Some brides go for traditional bouquets of perfect white roses and frilly, feminine lisianthus and silken phalaenopsis orchids. I love those bouquets. They’re so elegant and classic and sophisticated and, well, manicured. But these are not adjectives that really apply to me. I’m a gumboots and dirt-under-the-nails sort of gal. So I’ve decided to give my bridesmaids graceful bouquets of green hydrangeas and white flowers, while I go for a crazy, colourful, convivial bouquet of dramatic dahlias. (This might help explain why my blog is suddenly dahlia-obsessed at the moment.)

Yesterday, for a bit of a practice run, I took three buckets of blooms from Dahlia Haven into the lovely Davina at Vida Flores to see what she could whip them up into. All I can say is: ooooooooh!  (And ahhh… I wish my arms were as thin and toned as Davina’s colleague in these photos).

Dahlias are just so darn gorgeous that they really don’t need too much fiddling about with. But just for fun, Davina’s also going to pimp up my bouquet with a swishy tail of flax or asparagus fern. And, as I’ve got a baby bump that’s getting bigger by the day, I figure the bigger my bouquet, the better. It will help me keep my balance as I waddle off down the lawn. Though I am a little concerned I might end up giving one of my single mates a serious case of concussion when I throw that bouquet in their direction on the big day…