Floral Fabric-Inspired Wedding Ideas

This isn't your grandmother's floral: Cowtan & Tout's "Le Rosier" fabric takes a classic motif from sort-of-prim to oh, so pretty. With the help of a staple gun, the material covers an Oriental Furniture room divider and plays muse to the garden roses, ivy, dahlias, and trailing amaranthus that fill silver vessels on the table.

To make your flowers look anything but garden-variety, pluck their style from your favorite floral fabric. This sweet clutch contains ranunculus, scabiosa, clematis vine, and chocolate cosmos.

From top to bottom:
Patience garden rose
Nerine
Clamatis
Sweet pea
Pink and peach ranunculus
Black cosmo
Dahlia
Scabiosa
Ivy
Amaranths
Auswater garden rose and ranunculus
Campanella rose
Lambs ear
Peach and yellow ranunculus

Oversize floral patterns were all the rage in the 1960s, and they still wow today. Here, a Marimekko "Pieni Unikko ii" runner sets the table -- and the scene. Huge real blooms, including chrysanthemums in two different colors and anemones, float solo in Mud Australia bowls (shophorne.com). Dual-purpose Paper to Petal "Mari-poppiflower" place-card favors sit atop yellow-edged Dibbern "Simplicity" plates, an ideal pick for a modern girl's registry (fromtableartonline.com).

Chrysanthemums and anemones come together with dusty miller in one showstopping bridal bouquet. Better yet? "You don't need to buy lots of flowers to make these displays," says Matthew Robbins, a contributing editor and creative director of Matthew Robbins Design in New York City. "A few can provide plenty of impact."

Liberty of London fabrics were used to create the napkins at each place setting (have a tailor or handy friend cut and hem them to 20-inch squares), and it inspired the flowers on the table. Several Middle Kingdom "Red Chamber series" vases -- overflowing with wildflowers, daisies, ranunculus, pink nerines, purple clematis, clover foliage, and muscari -- run the length of the table (globaltable.com). Let each guest take one home as a favor, or place thank-you candies in Paper Mart gift boxes finished with coordinating bows.

Brimming with wildflowers, fritillaria, tweedia, sweet peas, chamomile, and maidenhair ferns, this posy mimics the riot of tiny blossoms on the piece of Liberty of London fabric tying it together (bandjfabrics.com). 

From top to bottom:
Clover
Fritillaria pinardii
Chamomile
Purple muscari
Fritillaria
Light blue tweedia
Pink nerine
White sweet pea
Maidenhair fern
Lavender clematis
White fritillaria
Pink ranunculus
Pink daisy
Snowdrop
Lamb's ear
Sweet pea

No matter where you wed, create an exotic island vibe with lush arrangements that echo vintage palm-frond prints. Here, wooden bowls complement stephanotis vine, fritillaria, clematis, and rubber-plant leaves, and sit atop runners made from Kravet "Valpor/D" fabric that double as place mats (617-449-5501).

Want to take the look home? Register for Ricci Argentieri "Bamboo" flatware (bloomingdales.com) and Juliska "Bamboo" plates (juliska.com).

Tropical leaves add height and make a huge statement. Case in point: this attention-grabbing bouquet of hellebores, clematis, mini orchids, and passion vine backed by asplenium and calathea leaves.