
| dahlia |
good taste, pomp and
forever thine |
| daisy |
innocence, gentleness,
sharing and a sunny marriage, while ox-eye daisy means patience |
| dill |
worthy of all praise
and strength |
| dogwood |
durability - any kind
of evergreen will bring luck |
| fennel |
strength and worthy
of all praise |
| fern |
fascination and sincerity
|
| forget-me-not |
true love and remebrance |
| fuschia |
scarlet ones mean taste |
| gardenia |
joy |
| geranium |
luck and true friendship |
| gilliflower / stock |
bonds of affection and
lasting beauty |
| gladioli |
strength of character |
| gorse |
enduring affection |
| hazel |
reconciliation and peace |
| heaher |
white heather means
good luck |
| hawthorn |
hope |
| heliotrope |
devotion and faithfulness |
| hibiscus |
delicate beauty |
| holly |
enchanment and foresight |
| honesty |
honesty and sincerity |
| honeysuckle |
generousity and devoted
affection, bonds of love and sweetness of disposition |
| hyacinth |
generally means playfulness,
in particular white ones mean loveliness and blue ones mean
constancy |
| iris |
burning love, hidden
message and compliments |
| ivy |
good luck, eternal fidelity,
happiness, friendship and marriage |
| ivy geranium |
fidelity and bridal
flower |
| japonica |
white ones mean loveliness |
| jasmine |
yellow ones mean grace
and elegance, white ones mean amiability and Spanishpnes mean
sensuality |
| jonquil (variety of daffodil) |
affection desired and
returned |
| lemon blossom |
fidelity in love |
| lavender |
distrust |
| lilac |
mauve ones mean youthful
innocence and white ones mean first emotions of love |
| lily |
generally means purity
and chastity, while pink ones mean talent, white ones mean purity
and modesty and regal ones mean majesty |
| lily of the valley |
happiness and the return
of it, promise, purity, unconscious sweetness and renewed happiness |
| magnolia |
perseverance of love
and nature |
| mallow |
consumed by love |
| marigold |
happiness and remebrance |
| marjoram |
blushes |
| mimosa |
friendship, sensitivity
and secret or sweet love |
| mint |
wisdom and virtue |
| mistletoe |
'I overcome difficulties' |
| moss |
maternal love |
| mugwart / sagebrush / wormwood |
luck and happiness,
love and fidelity |
| myrtle |
love, fertility, peace
and happiness |
| orange blossom |
chastity. fertility,
everlasting luck, virginity, happiness and your purity equals
your happiness |
| orchid |
beauty and a belle (handsome
woman) |
| pansy |
think of me and you
occupy my thoughts |
| parsley |
rejoice |
| passion flower |
belief and faith |
| peach blossom |
captive |
| poppy |
scarlett ones mean fantastic
extravangance |
| primrose |
early youth
|
| rhododendron |
true to the end and
temperance |
| rose |
generally means romance,
love, happiness and beauty. im particular, red ones mean romantic
love, 'I love you' and will bring happiness and white ones mean
purity, 'I am worthy of you', silence, innocence and worthiness
in general |
| rosebud |
pure and lovely |
| rosemary |
remebrance and faithfulness |
| sage |
I think of you, esteem,
strength, wisdom and domestic virtue |
| sea lavender / statice |
dauntlessness |
| snowdrop |
hope |
| speedwell / veronica |
fidelity |
| spindle tree |
your charms are engraved
upon my heart |
| stephanotis |
exotic travel |
| stock |
lasting beauty |
| sunflower |
adoration and summer
|
| sweet pea |
delicate pleasures,
departure and innocence |
| sweet william |
gallantry and delicate
pleasure |
| thyme |
activity |
| tuberose |
voluptuousness |
| tulip |
generally means fame
and love, in particular red ones mean love and declaration of
love, yellow ones mean hopeless love and variegated ones mean
beautiful eyes |
| violet |
modesty and faithfulnes
to the end |
| water lily |
purity of heart |
| wattle |
secret love and pure
love |
| white heather |
happiness and luck |
| whitethorn |
luck |
| wisteria |
I cling to you |
