That Bouquet has a Meaning!

Couples getting married on Nantucket often choose the seasonal island blossoms to adorn their wedding bowers: daffodils in the springtime, wild roses in the summertime and early fall. Nantucket florists and flower growers are often called upon to provide wedding bouquets and to decorate churches.

The wedding bouquet, standing for happiness, we say today, used to be made up of the garlands of flowers worn by both bride and groom. That's pretty romantic...but there are other stories of less "appetizing" reasons for theposies the bride carried as she progressed with dainty steps toward her intended. The picture we have is of a blushing young maiden with her head modestly bent, nose close to the pretty flowers she holds in both hands. In Elizabethan England, it is said, the flowers and their pleasant scent were meant to keep the bride's thoughts and senses from less seemly odors. In fact, they often kept the poor lass from fainting dead away in olfactory response to the ripe odor of the assembled guests. According to guides at the historic home of William Shakespeare's bride, weddings were generally held before people had taken the post-winter bath. The bath (definitely not daily, weekly, or even monthly, but seasonally, in those days) consisted of a large tub of water in which the master of the household bathed, then male family members, then mother and daughters, and last, the servants. Yes, the same tub of water. In those days, well, you put on your heavy undies at the beginning of the cold season (in the guide's words, "One was all but sewed into one's undergarments") and removed them just before that glorious bath. So the bride kept her nose close to the posies for aesthetic reasons.

But back to more appealing wedding-flower facts. Everyone knows that the woman who catches the bride's thrown bouquet is supposed to be the next person married. But does everyone know the many meanings of different flowers that might be in that bouquet, in the mothers' corsages, or in the posies held by the bridesmaids-not to mention the floral arrangements at the reception? Here's a run-through of just a few:

The white rosebud is the symbol of a heart ignorant of love.
The red poppy consoles.
The anemone stands for expectation.
The blue violet means faithfulness.
Red rose: Passionate love.
Peach rose: Tenderness.
Orange rose: Secret love.
White rose: Spiritual love.
White lily: Purity and innocence.
Tulips: Eternal love; also enchantment.
Fern: Not a flower, but what the heck -- it means fascination.
Daisy: Innocence.
White carnation: Disdain.
Forget-me-not: Don't ever forget me!
Red geranium: Consolation.
Heliotrope: Devotion.
Ivy: fidelity. Oh, and ivy in your bouquet symbolizes friendship in your marriage.
Day lily: Coquetry.
White lily: Sweetness.
Lily of the valley: Return of happiness.
Myrtle: Love.
Orange blossoms: Chastity.
Passion flower: No, not passion -- faith!
Peach blossom: Captivation.
Pear blossom: Affection.
Deep red rose: Bashful shame.
Yellow rose: Jealousy.
Moss rosebud: Confession of love.
Straw: Agreement.
Sweet pea: Departure.
Tuberose: Dangerous pleasures.

Some people have their wedding flowers professionally dried. Some select one or more flowers (the edible ones) from the bouquet and have them encased in chocolate...and it's also possible to have them dipped in pure gold -- a thoughtful, if somewhat expensive, gift for the couple or the parents.

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