Sharing my favorite wedding flowers that we grow on the farm. While we grow many flowers for weddings, these are my Top 12 Favorites (and it was hard to narrow it down that much).

As flower growers, I think we have SUCH and advantage when it comes to creating wedding flowers. When I started, I had no idea we would get into wedding flowers. It started by request, but I had a major a-ha moment realizing what an advantage flower growers have: Access! Not only access to premium, high quality blooms, but FRESH blooms.

Florists are often at the mercy of supply chains and shipping product, all which can have a major impact on quality. Florists are some of my favorite people to work with, but gosh have I learned a lot about the industry and how tough it can be for them.

The ability to harvest flowers for an event is such a major advantage. Not only do you have a wide array to choose from, but because the blooms are so fresh, they can often be stored over a long period of time. You can also choose to grow varieties that not only store for long time or flower for a long time (or both), but you can also pick varieties that have multiple design applications.

You’ll find that almost every flower on my must-grow wedding flowers list has many of these things in common. They are beautiful, yes, but most of them flower over a long season, can be hoarded in the cooler for events, and are multi-faceted for design work. Let’s GO!

Dahlias

Dahlias are a forever favorite wedding flower! The number one reason I love dahlias for wedding work is because as a grower, once they are blooming they keep on blooming! As long as you understand when dahlias bloom for your climate, they are super reliable over a long harvest period. For example, they are usually reliably blooming from August through October in our climate.

Of course, that wouldn’t matter if they were not drop dead gorgeous–which they are! Dahlias come in an almost endless array of forms, sizes, and color palettes. Whenever a couple’s date is during dahlia season, my stress on hitting the color palette is lowered. Also, dahlias just have that wow factor! A wedding full of Café au Laits? Yes, please! Where do I sign up?

Similarly, you don’t need to worry about what varieties to grow each season once you have built up your collection. That’s because dahlias are like the gift that keeps on giving! After their season is over, you can dig up that dahlia clump, divide it into more dahlia tubers, and now you have even more plants–it’s like magic.

For design, dahlias are extremely versatile due to their endless forms and sizes. They can serve as focal flowers, supporting flowers, and work well in arrangements, bouquets, and wearables.

To learn more about growing dahlias, check out Plant Profile: Dahlias.

Delphinium

Blue is more rare in the flower world, and there’s no denying the beauty of delphinium’s perfect soft blue/lavender or icy pink palette! Whenever I have a couple ask for “slight” blue/purple, I know this is what they mean (and their Pinterest board confirms it). Delphinium makes the top of my list not only for it’s wow factor and rare color palette, but also because it’s florets are fabulous out of water, making it perfect for wearables. Whenever I can use a flower across multiple design categories, sign me up. Despite it’s delicate appearance, it also handles floral glue like a charm. And here again: great bang for your buck because there are numerous useable florets on one stem!

Iceland Poppies

This might be the *one* flower on this list that I do not use across the board (though breadseed poppy pods are super cute in wearables). However, poppy flowers are so magical in arrangements and bridal bouquets, it is an absolute must on my list! Those bendy stems and tissue-paper blooms are a designer’s dream. Their wonky stems are perfect for weaving into arrangements and bridal bouquets. I adore a poppy moment and prefer to have them floating above like they’re dancing. You only need a few to add a whole lot of movement.

To learn more about growing poppies, check out Plant Profile: Iceland Poppies.

Feverfew

I adore plants that are floriferous and offer a lot for their growing space (and per stem). While I think feverfew has a particular vibe, I’ll use it in most wedding designs unless the couple specifically wants a traditional, classic look and no yellow. For me, most of our clients are looking for the following: garden-style, romantic, vintage, boho, wildflower, etc. And feverfew fits the bill on ALL of the above. It can also be used in all categories: perfect for creating flower pillows in arrangements, dancing in bridal bouquets, and can be used out of water and with floral glue.

To learn more about growing feverfew, check out Plant Profile: Feverfew.

Lisianthus

Whether or not you do weddings, lisianthus is a must grow for all flower farmers in my book! They are tough as nails despite their delicate appearance, have an extremely long vase life, and unending applications. You can space them super close together when planting, and each stem has multiple blooms!

If I wasn’t delusional in my first year flower farming, I probably would have never grown them. However, I am glad I did, because our customers go crazy for them. And then I learned how amazing they are for wedding work.

Here again, we can use lisianthus across multiple design applications: arrangements, bouquets, wearables, installations. Lisianthus are so tough, I’ve found a stem I dropped in the field overnight, and it was still looking amazing.

Also, with all those blooms per stem, they are another great bang for you buck. I leave premium stems for retail customers and florists. For design, I am going to split them up anyway, so I’ll use the less full ones. The buds are also perfection for wearables.

Another bonus is their long vase life, which means you have an even longer period of usability and storage for weddings. While we want our retail customers to have the longest vase life possible, there’s a lot more wiggle room with weddings because the flowers really only need to look good for the event. Though we certainly love when our couples send us a message a week after their wedding and the flowers still look good! The point is that if you need to, you can hoard lisianthus for a wedding (I wouldn’t be afraid to keep them in the cooler for a few weeks).

To learn more about growing lisianthus, check out Plant Profile: Lisianthus.

Peonies

Peonies are a premium wedding flower and often super sentimental for folks. They have a fabulous scent and that real wow factor in arrangements and bouquets. You might think of peonies exclusively as a focal flower, but their side buds are perfect for wearables (especially bouts, easy value add).

For the farmer florist, I love peonies for their storage. They can be stored dry in the cooler for weeks, meaning you can easily hoard them for weddings. While they can take a few years to mature, they are a tough-as-nails perennial that will provide you with many blooms for years to come.

They are also in season during a really popular time for weddings (we were completely booked this June with weddings), but also a time when other flowers are scarce. They are worth it for the time and investment every single time.

To learn more about growing peonies, check out Plant Profile: Peonies. Also, we share a portion of our bare root peonies every year for our fall sale. As an FFY member, you get a *major* discount: FFY25 for 25% off (corms and bulbs too)! I’m working on a preview now, as we’re aiming for sale in August, so be sure you’re on our newsletter.

Ranunculus

Their season is fleeting, but they are just so juicy! I wish I could have ranunculus all season long, because they are so good for weddings. I use them across the board in design: Arrangements, bouquets, and wearables. They are another flower that does really well with floral glue.

And they are popular with just about everyone! They often get the most comments, and it’s easy to see why with those layers and layers of petals, so romantic. They also come in the best palettes, from soft pastels, swoon-worthy blushes, to dreamy salmons/peaches, dusty mauves, and even chocolate–something for everyone. Ranunculus have a long vase life, and can definitely be hoarded in the cooler for an event. I hoarded hundreds of ranunculus for weeks for our June weddings with zero issue.

To learn more about growing ranunculus, check out Plant Profile: Ranunculus. Also, we share a portion of our rununculus and anemone corms every year for our fall sale. As an FFY member, you get a *major* discount: FFY25 for 25% off (bare roots and bulbs too)! I’m working on a preview now, as we’re aiming for sale in August, so be sure you’re on our newsletter.

Roses

When I first started growing roses, I thought I was being completely impractical. They are not exactly known for growing well in my cold climate and I had no idea I would do weddings. A strange turn of events led to me planting them in our high tunnel. Premium space, like what was I thinking? This was before their were courses about growing roses in high tunnels in colder climates. This was just completely on a whim.

And I’m SO glad I did. I fully believe that each of us has something inside of us that already knows where we’re headed, if we can only tune in and listen (higher self, intuition, God, whatever you want to call it).

What I thought was impractical has actually become a small patch of heaven that I constantly cut off of. I’ve even gotten braver and started using them much more in market bouquets (and our customers love them).

While roses are still newer to me, I adore them for weddings. From their scent to an impossible number of petals in the softest palettes. I especially love the David Austins for wedding flowers. They can be woven into arrangements and wedding bouquets. My stems are not as thick and strong like what you get wholesale, but I personally find they have a lot of character. Buds can be used for wearables (and I’ll even use some of outdoor shrub buds for this too).

While you can only store roses for about a week if harvested at the proper stage, I pushed this for my sister’s wedding, hoarding about 100+ roses. I knew I would be there in case any got sad, but most surprisingly held up perfectly. On the other hand, roses can bloom over a reallllly long period. Easily from May/June through fall in our climate, depending on variety.

To learn more about growing roses, check out Plant Profile: Roses.

Scabiosa

This one might come as a surprise, but hear me out. Here again, this small flower gives a mighty bang for your buck (I think I need a new phrase). Scabiosa’s delicate stems add a lot of playful movement and are really easy to weave into arrangements and designs for that finishing touch. They have such a garden-style vibe. Flower heads can also be used in wearables (I especially love the immature flower heads). Scabiosa also cranks out flowers over a long period. If you’re fond of them, I’d check out the Scoop Scabiosa from Farmer Bailey.

To learn more about growing scabiosa, check out Plant Profile: Scabiosa.

Stock

Stock is such a staple in my wedding design work, I wish I could have it all season long. Those clusters of frilly flowers add such a romantic touch. They come in the best shades and I adore their clove scent. Their stems are sturdy, making them perfect for bridal bouquets (and market bouquets). They can also serve as the pillow of flowers at the base of arrangements that I just love. They also hold up out of water and the florets work really well with floral glue for wearables. I love the way that the frilly florets fill in the gaps.

To learn more about growing stock, check out Plant Profile: Stock.

Strawflower

Really, all dried flowers are a farmer-florist’s best friend when it comes to weddings! But if I had to pick one, it would be strawflowers. They are another flower I find a lot of people comment on. While they can certainly be used in arrangements and bouquets, they really shine in wearables. Whether you use them fresh or dried from season’s past, they HOLD UP. I am still using strawflower from years ago in my wearables. One thing to be aware of, though, is that when they are refrigerated (even if they are dried from years ago), their petals will close up. This is OK, they will open up again once they warm up (I include a note about this in our instructions for couples, which you can find here).

Yarrow

Last, but not least (this list is alphabetical), is yarrow! You’ve likely realized by now that I love floriferous plants. They are so sweet and romantic, and I really love flowery designs. What I mean by that is designs that look really lush but delicate, more flowers than foliage. Where some might use foliage to create structure, I prefer elements like yarrow and stock. Once again, they create those romantic pillows of flowers throughout the base of design. While I tend to use yarrow more in bouquets and arrangements, they can be used in wearables if they are mature enough and properly hydrated.

If you want to learn more about growing yarrow, check out Plant Profile: Yarrow.

Could you see yourself growing wedding flowers? Would any of these make your list? Did I mis something you cannot live without?! I’d love to know!