Embracing Your Heritage: Florals for Your Mexican Wedding
Written by Curator Paula Jimenez, co-owner of Cresco Stems
Exploring ideas of how to execute a wedding full of tradition and folklore can be both exciting and overwhelming. The options and creative directions are plentiful. Symbolic details, vibrant colors and traditional attire are some of the things that will make a difference in the overall aesthetic of your day.
Flowers are also a creative way to further incorporate your heritage into the day. The possibilities are endless. From festive to moody, you’ll have plenty of options to choose from. Start the process by organizing your vision. Finding a floral design team with experience and knowledge of your desired aesthetic is a great start!
In the meantime, here are a few factors to consider:
Color Story
Begin by selecting the color story. Consider your personality and what colors make you feel the most comfortable or happy. Choose colors that set the desired mood.
Softer tones often produce a more cheerful and airy vibe, while bold or dark tones will usually produce a sexy or moody ambiance.
Think of the focal color, the color that you’d love to see the most and consider 2-3 additional colors that compliment it. Keep in mind that your color story does not have to consist of colors that match each other, it should consist of colors that complement one another. Your color story should complement the couple, the base color of the wedding party attire and the venue.
Flowers
Mexico’s terrain is filled with a rich variety producing some of the most beautiful and fascinating varity of flowers. Here is a list of flower species endemic to Mexico:
Mexican Sunflower – yellow and similar to a daisy.
Laelia Orchid – pale shade of pink. Sturdy bloom but considered luxury and expensive.
Ponsettia aka Noche Buena – red. A popular holiday plant.
Mexican Marigold – warm colors of orange or yellow. Blooms late autumn.
Chocolate Cosmos – chocolate dark burgundy. Summer blooms with a cocoa smell.
Dahlias – Mexico’s National Flower. Wide range of colors and sizes, late summer | early autumn.
Birds of Paradise – Unique and Elegant. Blooms summer and autumn.
Venue and Mood
The color story and flowers should complement the venue. The venue is the canvas. Your florals and color story will enhance your venue’s ambiance. Use the color story to build your mood and the flowers to add dimension and texture. Focus on spaces with high traffic or visibility. A sweetheart table with lush florals will draw the eye in your direction and serve as a wonderful backdrop to photos of your toasts and speeches. Photo backdrops or scenes for you and your guests are also spaces that benefit from florals that speak of your day. Staircases are also often used as photo ops and can be a great space to accentuate with florals.
At Cresco Stems we focus on the couple’s vision. When creating designs that highlight the couple’s heritage, we take great pride in creating florals that are elegant and elevated. Each love story is different and every wedding should be, also. The florals are an extension of the couple’s story and should reflect that. Here are two couples and the flowers that told the story of their Mexican Heritage.
Brenda & Donovan, MarigoldS
Color Story: Light and airy with a pop of color. White and orange.
Flowers: Brenda’s main focus was cempasuchil aka marigolds. Incorporating the cempasuchil stems was most important and using stems that highlighted them was a priority. We decided to use the Dahlia’s and Chocolate Cosmos were used to complement the pop of color. White roses, orlaya lace, ranunculus, and anthuriums were used to bring a light and airy feel to the florals.
The bridal bouquet was created with the Eternal Love Legend of Xochitl and Huizilin in mind. The Marigold representing the Xochitl and the Anthurium representing Huitzilin, the hummingbird.
Venue: Their venue was soaked with sunlight, white walls and light wood tones. A perfect backdrop to the airy white blooms of the florals and bright pop of color offered by the marigolds.
Other Symbolic Details to Note: a lazo was used during the ceremony, Our Lady of Guadalupe statue used in the details shots, Mexican dessert cart
Wedding Pro’s:
Venue: @greenhouseloft
Photo: @stephaniemarinphotography
Florals: @crescostems
Content: @parasiempre.co
Dress: @jennyyoonyc
Hair & MUA: @anomaliebeautyagency
Cake: @ellesweetreats
Bride + Groom: @brennnda_r and @donovanaranda_
Ximena + Julius, A Styled Photo Shoot for our Culture
This photoshoot was created by Hispanic Wedding Vendors for Our Culture. An ode to our love for our roots during a time of divisiveness and struggle. Unity and love inspired us to come together to showcase Hispanic talent and our beloved culture in a festive way.
Color Story: Bright, bold, festive. An array of pinks, oranges, lavender and green
Flowers: Marigold, Tulips, Scabiosa, Roses, Clematis, Queen Anne’s Lace, Carnations with touches of produce consisting of nopales, tuna (pear cactus), dry chile ancho and serrano for touches of burnt red.
The centerpieces had a large Nopal | Cactus in the center to play on the popular Mexican succulent. Tuna aka Pear Cacti were used as bud vases to hold dainty, dancing blooms. Clay pitchers aka Cantarritos served as vessels for the tulips with dry chiles gathered to add dimension and color while also serving as a reminder of their popularity within Mexican Cuisine – a source of great pride in our culture and one of four in the world to be UNESCO Protected Heritage Cuisines.
Venue: The venue is rich in warm tones of brick and wood. Sunlight cascades in through the skylights. These factors contributed to the use of bright complementary colors in the florals and throughout the tablescapes.
Wedding Pro’s:
Planning + Design: @vanessa_delaney + @bridget_mary_weddings
Photo: @majomunozph
Venue: @the.arbory
Florals: @crescostems
Makeup: @makeupbyamericaf
Hair: @thebridalcollective_
Content: @parasiempre.co
Vintage Car: @memorylanechicago
Cake: @sc_cake_studio
Stationary: @galaphippsdesigns
Dress: @raviniabridal
Linens: @windycitylinen
Rentals: @tablescapeseventsrentals
Models: @_jossssiee and @benji_zam
