Floral Focus: Stephanotis Wedding Flowers

Delicate and wondrously fragrant, the star-shaped flowers of the tropical stephanotis symbolise happiness – what better message to get across on the biggest day of your life. As part of our floral focus series, florist Liz Inigo Jones from Blue Sky Flowers reveals why stephanotis has become such a popular wedding flower…

Deliciously fragrant, Stephanotis is a relatively expensive, all-white flower which is intrinsically linked with luxury and glamour. The buds used are quite small and delicate, so an entirely Stephanotis bouquet would be spectacular and expensive but would smell amazing!

For a truly luxurious bouquet or arrangement, mix stephanotis with pure white roses – a crisp white rose such as Norma Jean or Tibet would be perfect. Team it with a dash of dark green foliage and smooth ivory satin ribbon to add an eyecatchingly lavish dimension.

The stephanotis is incredibly popular for weddings and wedding buttonholes because it’s so delicate and because of its fragrance. The scent of its flowers is sublime; it is similar to Jasmine but its flowers are much larger and stronger, although they must be handled with care to avoid bruising. Stephanotis is very sought after, particularly for bouquets and buttonholes.

Its glossy green leaves and star-shaped flowers make it super versatile; use the whole plant as a potted centrepiece on tables, wire the vines on which the flowers grow, as part of a floral arbour or archway; and incorporate the buds and green foliage into perfect little buttonholes.

If you like the idea of keeping the flowers to enjoy after the wedding, then go for using stephanotis plants either on the tables or within your ceremony displays. You can then be re-pot them after your wedding and enjoy them for years to come – a perfect memory of your wedding day!

If you’re buying the stephanotis yourself, make sure you source them from a good garden centre; if, however, you are using a wedding florist to order them in, be sure to request that the plants are ‘showing colour’ in time to open for your wedding date. Only buy stephanotis plants that have healthy, glossy leaves with the flowers either just about to open or perfectly open (depending on how close it is to your wedding date).

Blue Sky Flowers

Following a career creating striking adverts and promotions for the likes of Elle Decoration and The World of Interiors, Liz Inigo Jones turned her creative talents to flowers and set up Blue Sky Flowers. Sixteen years later, she has become known for creating magical floral designs, particularly for weddings. You can view her work here.

IMAGE CREDITS

Bridal Bouquets – L-R: Style Me Pretty, Snippet & Ink, St Judes Creations (stjudescreations.com)
Buttonholes – L-R: blog.mysanantonio.com, interflora, and colincowieweddings.com
Centrepieces – L-R: all via Pinterest,
Bridal Bouquets – L-R: Pinterest, The Knot