An important part of wedding planning is to decide if you would like to have a wedding theme. Choosing a wedding theme is an increasingly popular wedding concept. It helps you to plan your décor, flowers and accessories that are in keeping with your choice and can help streamline and focus your wedding preparation.
From rustic to fairy tale or even tropical paradise themes, there are many different themes available to pick from. A themed wedding is a great way to express yourself through your big day and it can be used as an opportunity to have fun and be creative.
Your theme could be a natural fit for the location, setting or wedding venue or be consistent with the style of a chosen wedding dress or piece of family jewellery you are going to wear.
Once you have decided on your theme you can then choose flowers that are in keeping with it. This post considers the very popular and timeless rustic wedding theme with a focus on choosing the best flowers to suit this natural, earthy look.
Image by Nicole Sánchez
What Is A Rustic Wedding Theme?
Inspired by nature, the rustic wedding theme works especially well with ‘earthy’ settings and venues such as wineries, barns, on farms or in rural settings. Rustic settings foster images of rough sawn wood, rusted galvanised metal, lace and hessian. It suggests flowers that are wilder, free flowing and bouquets that are tied with long flowing ribbon or twine, where flowers do not look too arranged but more natural like they would be in nature.
What Kinds Of Flowers Suit A Rustic Theme?
The flower options for a rustic theme are as much about the presentation of the flowers as they are about the actual flowers used. Just about any flower or flower combination can be made to look rustic but there are some that really lend themselves to it. Specific flower types that are particularly well suited in the Australian context include many Australian native flowers as they have unique shapes, textures and tones that are ideal for a natural more earthy look.
1. Banksia
Banksia are Australian wild flowers with characteristic flower spikes and fruiting "cones" and heads. They come in many types, sizes and colours. They are usually a shade of yellow but they can also be orange, red, pink and even violet. There unusual shape makes them a great fit for rustic bouquets and arrangements and are often used often used as a feature flower as they can set the tone for the whole bouquet or arrangement.
2. Bottle Brush
Bottle brush is a very popular native Australian plant. They are so named because of their cylindrical, brush-like flowers that resemble a traditional bottle brush. The flowers come in the classic and striking bright red but also cream, yellow and pink. Their unusual and iconic shape make them a wonderful addition to a rustic bouquet or arrangement.
3. Waratah
Waratah is an iconic Australian bush flower and is one of the best known Australian native plants. The best known is the NSW state emblem and has bright red flowers – a striking flower and a great option for a feature flower for a wedding bouquet or arrangement.
4. Flannel Flower
This daisy-shaped Australian native flower is named because of the soft woolly feel of the plant. They are quite delicate and pretty flowers and add softness to bouquets and arrangements with their velvety white to cream flowers and silvery grey foliage.
5. Everlasting Daisies
Everlasting daisies are hardy Australian native flowers and come in a range of colours including red, white, pink and yellow. While complementing other Australian native flowers they add some softness and vibrant colour to rustic wedding bouquets and arrangements.
6. Billy Buttons
Billy buttons are yellow globe-like flowers that rise above foliage on skinny stems. Perfect to add a splash of yellow colour and texture to rustic bouquets and arrangements.
7. Flowering Gum
Flowering gum are native trees are hardy and easy to care for with aromatic gum leaves and flowers. Flowers are rich with nectar and colour with stamens held in cup-like bases. Flowering gum adds both colour and greenery to bouquets and arrangements and come in a range of vibrant colours including various reds, pinks, orange, yellow and white.
8. Wax Flowers
Wax flowers get their name from the waxy feel of the petals don’t get the accolades of the larger flowers like roses or peonies but their small size, delicacy and mild fragrance make them a fantastic option as a filler in corsages, bouquets and arrangements.
9. Gypsophila
Gypsophila is native to a few countries including Australia. It is commonly known as Baby’s Breath and has tiny delicate white petalled flowers that sit on top of fine green stems. It is a very popular flower choice at weddings to provide some softness and filler to bouquets and arrangements. It is a great choice for a rustic themed wedding as it looks fabulous in bouquets and arrangements or just on its own hung up in bunches or placed in vases, metal watering cans or rustic tins.
10. Eucalyptus
Commonly known as ‘Gum’ trees, there are over 600 species of native trees and shrubs and many provide excellent greenery or filler for wedding bouquets and arrangements. They are particularly suited to give them a more rustic, earthy look and complement other native flowers fabulously.
Other Flowers
It is important to mention that there are many other non-native flowers that will work well with a rustic themed wedding including the classic wedding flowers of peonies, tulips and roses. They can be used as feature flowers, combined with other non-native flowers then surrounded by lavish greenery such as ferns, ivy and grevillea all styled together to produce an overall wild, earthy look.
You can also mix non-native flowers with native flowers to bring a touch of softness and romance, the results can look amazing.
There are many different ways to achieve the rustic look - it just needs some research and imagination.
What Colour Flowers Work With A Rustic Theme?
There are many options you can choose that will work well with a rustic theme - it really is a personal choice. You may match the flower colours to the venue décor, your favourite colour or to match the bridesmaids dress colour.
You may choose to go with the bolder colours that natives can bring, add other bold colours into the mix or add softer pastel colours with roses or peonies.
Either option works well with the rustic theme which is really more about the style and presentation of flowers and less so about the specific flowers or actual colour mix used.
Final Thoughts
Wedding themes help you plan your décor, accessories and flowers. The rustic theme is a very popular choice and in the Australian context, natives are a great flower option as they provide a natural, more earthy look. Other non-native choices can also work well or they can be used in combination with natives with great impact.
We wish you all the best with your wedding planning! We hope that this article has given you some help and insight into the rustic wedding theme and what flowers work well with it.
If you would like more information about wedding flowers, please see our other articles/blogs below:
How Much Do Wedding Flowers Cost?
When To Order Flowers For Your Wedding
13 Ways To Save Money On Your Wedding Flowers
Want To Know More?
If you are looking for long-lasting wedding flowers that you can keep for years after your wedding day, feel free to enquire about our wedding flower packages. Here at Milla Rose, our expertise is in dried and preserved wedding flowers and we offer a range of options to suit your needs. Click here to enquire now.