The Best August Wedding Flowers

The best August wedding flowers in the Pacific Northwest

We're in my favorite time of year, when everything is blooming like crazy! But I also know that the number of choices can quickly get overwhelming. There are so many beautiful flowers and inspiration images, but it can be hard to narrow it down or determine what is in season. After using local flowers for so many years, and growing many of our own, we love helping couples know exactly what to expect. We're obsessed with seasonal and local flowers, so this week, we wanted to share some of our favorite wedding flowers for August! Weddings in August occur when so many blooms are available, and the possibilities are endless! Here are some of the best wedding flowers for August weddings, in our experience.

Dahlias (Again)

We hope you're not tired of dahlias, because August is their best month yet! Dahlias remain a very popular choice for wedding flowers in August, due to the wide variety of shapes, colors, and sizes available. There are no blue dahlias, but otherwise, the sky is the limit. They grow amazingly well in Seattle, so our local growers provide a dazzling array of options from July until the last frost. You can always find several dahlia varieties that work beautifully for every wedding color palette!

Sometimes early dahlias bloom more brightly, then fade later into the season. Throughout the season, you can watch the classic Cafe au Lait dahlia (the biggest dahlia, above) change colors. It goes from a brighter pink in July to a beautiful pinky-blush in August, and then more neutral in September and washed-out taupe in October. We love pairing dahlias with other flowers on this list, as you can tell from these photos!

Cosmos

We love cosmos for their delicate, bouncy, fun personalities! They can make any bouquet or arrangement seem a little bit more wild and delicate. They typically start blooming in June, but grow taller and more prolific in August. They are such a favorite wedding flower for August, particularly with dahlias. We love using their feathery blooms and foliage to contrast with more geometric and rigid flowers. We also love that they come in a large variety of colors, from white to blush, and even raspberry! The white cosmos below are the perfect accent to this pink dahlia palette. We love how sophisticated, airy, and light cosmos can look in August wedding arrangements.

Rudbeckia

I'll be honest - rudbeckia totally took me by surprise in 2020. If you've never heard of rudbeckia, you're not alone! Typically, they are associated with the black-eyed-susans that grow wild all over the country. But these beauties go far beyond that prairie look! Rudbeckia  come in a wide variety of colors, but are easy to group by color depending on the wedding palette. And I’m obsessed with those chocolate centers - it’s rare that we get to use a flower with a dark center. They also come in a ton of fun shapes, from frilly double-petaled flowers that almost look like mums, to sparse petals that stick straight out. I asbolutely love the way they look with more blushy, muted flowers on this list. For example, rudbeckia added so much boho attitude to this centerpiece! They are really at their prime in August and September, and I love using them for weddings with more earthy palettes.

Scabiosa

Don’t let the ugly name fool you! Scabiosa add perfect airy, light details to any wedding floral design. Inserted correctly, they float above other flowers and add bounce, movement, and lightness to designs. These are the perfect flower to add some air and play with negative space. In the photo above, you can see small white scabiosa flowers floating over the middle and left sides of the bouquet. In addition, scabiosa come in a huge variety of colors, from dark burgundy to pure white, and have surprisingly strong stems for how small they are. If left uncut, they also form amazing seed pods that can be used to add texture and whimsy. One variety, scabiosa stellata, makes these amazing grey pods after they flower. How cool is that?! I love using scabiosa to make a design feel more magical, no matter what form they are in.

Amaranth

August is the height of summer, when everything explodes into bloom, including these amazing heads of amaranth. Surprisingly, amaranth is actually a grain similar to quinoa, and edible! But we use it for its textural interest and beautiful drape, especially in more boho designs. It comes in two forms, the very drapey form, and the “upright form." Both forms add movement when placed correctly. They are a huge favorite because they come in a wide variety of colors, from bronze to green, and coral to burgundy. And August is when the seed heads are looking their best, without shedding any edible grains all over your wedding!

Lisianthius (aka "Lizzies")

Can we get lisianthius other times of the year? Sure. However, nothing comes close to the lisianthius that our local growers are harvesting in August. These incredible flowers really shine this month, and we try to include them in every wedding from August to September! The flowers shoot out multiple branches per stem, giving you a wealth of fluffy, romantic petals in every bunch. (See the fluffy blush flowers in the bottom right of the centerpiece, above.)

We love how effortlessly beautiful they appear, gracefully floating over more compact flowers with their copious ruffles. We also love that we can manipulate the petals for a more frilly or more open look, depending on what we are going for. And finally, we love the color choices we get with local lisianthius, because they play so well with wedding palettes! From pure white to champagne blush and a dusty mauve “brown” (pictured above), we often use lisianthius to soften and bridge other colors in our palettes.

Planning Your Summer Wedding Designs

Your florist should know what flowers are locally available and in season for your wedding month. Here at Bloom Poet, we are more dedicated to local flowers than ever, especially as we continue to witness COVID’s impacts on the global floral supply chain. Prioritizing local flowers means that we can always make sure our couples have the best of what is available that season, that month, or even that week! And we work closely with dozens of our farm friends to make sure we can execute your vision beautifully and ethically.

Getting Married in August?

We know wedding planning can be overwhelming, with so many flower choices and inspiration images. That’s why we love helping couples like you design a breathtaking wedding that you and your guests won't soon forget. You don't have to know what you need, or even know what flowers you like - we love taking ideas and running with them! And our books are now open for next summer! If you are ready to design the wedding of your dreams, let's chat! You can click below to inquire and check our availability. We can't wait to meet you!