Sigh&#8230;

Sigh…

June 30th, 2011 @ 5:57 pm by Mrs. Marmalade
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When I think of my wedding-day ensemble, there is one thing I am completely sure about.

My bouquet.

I want a posy of lilies of the valley to carry down the aisle.

In the Victorian era they were a symbol of humility, sweetness, happiness, and purity of the heart. For generations, brides have carried these tiny bell-shaped flowers on their wedding day. How could I resist?

Image via The Knot / Photo by Sharon Schuster

They also have personal significance to me. I’ve always been fascinated by them, and I remember walking down the street with my mom and grandparents back in Queens when I was very young. I’d drag them from yard to yard, as I tried to sniff every single stem that came across my path.

And last May, on the day I learned of my grandfather’s death, Mr. Marmalade and I took a walk through the Union Square Farmers’ Market before I went home to pack my bags. And as we walked by the stalls, I caught the unmistakable scent that I’d loved so much as a child. Before I knew what was happening, we’d walked up to the stall that was selling lilies of the valley (and only lilies of the valley), and Mr. Marmalade bought me a bouquet. I clutched them like my life depended on it, while Mr. M took me home so I could prepare for my trip to say goodbye to my Papou. Looking back on it now, it was so much more than coincidence, for me.

Mr. Marmalade just happened to be visiting me at home, we just happened to be in Manhattan, and we unintentionally walked into the Green Market to find a vendor selling only lilies of the valley.

Image via The Knot / Photo by Red Loft Studios

These little beauties are a must have on my wedding day. I’m hoping my florist will be able to get them for me, since they are tough to find in July. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Does anyone else have a flower obsession like mine?

Tags: flowers, raleigh |

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20 Responses to “Sigh…”

Member

smith2be (message) 399 posts, Helper bee

How adorable. Good luck!

6/30/11 @ 6:02 pm (reply)

Bee

Miss Candy Apple (message) 1,465 posts, Bumble bee

Lovely, M. And they smell so good!

6/30/11 @ 6:04 pm (reply)

Member

TheFutureMcBride (message) 4,484 posts, Honey bee

That;s sp sweet. We have some of those in our garden, but they’ve already bloomed. And yes, we have a special flower: pink tulips. They are the reason why I ended up with clay flower. No tulips in August.

6/30/11 @ 6:33 pm (reply)

Member

Leprechaun (message) 907 posts, Busy bee

I really wanted a lily of the valley bouquet, but it was just too expensive. Those little stems add up! I ended up with some in my bouquet, along with peonies and sweetpeas as filler (probably the only bride ever to view the peonies as the least important part of her bouquet!)

I thought it was funny when Princess Kate carried a lily of the valley bouquet; there was actually a whole thread on here of people complaining about it! I wanted to sit everyone down and be like….do you realize how expensive her bouquet probably was? I wish it had been mine!

6/30/11 @ 7:24 pm (reply)

Guest

Megan

see if you can buy another bouquet and if your florist can keep them for you until. Sometime they can preserve them until another date. We did that with peonies from my parents yard - they hadn’t bloomed yet. It’s worth a shot and i sincerely hope you can have the bouquet of your dreams:)

6/30/11 @ 7:27 pm (reply)

Member

Ryna (message) 4,207 posts, Honey bee

Awwwww!!! so sweet!!! I hope you can get them!!!
We have a flower that we both love, that is NOT found in nature: black roses. You can get deep blue/purple/red roses that ALMOST look like pure black, but they aren’t. Nature just doesn’t make a pure, solid, true-blue black rose. (and those others? COST A BLOODY FORTUNE!!!!)
So, real black roses are out. Fabric/ribbon/artificial black roses are in. (other than that, I LOVE wild roses, lilacs, and hyacinths, as well as sweet shrubs but we’re not having any real flowers, ’cause they cost too much…)

6/30/11 @ 7:38 pm (reply)

Member

rachiecakes (message) 737 posts, Busy bee

I LOVE Lily of the Valley - and like you have many memories of picking as many as I could!
I also thought Kate Middleton’s bouquet was the most beautiful thing… just gorgeous

6/30/11 @ 7:43 pm (reply)

Member

mightywombat (message) 3,345 posts, Sugar bee

Oh, beautiful! I had a bouquet of white sweet peas, which was similarly simple, beautiful, and meaningful to me.

6/30/11 @ 7:44 pm (reply)

Bee

Miss Pony (message) 4,175 posts, Honey bee

I hope you are able to get a lily of the valley bouquet, it would be perfect for you!

6/30/11 @ 7:57 pm (reply)

10.

Member

cz1789 (message) 223 posts, Helper bee

Umm, I may or may not have chosen my wedding date based on when lily of the valley would be in season to up my odds of getting a bouquet for a reasonable price Of course this wasn’t the only deciding factor, but, yeah, I guess you could say I’m pretty into them! Also, I have the last two pics you posted in my wedding binder!

6/30/11 @ 10:39 pm (reply)

11.

Member

moosey (message) 252 posts, Helper bee

I’ve always loved lily of the valley since reading about it in my aunts wedding announcements as a child– for some reason they always listed the contents of the brides bouquet.

6/30/11 @ 11:45 pm (reply)

12.

Member

Mrs.Anchors (message) 365 posts, Helper bee

Great story very similar to mine. I had Lily of the Valleys for my bouquet as well, they smell gorgeous! My favorite flower for sure.

Good Luck and great choice!

7/1/11 @ 1:44 am (reply)

13.

Bee

Miss Funnel Cake (message) 690 posts, Busy bee

Ooh, they are so very pretty. I hope you can get them in July! They are so soft and elegant and I love that they have a personal meaning to you.

7/1/11 @ 7:55 am (reply)

14.

Member

ToBeMrs2011 (message) 98 posts, Worker bee

The bouquet is gorgeous!! I also have a flower obsession, calla lilies. Like you, since I was a little girl, I’ve had a love for this flower. I remember my Great Aunt, we called her Granny, had huge tall calla lilies all over her backyard. I’ve had a love for them ever since. She even held a long bouquet of callas for her wedding (we have a beautiful old picture!) and so I decided long ago, that I would carry callas for my wedding bouquet. Although my bouquet will be mini callas and the bouquet will be hand tied….I can’t help but think my Granny will be smiling down on me on that day.

7/1/11 @ 9:41 am (reply)

15.

Member

rachgirl82 (message) 3,431 posts, Sugar bee

I love the simplicity of your inspiration pictures- not overdone or fussy, just perfectly elegant

7/1/11 @ 11:53 am (reply)

16.

Bee

Miss Sparkler (message) 423 posts, Helper bee

Oh I just love these… and what a special memory to go along with them

7/1/11 @ 2:31 pm (reply)

17.

Bee

Miss Ladyfingers (message) 1,119 posts, Bumble bee

I love them! And I had no idea that’s what lillies of the valley looked like - I’d always assumed it was the same thing as regular lilies. Thank you for educating me!

7/1/11 @ 4:46 pm (reply)

18.

Bee

Miss Magic (message) 628 posts, Busy bee

That is a simple and lovely bouquet. Hope you can have exactly what you want for the big day!

7/2/11 @ 7:32 am (reply)

19.

Member

ontariobride (message) 137 posts, Blushing bee

I also wanted lilly of the valley as well as peonies in my bouquet. talking to a florist the other day she told me that it was doubtful she would be able to get lilly of the valley for my september wedding. She also said they are very delicate flowers and wilt quickly and that many people use artificial lilly of the valley in their real fresh flower bouquets, so thats an option im going to look into.

7/2/11 @ 12:47 pm (reply)

20.