Fragrance is a pretty personal thing. Your wedding should be an affair to remember with floral decor that is a feast for the eyes, but you want to be wary of coming on too strong with scents. Especially when it comes to centerpieces. It may be tempting to fill the room with classic blooms of gardenias or lily of the valley, but strong smells at the table can irritate your guests’ allergies and even cause foods to taste differently so in my book they should be avoided or their use should be limited. This goes for scented candles as well. Pumpkin spice may seem like a nice idea when you are planning your fall wedding in Vermont, but your guests may not agree.
What smells sweet to some can seem absolutely putrid to others. Stargazer lilies are a great example (sorry to pick on ya’ girls) because their fragrance can either fill a room with a natural perfume or give you an instant odor headache. A few other fragrant flowers that tend to have strong scents are gardenia, lily of the valley, hyacinth, freesia, peonies, allium and tuberose. I know someone who is even allergic to lilacs and cannot be within feet of them–you never know! So give your guests a break and reserve the fragrant flowers for your bouquet!
Below left: This white freesia was one of the nicest stems of the summer! There are 5 or 6 flowers blooming all at once which is basically ideal for me when I am arranging a bridal bouquet. I like this shot because it includes my favorite vase from Frog Hollow. It was given to me after I successfully executed the set-up of the owner’s daughter’s wedding at a flower shop I was working at almost 9 years ago! It almost felt like an award! Below right: Lily of the valley with hosta leaves and fresh mint in a mason jar just screams Vermont Spring!
