I spent three very long intense days working with a florist friend of mine last week on a wedding that required 26 bouquets. During the course of all this, we got to chatting about what would be our perfect bouquet. Oddly enough, the look, shape or color wasn’t high on my list of criteria. It was the smell.

Most commercially grown flowers have little or no scent; it has been bred out in favor of looks and hardiness. There are still a few, however, that have retained their aromatic glory. This is where I went.

So here is my wish list:

Flowers for a Fragrant Wedding Bouquet

• • Gardenias. Yes, they are very delicate, but they smell like heaven.
  • Stephanotis. Tiny little charmers that I would add crystal centers too.
  • Tuberose. A classic addition to perfumes but also a darn pretty flower.
  • Freesia. Fragrant and lovely.
  • White Phalaenopsis orchids. No, these aren’t fragrant, but I would love to see their pretty faces smiling up at me.

Being a noob at floral design, I prefaced my wish list by saying that I doubted it would work. My friend Jody immediately jumped in to say “hey, of course, it can. For you, we’d make it happen.” I trust Jody, she has been doing floral design since she was in the womb. If she says it can happen, it can happen.

Bridal bouquets were originally made of fragrant herbs as a way to chase away evil spirits. This thing would smell so good it might actually attract a few benevolent ones to your wedding. That can’t be a bad thing.

So here is a question for all my friends and readers out there in the industry: without limitations, what would your perfect wedding bouquet be? Is it color? Is it shape? Is it a particular flower? Inquiring minds want to know. If you think about it, you have seen about a bazillion bouquets over the course of your career. What would you choose for yourself?