Rachel of Euclid Design Co. selecting flowers at Broadside Flowers. Image by Frances Beatty Photography

Wedding flower vocabulary

Every job has them. Acronyms or terms that are used daily that make no sense to someone who doesn’t have experience with that type of work. It’s no different for florists and wedding flowers. There are many terms that are second nature to us that sound like gibberish to our clients. That can make the process of finding a florist and know what kind of arrangements you want for your wedding confusing. We’ve pulled together a few different common terms that you’ll likely encounter in your conversations with a florist — hopefully these will help make your first consultation smooth and straightforward!

Wedding Flower Terms

Tablescape
The creative design for reception tables that brings together floral arrangements, candles, table linens/table runner, and any other items such as dishware, utensils, glassware, and paper goods. A tablescape, like a landscape, is the plan for how all of these elements will come together.

S Harvest Tablescape by Ashley Elaine Florals, Planning by Amanda Jerome Events. Image by Frances Beatty Photography.

Personal flowers
Any flowers held by, or worn by, members of the wedding party and their family or friends. Personal flowers include the bridal bouquet, boutonnieres, wrist corsages, and hair flowers.

Bouquets by Euclid Design Co. Image by Frances Beatty Photography.

Boutonniere
From the French word for “button,” a boutonniere is a small floral ornament most often worn by a groom or groomsmen on their left lapel. However, anyone can wear a boutonniere. Boutonnieres can come in many shapes and sizes: spray, circular, greenery-only, you name it! Think of it as a teensy-tiny bouquet worn on your shirt, suit, or dress. Check out our past post on how to properly pin a boutonniere.

Boutonniere by Ashley Elaine Florals. Image by Frances Beatty Photography.

Floral installation
A floral design where flowers and greenery are built onto, into, or around a structure. For instance, a ground-based floral installation may involve creating a design where flowers are arranged to form a hedge-like shape that looks like it is growing from the ground up. A wall-based installation may mean attaching florals directly to a wall — though you definitely want to check with your venue before you do something like this! Floral installations often require more planning, design, materials, and labour than other wedding flowers, so this is likely to be reflected in the price of including one in your wedding budget.

Floral Installation by Euclid Design Co. Image by Daring Wanderer.

Room Flip / Breakdown or Strike
These ones refer to the setup process during the wedding day and at the end of it. Some venues will hold the ceremony and reception in the same space. Once the ceremony is finished, guests will often be moved to another area to have cocktails so the venue and the florist can ‘flip’ the room by moving the chairs and decor for the ceremony and setting up the room for the dinner reception. When a florist refers to breakdown or strike they are referring to returning to take down and remove any installations as well as pick up rentals either at the end of the evening or the following day.

Top: Euclid Design Co. working on copper pipe installation.
Bottom: Ashley Elaine Florals flipping room at Bear Estates venue. Images by Frances Beatty Photography.