Flower and Bone Wedding
The ideal setting for a Flower and Bone wedding theme is described below as “a dense mix of refinement and decay, blooming and fading, tender and rough.” That brings to mind multiple locales for wedding venues and after party locales.
Dark, yet mystical and cool yet, entirely warm – the possibilities are endless. But if you want to know where to start as you plan a Flower and Bone wedding, take our suggestions to heart. Enjoy the planning process!
Details for a Flower and Bone Wedding
The Flower and Bone wedding theme is one of sharp contrasts. Flowers symbolise rebirth, new life, and a new season of life. Bones represent decay, roughness, and the fading of life. The contrasts can make for a unique wedding theme that can symbolise the end of one season in life (goodbye singlehood!) and the beginning of a new one.
One photographer described a Flower and Bone inspiration in 19th century mansion. He described the location as one with vanishing beauty. Flower and bone utilises a healthy mix of the past and the present; opt for a wedding in which vintage and antique dominate the decor. The photographer said it best – this wedding theme is the birth of new feelings and hope for the future.
What to Look for in a Venue for a Flower and Bone Wedding
Because the Flower and Bone wedding theme is a mixture of something old and something new, a bride’s something old might be the venue itself. Any historic site will do, but a historic home is one of the best venues for this type of wedding. Whether you choose a historic home that is designed in Greek Revival, Victorian, or a Colonial style, the age of the venue lends perfectly to the Flower and Bone wedding theme.
However, even if you choose a historic home as the venue, you may want to take a walk around the exterior, particularly the garden. The perfect site for a Flower and Bone wedding is a garden that is a bit overgrown, the historic home in the background. Bonus points if ivy is growing on the exterior of the home. The ivy represents nature trying to take back the land where the house is built, growing intently on an aging house.
Food for a Flower and Bone Wedding
Because the underlying theme behind a Flower and Bone wedding has to do with new beginnings and rebirth, fresh vegetables would make the perfect food for a Flower and Bone wedding. Fresh veggies in a salad bar would be a unique presentation, and guests would enjoy the vegan option.
Another option for the Flower and Bone wedding would be a loaded potato bar. Caterers are offering this option that works with both an afternoon reception and an evening wedding ceremony. Add all types of delicious toppings, from chives and other herbs to chicken or beef.
Colour Palette for a Flower and Bone Wedding
The Flower and Bone wedding theme should highlight colours that are both dark and light. Of course, when one thinks of life and colours that might symbolise life, we think of red as it is the colour of blood, which we can’t live without.
Deep reds – even a blood red or a crimson red – would make the perfect chief colour for a Flower and Bone wedding theme. You may want a slightly lighter red flower, but also consider purple and shades of purple. The deep red and the purple flowers will be perfectly matched as will red and purple fabrics, and they should be accented with cream for a contrast of lightness.
Wedding Dresses and Accessories for a Flower and Bone Wedding
The Flower and Bone wedding requires a dress that is quite formal, although it need not be an elaborate gown. In fact, a long, straight, sleeveless dress with a round neckline and lace embellishments would be perfect for a Flower and Bone wedding. However, the addition of long, lace sleeves to this type of dress would also be fitting.
Of course, if you want to go with a time-period dress, something inspired by the Victorian Era would be perfect for a Flower and Bone wedding dress. The more lace, the better!
Groom Style for a Flower and Bone Wedding
When planning groom style for a Flower and Bone wedding, look to influences from movies such as Interview with the Vampire and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The main characters wore black suits – often a jacket with tails. Some grooms may want to add a vest to the three piece suit and a long black tie rather than a bow tie.
Grooms can wear black suit pants with a tuxedo jacket made from dark red velvet. This can be paired with the black vest and long tie, or grooms may skip the vest altogether.
Some grooms will even borrow Gary Oldman’s tophat from Bram Stoker’s Dracula; this would be unique but wholly appropriate for the Flower and Bone themed wedding.
Bouquets and Boutonnieres for a Flower and Bone Wedding
Flowers for the bouquet may include roses, but they should be of the deepest red colour possible. You may also want to incorporate some blush and cream coloured roses into the bouquet.
Some bouquets have purple flowers mixed in with the deep reds and blush flowers. Lavender, as well as dianthus, works very well in a bouquet with roses. Plus, your bouquet will be fresh and fragrant with the addition of lavender (in addition, lavender can calm bridal jitters on the big day!).
The boutonnieres may be from any flower, but deep reds would be most appropriate and fully match the Flower and Bone wedding theme.
Ceremony Decor for a Flower and Bone Wedding
We’ve discussed the combination of old and new. Most of the decor revolves around flowers, but, there is one particular item that can definitely be associated with the Flower and Bone wedding ceremony decor – skulls.
There are a number of faux skulls that can be procured for this piece of decor. Brides may choose a cattle skull with horns, or one may opt for other types of faux wildlife skulls. This could include antlers from deer, antelope, or even elk.
If possible, the use of climbing bougainvillea as a part of a ceremonial arch would also be fitting ceremony decor for a Flower and Bone wedding. You may want to take a cue from Old World weddings and ditch the ceremonial arch for a wrought iron gate that stands behind you and your groom as ceremonial decor.
Reception Decor for a Flower and Bone Wedding
You have more opportunities to utilise faux skulls at the reception, where tables are set up across the venue. Place these skulls as a part of table centrepieces, or larger ones may be decorated so that it appears floral arrangements flow out of the antlers/skull combination.
Consider using silver containers filled with red and purple flowers for the centrepieces at round tables. Any floral arrangements that appear to be growing across a wall are also suitable reception decor for a Flower and Bone wedding. (Think bougainvillea running up the wall of a Gothic historic home.)
Wedding Reception Music and Entertainment for a Flower and Bone Wedding
The wedding reception song list can include a few songs you wouldn’t normally hear at weddings, but that just goes with the theme of the Flower and Bone wedding.
The Cure’s “Love Song” would be a perfect song for the couple’s first dance. If The Cure is a little vintage for you, then you could try 311’s remake of the same song. The reggae beat of the remade version is both romantic and carefree. Another great song by The Cure is “Just Like Heaven.”
“All my Love” by Led Zeppelin is also a great first dance song choice. A great song for the father and daughter dance is “Changes” by Kelly Osbourne and her dad, Ozzy.
Flowers and Bones
Titled Flowers & Bones – this breathtakingly creative wedding, editorial from Mikhail Loskutov Photography and Flower Bazaar is a study in contrasts, one that combines different eras and pulls in a magical, bewitched beauty in the most alluring way!
From Mikhail Loskutov – “The inspiration behind this editorial came to mind when we found an abandoned 19th century mansion close to the city. The location was so outstanding in all of its vanishing beauty. That’s where the concept of Flowers & Bones was born.
We decided to create a dense mix of refinement and decay, blooming and fading, tender and rough. The very fact that this forgotten mansion existed among densely populated suburbs was surreal and it really felt our imagination.
In our mind, we drew a picture of a young and noble couple who go back to a long ago abandoned family estate. They find ruins of past splendour and have their wedding ceremony amidst ancient murals, walls, and oak floors destroyed by time. On one hand they long for a bygone era, but on the other is a birth of new feelings and hope that their story will be continued.”
Credits: Photography: Mikhail Loskutov // Concept, Floral Design & Décor: FlowerBazar // Dress: The Wedding Shop // Skulls: Art of Bones // Décor Elements: Interior Shop // Groom’s Attire: FOTT // Cake: Iv Cakes // Makeup: Irina Mukhina // Groom’s Styling: Briolin // Venue: Abandoned mansion near Moscow, Russia.