Tulip Wedding Bouquets - 4 Critical Mistakes to Avoid

Current wedding surveys consistently rate tulip wedding bouquets as one of the three most popular wedding flowers globally (the other two being roses and calla lilies). If ever there was a prize awarded for the best all round wedding flower than tulips would definitely be a front runner.

Tulips are simple, beautiful, ornamental trumpet-shaped flowers that are not toxic in any way and come in a variety of wonderful colors (except for classic blue) in particular red, orange, white, yellow, pink, mauve and purple. Some are mildly scented although most are without any scent whatsoever.

Most of the commercial florals are imported from Holland or the Middle East, particularly in the spring. The size of the plant varies from very small, about 3 inches up to as high as 30 inches. This is a bulbous plant characterized by one flower per thick stem and large, green leaves.

Each effervescent flower has 6 sepals. These flowers do not have thorns and have a reasonably good longevity compared to other cut flowers. Tulip wedding flowers can be used in all kinds of bouquets either as a pure bouquet, as a mix of two or more types or colors of tulips or as a mix with other wedding flowers or greenery, for example hyacinth, camellias, calla lilies, peonies, roses, sweet peas and ranunculus all make excellent partners with tulips. Almost without exception tulips look sensational when paired with calla lilies.

These flowers need to be carefully managed, preferably in a cool environment, with adequate water (this is a thirsty plant) and with a minimum of physical handling to prevent or delay wilting. The flower is very temperature sensitive and will very easily open in warm ambient conditions and conversely close in cold ambient conditions. Even just transporting tulips in a car on a hot day with the windows closed will sometimes be enough to trigger the individual flowers into completely opening by the time your journey is complete.

When planning tulip flower arrangements one has to take into account the fact that an oddity about these wedding flowers is that they continues to grow once cut and put in water, and remarkably will sometimes grow as much as an additional two inches, a fact which sometimes lends itself to delaying making up the bouquet until as late as possible. These flowers can be used in virtually all wedding flower arrangements, and these picturesque, almost plastic-looking flowers are particular visually appealing in bouquets and centerpieces.

A word of caution for a bride with a white wedding dress is be careful with a tulip bridal bouquet in terms of the tulips pistils and stamens, (a similar concern when using lilies as wedding flowers), which can sometimes stain a wedding dress. Some florists as a precaution will gently remove the pistils and stamens from a tulip when the flower opens using tissue paper to avoid any risk of staining.

In terms of tulip wedding arrangements the following classic pitfalls need to be avoided at all costs:

• The plant is characterized as having a long, thick stem unusually, although not exclusively, with only one bloom per stem. What is not always appreciated is that the stems are hollow and quite delicate. When physically handling the stems one has to be careful not to be overly robust, as the stems will easily kink or snap.


• These are thirsty plants and need water to be sustained. Once you take receipt of your tulips, you need to immediately get the plants into water and preferably position them in a cool, shady area. Before making up your bouquet, ensure you hydrate your tulips overnight. To avoid premature wilting, do not expose tulips to direct sunlight or overly warm, ambient conditions


• Once cut, tulips will continue to grow and can grow as much as a further two inches. This is an odd characteristic of the plant and you need to take this into consideration when constructing your bouquet. Two strategies to counteract this phenomenon are to either leave the composition of the bouquet as late as possible, or alternatively make up the bouquet to accommodate this extrapolated growth


• If a red light spells danger, than a daffodil spells death. Avoid at all costs designing a tulip wedding bouquet using a daffodil as the alternative flower. Daffodils can exude a sap under certain circumstances which is toxic to tulips and could potentially contaminate the tulips.

Above all enjoy your tulips, and have fun in making up your bouquets. Pink and white specimens in a wedding bouquet can be remarkably visually stunning and uniquely feminine. After all a wedding is about enjoyment and celebration, and if ever a tulip symbolized an emotion, it unquestionably would be happiness. If you took one memory away from your wedding, I suspect you would choose happiness.