elopement wedding

How to Pick Flowers for a New Orleans Elopement Wedding

The bouquet is certainly one of the most iconic parts of any elopement wedding or ceremony. It’s a tradition spanning hundreds of years and can make for some perfect and elegant photographic moments as well.

When it comes to New Orleans elopements, seasonal flowers are typically what work best and that’s why Elope to Nola specializes in them. It’s important to know beforehand exactly what kind of bouquet you can expect in order to help you plan for the perfect elopement.

Seasonal Flowers means better Quality!

While the selection may be less broad, this will work in your favor to not have any additional stresses of flower details. With ElopeToNola bouquets, you simply need to select a color theme!

The reason we have simplified the flower selection is that some flowers just don’t work because they have to shipped from far away, which is expensive and also tends to damage the flowers in the process. Other flowers wilt fast shortly after they are cut, like the magnolia, and are not ideal for most elopement bouquets. Some simply don’t do well outside in Louisiana’s humid climate, like the lily.

Some couples may want certain flowers from a faraway state or even exotic ones like the Hawaiian plumeria, which are quite popular in wedding ceremonies in certain parts of the country. However, it would be extremely expensive and impractical to import such flowers to Louisiana.

Remember that elopements rarely take place in the controlled confines of a church, where flowers can be preserved and tend to remain in air conditioned surroundings. Most New Orleans elopements take place in parks, outdoor courtyards or beautiful streets of the city itself; often in less than ideal conditions for certain flowers.

Many of the classic pictures of bouquets you can find on Instagram and Pinterest were designed with either church halls or a lot of money in mind. That’s not practical for an elopement, which should be focused more on romance, affordability, and spontaneity.

Here’s some of the best seasonal flowers you can expect from one of our elopement package bouquets that ensure top quality.

Roses, Peruvian Lilly, Gerbera Daisy, Hydrangeas, Lisianthus and many fillers like baby’s breath are generally readily available.  Our florist on our team will generally ask for a color scheme and then will make recommendations on what will be available during your wedding month.

Visit our Pinterest page HERE to view past bouquets created by our talented florist.

You can always ask our florist if a specific flower you want may be available on hand, and she will do her best to make it happen if there is a supplier that can get them (premium flower upgrade fees may apply). Keep in mind if you asked florist for pink roses and that week of your wedding only ivory roses were available, she will incorporate pink color to your bouquet in some other way either by adding another pink flower or using pink ribbon tied around the stems. Because we focus on seasonal, fresh flowers, sometimes substitution is necessary!

You can be sure that whatever our florist comes up with, it will be absolutely stunning, and perfectly fit the theme of your elopement.

If you have any questions about what kind of bouquet you can expect, or help planning and putting everything together, get in touch with us. Sometimes it takes that expert touch to make everything fit, and creating gorgeous bouquets for our couples is one of our specialties!

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Marcia Ibay - Owner of Ibay Photography and Elope to Nola

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Hi, I’m Marcia. Born and raised in New Orleans, I know this city better than most. I know about all the hidden courtyards, the best time of year to elope, and the instagram-worthy photography locations that bring it all to life.
As a New Orleans elopement wedding photographer, I’ve photographed over 350 elopements. From spontaneous street parades to private vows in quiet gardens, I’ve seen what makes a wedding unforgettable and I make sure you feel that ease every step of the way.

I’ve fixed timelines, pinned boutonnières, and even found a last-minute bowtie when a groom needed one. You can count on me to bring experience, a friendly attitude, and intention to your day.

I started this work after Hurricane Katrina destroyed our family’s photo albums. That loss taught me how powerful one image can be. So I document every elopement like it’s the most important story I’ll ever tell because for you, it is.

I’ll be your calm in the storm, your guide through the process, and your hype woman when you need it. Also, I’m a Scorpio, so yes—I will have a backup plan for your backup plan 🙂

At Elope to NOLA, we’re all about ditching the stress and dialing up the fun. Whether you’re dreaming of a ceremony under ancient oaks or sneaking away to a hidden courtyard in the French Quarter, we’ve got you covered. Permits? Handled. Photos? Gorgeous. Flowers? Oh yeah. All those little New Orleans details that give your day actual character—we take care of it all.
Just fill out the form below, and one of our elopement-wrangling humans will be in touch within 24 hours. Let’s do this right!

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