Flowers and Seasonality
After you have figured out the style of your wedding and what sorts of floral designs you will need, you should sit down with a florist. Depending on the time of year, the types of flowers that will be available for your wedding will vary. The seasonality of your flowers will really affect the bottom line of your floral design contract as well. What does seasonality mean in the wedding industry? It means that certain flowers are only available at certain times of the year here in the United States. However, many popular floral designs today include flowers from all over the world — especially Canada, South America, Holland, and New Zealand.
Here is a simple guide to seasonality and colors available for each season and the most popular varieties of flowers. Always be sure to ask your local florist for other possibilities as this is by no means an exhaustive list with the thousands of varieties of flowers that are in the world!
Flower Name |
Colors Available* |
Months Available |
Peony |
Pink, white, red, yellow, and peach |
May and June (some varieties are available from Israel and Holland during winter months at a much higher price) |
Rose |
Every color except blue |
Available year round |
Tulips |
Every color except blue |
Winter through spring |
Anemones |
White, red, pink, and purple |
Spring and fall from various locations around the world |
Calla Lilies |
Every color — except blue — in the mini variety; white and green in the large variety |
Available year round |
Gardenias |
White and pink |
Late spring through summer |
Stephanotis |
White |
Available year round |
Hydrangea |
White, pink, blue, green, antique mix of green/red, and purple/blue |
Available year round in various varieties and countries |
Chrysanthemums |
Every color except blue |
Fall is when they are most abundant, but available year round in various varieties |
Snapdragons |
White, pink, orange, burgundy, and yellow |
Available year round from various countries |
Delphinium |
White, pink, blue (dark and light), purple, and lavender |
Available year round in various varieties and countries |
Freesia |
White, pink, red/orange, lavender, yellow, and cream |
Available year round in various varieties and countries |
Hyacinth |
White, pink, purple, yellow, orange, lavender, red, and orange; the Grape Hyacinth variety comes in white, blue, and green |
Winter through spring |
Sweet Pea |
Purple, white, pink, red, peach, and yellow |
Winter through spring |
Lily of the Valley |
White |
Spring |
Sunflowers |
Yellow |
Summer through fall |
Orchids |
Every color except blue |
Available year round |
Dahlias |
White, pink, red, orange, burgundy, and yellow |
Summer through fall |
Larkspur |
White, blue, lavender, purple, and pink |
Summer through fall |
Carnations |
Every color except blue |
Year round |
Daffodil |
Yellow, white, and yellow/orange |
Spring |
*Many flowers can be dyed with special floral dyes. Only natural colors are listed in this table.
Perhaps you want to pick certain flowers for your wedding that convey a special meaning. Below is a list of some popular flowers and the symbolism they represent:.
Floral Meaning
Flower |
Meaning |
Chrysanthemum |
Love |
Daisy |
Innocence |
Forget-me-not |
True love |
Gardenia |
Secret love |
Iris |
Affection |
Ivy |
Fidelity |
Lily |
Majesty |
Lily-of-the-valley |
Happiness |
Rose (red) |
Love |
Rose (pink) |
Perfect happiness; gratitude |
Rose (yellow) |
Friendship; joy |
Rose (white) |
Innocence; purity |
Rose (peach) |
Desire |
Rosebuds |
Beauty; youth |
Rosemary |
Fidelity |
Violet |
Modesty |
