The Four Types of Flowers You can Use to Create Your own Wedding Bouquets

When you create wedding bouquets or arrangements, you will be working with different types of flowers. We classify flowers into 4 different design shapes. Using a variety of these design shapes in your creates more visual interest. These 4 shapes are line, form, mass, and filler.

Line Flowers
Line flowers create the shape or the backbone of your wedding bouquets. They define the height, the width, and the depth of your design. They are generally tall stems with many or several blossoms along the stem. Usually the bottom blossoms bloom before the top ones.

These flowers are usually used first when creating your bouquets because they define the shape and provide the framework that you will design within. They can be straight, curved, or even bent into a sharp corner. Line flowers create the visual pathways that your eyes follow when they travel from your focal point to the outer edges of your bouquet and then back again.

Some examples of line flowers are liatris, snapdragon, delphinium, gladiolus, larkspur and even cattails.

Form Flowers
Form flowers are very distinct in their shape or form. They are the focal point of your design and are often placed right at or very near the rim of your container. Usually you would only use a few of them and that's a goo thing because they tend to be quite expensive.

Some examples of form flowers are lilies, birds of paradise, anthuriums, calla lilies and protea.

Mass Flowers
Mass flowers add mass to an arrangement. They generally have a single rounded blossom at the top of one stem. Because of their size and shape, they add volume and weight to your bouquets. If you decide to skip the more expensive form flowers and just go with mass flowers, be sure to use different colors and sizes an insert them at different angles and depths to create visual appeal.

Examples of some mass flowers are zinnias, roses, carnations, gerberas, and chrysanthemums.

Filler Flowers
Filler flowers are the "background noise" of your bridal bouquet. They have lots of small flowers coming from one stem. They are used to fill up empty spaces and are always tucked in behind the other flowers. They should never stick past. They are there to showcase the other flowers, not themselves.

Be careful not to use too many of these or your design will look too crowded. Not every arrangement or bouquet even needs filler flowers. Sometimes your creation looks great without them. They are the last flowers to be added, and they are only added if they are needed.

Some examples of filler flowers include baby's breath, caspia, statice, bouvardia, wax flowers,and heather.

When you create your own wedding bouquets

start with your line flowers to build the framework
then add your form flowers to establish your focal point
place your mass flowers to support your focal point
fill in the gaps with your filler flowers if necessary

If you use all 4 types of flowers, you will create more visual interest, making your bridal bouquets more beautiful.

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