Wedding photography portraits of assorted floral bride and bridesmaids bouquets

The bouquet or "bunch of flowers" is a Middle French word which only recently—during the mid 19th century—appeared in its current usage.

In antiquity, the floral bouquet was a symbol of both fertility and good luck. For the ancient Romans, the fragrance of flora, and more specifically herbs like garlic and dill, were thought to protect the bride from evil spirits. Certain flowers were also tokens of good luck. Even the bride herself was once considered an auspicious symbol. In a time long passed, superstition held that you could obtain some of the bride’s good fortune by tearing off a piece of her dress as a talisman. As it turned out, not many brides were thrilled to have their dresses torn to shreds. Brides instead began to throw their bouquets as a generous gesture of sharing their good luck with other unmarried maidens.

The association of specific flowers and herbs with symbolic meanings originated in Asia and the Middle East. For example, flowers such as the lotus held sacred meaning and were associated with specific deities and spirituality. Transposition of these ideas, which later came to be known as floriography in the west became fashionable in the Victorian era, and thus began the practice of floral arrangement for bridal bouquets containing specific flowers imbued with meaning for the bride and groom.

While modern wedding floral arrangements are selected mostly for aesthetic purposes, usually highlighting specific color palettes and preferences of the couple, we still retain many symbolic associations with specific flowers. Take, for instance, the famous balcony scene in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet: “That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet.” From Elizabethan England, to Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, nothing holds quite the symbolic weight of romance and passion like the rose.

This entry is part of an ongoing series exploring the history of modern wedding traditions.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Check out our wedding history page!

Palm Springs and Boston wedding photographer Todd Danforth Photography is an LGBTQ+ and POC-owned wedding photography team specializing in capturing joyful and candid moments. As storytellers and craftspeople, we believe in the power of visual narratives. Our mission is to create honest and authentic photographs you can share with your loved ones for generations to come.