What is a royal wedding without the incredible display of flowers? It’s no secret that the arrangements that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are beyond any expectation. Do you know the history behind their selections? Read more to learn about the amazing and detailed decisions the royal couple made for their big day!
Months ahead of the wedding, Harry and Meghan selected the London florist Phillipa Craddock (pictured below) and began the creative process of designing arrangements. Phillipa created her arrangements utilizing Ferns, Myrtle Greenery, David Austin English white garden roses, Lily of the Valley, Forget-Me-Nots, Sweet Peas, Astilbe, Jasmine and Astrantia.
As the coveted day began, the first image we all saw were the flowers and foliage embellished the West door of St. George’s Chapel (HOW TALL IS THIS ENTRANCE). These incredibly chic arches welcoming hundreds of guests to this iconic royal wedding were created using a lot of ferns, myrtle greenery and David Austin English white garden roses. We are in absolute awe of this grand entrance and would love to re-create it someday for a lucky bride!
Meghan’s bouquet was a bit underwhelming (below), but it was perfectly suited for her gown and overall bridal look. Meghan went with a very respectful and conservative look for her wedding day and although her bouquet matched in every way, it also included a few traditions worth mentioning. Lily of the Valley flowers are incredibly expensive and were also Diana, Princess of Wale’s favorite flower. Meghan’s bouquet also consisted of Forget-Me-Nots, hand picked by her then soon-to-be husband (How cute!) and also included a sprig of Myrtle. Myrtle is a royal tradition that dates back to 1858 When Queen Victoria plucked them out of her own garden and put them in her daughter’s, Princess Victoria, bouquet. Now Queen Victoria’s garden, being over 170 years old, is still a symbol of the royal tradition and has been kept ever since.
We’d also like to note that although Flower girl crowns is a time-honored tradition, we love how cute these little girls look!
Live coverage of the ceremony continued and our hearts skipped a beat when they panned into St. George’s chapel. It was the most magical and whimsical sight of floral arches that we’ve ever seen! This design gave the ceremony a fresh and modern regal feel.
As newlyweds, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex walked down the steps of the St. George’s chapel looking of complete wedding bliss. We think their exit together was even more grand than Meghan’s entrance!
After everything regal and traditional that day, our favorite part of the royal flowers is when Harry and Meghan decided to donate their expensive flowers to a nearby Hospice in London. We love that they took an extra moment to do something for the Hospice patients in order to uplift their spirits. We’ve donated recycled flowers to Hospice patients for many years and love the feeling that we get when we know our flowers are being recycled for a better cause. “Today we got a very special delivery. Beautiful bouquets made from the #royalwedding flowers which we gave to our patients,” staff wrote on the page. “A big thank you to Harry and Meghan and florist Philippa Craddock. Our hospice smells and looks gorgeous. Such a lovely gesture.”
