The Amaranthus Effect!

Any florist who currently takes wedding bookings would be hard pushed to ignore the change in styles that is evident this year, and only set to take a stronger hold over the next two years. 

The days of loose, wispy wildflower bouquets is waning and in its place are structured cascading bouquets with a modern twist, bridesmaid’s bouquets are smaller, ultra-modern and a few varieties of flowers are featuring over and over again in images coming over from the USA and Australia.

Everywhere you look bouquets are full of phalaenopsis orchids, anthuriums, reflexed roses and AMARANTHUS…… Huge green ropes dripping down the front of lace dresses, deep ruby red cords caressing plain silk gowns, it is almost impossible to find a current wedding bouquet without this flower front and centre. The result of this is that this absolute must-have flower has literally tripled in price since last year!

The difficulty (and dare I say it skill) in being a florist is predicting these trends, seeing them coming in the far distance and pivoting your business to accept the trend and find a way to absorb the costs, without trimming margins.  These are not budget- friendly bouquets, every single one of the flowers I have mentioned command a premium price and for good reason, but brides are often completely oblivious to this facts. 

I always feel that education is key and that it is our job as the expert to prepare our couples for the shock that is sometimes the realistic pricing of certain bouquets. This year I have seen that many bridesmaids are carrying single flowers or having wrist corsages, which is a good way to accommodate the increased cost of one of these bridal bouquets.

The number of buttonholes and corsages is also being trimmed to allow for bigger spends elsewhere. Now, we would all like our couples to have the premium bouquet and all the other accoutrements, but it is always better in my book to be prepared to find a way to help them achieve their look in a realistic way. This makes them want to book you and no other florist, with a view to you making the most profit you can and hopefully get them to recommend you to their family and friends as a bonus.

I always feel it is better to prepare for this change in tastes and fashion and think through how you will use it to your advantage. Offering workable solutions in my experience is the best advertisement for your expertise and customer service and worth way more than any advertising budget.

Let’s face it, we have all been here before; the list of flowers that have been de rigeur and then lost their shine is endless. Sometimes it makes you scratch your head in wonder; blushing bride protea (Serruria florida), thlaspi, Leonardis roses (for those of us who can remember the 1990s) butterfly ranunculus to name a few.  This latest trend for amaranthus will no doubt stay for a couple of years before we move onto the next shiny new thing. In the mean time, anyone know how easy amaranthus is to grow?

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Viv Bradford trained in West Germany in the late 1980s before returning to the UK, where she has pursued many roles in the industry from running retail premises, teaching floristry, working in wholesale, business coaching florists and running an award-winning studio florist specialising in weddings. Viv also created and runs Facebook group The Floristry Geek for students and those new to the industry which concentrates on educational content.