Originally the wedding bouquet meant more than just a decorative addition to the wedding ceremony. Arranging of flowers into a bouquet goes back about 4,500 years to Egypt. Rather than aromatic or decorative flowers the wedding bouquet would have been a mixture of aromatic herbs such as Rosemary, Dill or even garlic. It was thought that the smell of the bouquet would ward off evil spirits. During the plague years it was also thought that the bouquet would give protection from the plague, as plague was thought to be borne on the air.
A more practical use of the bouquet was to cover bodily smells. It has to be remembered that in medieval times sanitary conditions were poor with bathing being an annual event. For one day in her life the bride should smell pleasantly.
The tossing of the bouquet by the bride stems from the practice of wedding guests tearing off parts of the brides dress, as brides were regarded as being exceptionally lucky. Tossing the bouquets was an attempt to preserve the wedding dress and subsequently the belief that the recipient would be next to marry evolved.
The functional spice and herb bouquet began to evolve into a floral bouquet during the 18th century. By this time the focus had moved away from protection to promoting fertility. Spring heralded growth in the fields and hedgerows and the nesting of birds to bring forth their offspring. This new beginning was represented by the flowers in the bouquet.
And so today we still see the floral bouquet as a central part of the wedding ceremony.
Whether you would like to crochet a bouquet for yourself (or a friend) or for your dolls house, we have a choice of patterns which might interest you:
1:12th scale
1:12th scale wedding favours
1:12th scale bridal posy
1:12th scale bridal basket
Human size
Carnation bouquet
