The best SEPTEMBER wedding flowers in the Pacific Northwest
LOCALLY GROWN FALL WEDDING FLOWERS FOR SEPTEMBER
We know that the details of wedding planning can quickly get overwhelming - especially when it comes to choosing flowers! There are so many beautiful flowers and inspiration images, but how are you supposed to know what is blooming when?! After a full season of flower farming in 2020, we love helping clients know exactly what to expect. We love talking about seasonal and local flowers, so this week, we wanted to share some of our favorite locally grown wedding flowers for September! Weddings in September have the benefit of occurring when so many things are blooming, the possibilities are endless! Here are some of the best wedding flowers for September weddings, in our experience.
DAHLIAS (YET AGAIN)
Tired of dahlias yet? We still find ourselves totally enamored with them! Dahlias are such a reliable local flower for us, from July to October - the plants continue to produce beautiful blooms month after month. As the weather cools, many dahlias begin to take on slightly different colors, like these Cafe au Lait dahlias that were cut in September. Throughout the month, you can watch them go from a brighter pink to a beautiful blush, and then this neutral taupe tone. It's the perfect wedding flower for September! And beyond Cafe au Lait dahlias, you can find hundreds of other varieties for any wedding color palette. For example, in this wedding, we used pink, white, coral, gold, and burgundy dahlias. No flower is more versatile or useful during the many months of wedding season!
Photo: Lydia Brewer Photography
ZINNIAS
Zinnias love the heat, and they are absolute perfection in late summer and early fall! With such bright cheery faces, we love the sweetness and personality they add to any arrangement. They come in a wide variety of warm colors, from bright yellows to more sophisticated salmons, greens, and wines. Zinnias can also be single-petaled or double-petaled, with a wide variety of sizes and shapes. For example, in the bouquet above, both the small white flower and the big salmon flower are zinnias! They can make any bouquet or arrangement feel a bit more wild and garden-inspired. Zinnias are wonderful wedding flowers for September, especially paired with grasses for a wildflower look. The best part? They grow easily, and the pollinators love them, too!
RUDBECKIA (AGAIN)
As we get more into true fall, rudbeckia flowers continue to impress. They are the perfect bridge between summer and fall, and make an appearance in most of our weddings this time of year! Their warm fall tones pair beautifully with the blushy, neutral tones that make an appearance in most September weddings. I was so impressed with them last summer, I even wrote a love letter to rudbeckia hirta. We love the variations in shapes, petal counts, colors, and forms. Every bunch of rudbeckia that we cut or bring in from our local growers surprises and delights us. I also love using them for their dark center, which is rare. Just look at how beautifully they contrast with the Cafe au Lait dahlias in the centerpiece below! They are really at their best in August and September, and I love using them for weddings with more earthy palettes.
Photo: Ariena Photography
SCABIOSA
Photo: Missy Palacol Photography
Don’t let the ugly name fool you! Scabiosa are a beautiful flower that we love to tuck into September wedding arrangements. Each flower adds the perfect airy, light detail to any wedding floral design. Inserted correctly, they float above other flowers and add bounce, movement, and lightness to designs. In the photo above, you can see small white scabiosa flowers floating over the middle and left sides of the bouquet. In addition, scabiosa come in a huge variety of colors, from dark burgundy to pure white, and have surprisingly strong stems for how small they are. If left uncut, they also form amazing seed pods that can be used to add texture and whimsy. One variety, scabiosa stellata, makes these amazing grey pods after they flower. How cool are these little pods!? I love using scabiosa to make a design feel more magical, no matter what form they are in.
HYDRANGEA
We love hydrangeas any time of the year, but September is when they start to get truly special. The white hydrangea that our local growers provide in September slowly turns into a blushy, fluffy dreamscape. We source all sorts of different shapes and forms, from conical panicles to big fluffy pillows. And the color variation astounds us - from perfectly white, to green, to blush, and everything inbetween. It's hard to beat hydrangea in September! We also love the blue hydrangea this month, because instead of being a bright blue, they begin turning into an opalescent, magical "antique" color. These heads are beautiful fresh or dried, and retain this stunning look in both forms! No matter which varieties we choose, we consistently love using hydrangea as wedding flowers for September!
SNOWBERRIES
A native plant to the Pacific Northwest, snowberries provide the perfect texture to use in all of our late summer and early fall weddings. They come in both white and blush, and our local growers have some of the most gorgeous stems available in the world! We love using them in personal flowers, like this floral necklace worn by the bride. The individual berries are the perfect size for jewelry-making, but we also use the full, berry-laden branches in centerpieces and bouquets. We love how much dimension and texture they add to our fall wedding designs! We also love that as a native plant, they are less resource-intensive for our growers, and provide food and habitat for all sorts of birds and critters.
PLANNING YOUR FALL WEDDING DESIGN
Your florist should know what flowers are locally available and in season for your wedding month. (And if they cannot answer this…RUN!) After a full season of flower farming in 2020, we are more dedicated to local flowers than ever, especially as we continue to witness COVID’s impacts on the global supply chain. During the pandemic, florists relying on cheap imported flowers have routinely been forced to scramble, substitute, and use inferior products due to these issues. Prioritizing local flowers means that we can always make sure our clients have the best of what is available that season, that month, or even that week! And we work closely with dozens of our farm friends to make sure we can execute your vision beautifully and ethically.
GETTING MARRIED IN SEPTEMBER?
We know wedding planning can be overwhelming, with so many flower choices and inspiration images. That’s why we love helping our couples articulate their vision so they can have the wedding of their dreams, and give their guests an experience they won’t forget. And our books are now open for September weddings in 2022! If you are ready to have the lowest stress you can possibly have when it comes to flowers, let's chat! You can click below to inquire and we'll get back to you as quickly as possible. We can't wait to meet you!