3 ways to make your wedding bouquet unique

One of the quintessential wedding day traditions, the bouquet toss is a nod to the past. The tradition has its roots in the idea that it was considered good luck if you could get hold of a piece of the bride's wedding dress. 

This was said to inspire a furious scuffle where guests would try to tear off a piece as a lucky souvenir. In order to mitigate this, the groom began to take off the garter to throw to the men, and the bride would toss her bouquet to the women. 

Today, many brides will carry their bouquet on their walk down the aisle, but not every one will do things the same way. Here are a few crafty ideas to customise your wedding flowers. 

Use unexpected foliage 

Everyone knows to expect the beautiful roses or peonies, but how about changing things up with an alternative, equally as striking floral arrangement? Martha Stewart Weddings suggests such ideas as anemones, aubergine dahlias, frilly kale leaves or even sprigs of berries to liven things up. 

Customise it 

Even if you've gone with more traditional flowers, you can still inject a little originality into the stem wrapping. Some brides like to carry their wedding dress accessories over to the bouquet with jewellery such as a brooch pinned to the ribbon or a necklace wrapped around the base. 

If you have any small souvenirs from special occasions or trips you and your other half have shared, there are plenty of ways to subtly tie them into the base of your bouquet for a sentimental touch.

Ditch the flowers 

While floral arrangements are stunning on the day, unfortunately they don't last forever, which is a problem if you were planning on holding onto your bouquet as a special keepsake. One way to get around this is by using quality silk flowers, or to step outside the box even further. 

Paper flowers can be made from prints of a book that is special to you and your partner, such as a poem or a the lyrics to a song. Other such ideas include incorporating sea shells, feathers and buttons into your arrangement. There are no rules as to what you should and shouldn't incorporate. 

To throw or not to throw? 

It's up to you! If you've gone out of your way to create a bouquet with special meaning, don't feel pressured to throw it to your waiting bridesmaids. If you don't want to skip it altogether, you can always have a simple second bouquet to toss over your shoulder.