Moab Wedding Bouquets

Locally Grown Flowers for Your Desert Wedding

The Bouquet You'll Hold All Day

There's something about a wedding bouquet that gets me every time. It's the one piece of your wedding flowers that's truly yours—not shared with the venue or the tables or anyone else. You'll hold it during your ceremony, carry it down the aisle (or across the desert, or up the trail), clutch it during those nervous-excited moments, have it in nearly every photo. It needs to feel right in your hands, look beautiful from every angle, and somehow capture what this day means to you.

I take bridal bouquets seriously. Not in a stuffy, precious way, but in the sense that I know how much they matter. I've watched brides tear up when they first see their bouquet, watched them instinctively bring it close to smell the garden roses, watched them hold it gently during vows like it's something sacred. Which, in a way, it is.

So let's talk about what makes a Moab bridal bouquet special, and how we design something that's authentically you while being beautiful enough to match this incredible landscape.

What Makes a Farm Yard Bouquet Different

Truly Seasonal and Local

Every flower in your bouquet comes from our farm or nearby growers. This isn't a line—it's our actual practice. That means your June bouquet looks completely different from your September bouquet because we're working with what's actually thriving in our high desert climate at that moment.

I won't be ordering flowers from across the world to hit a Pinterest image you loved. Instead, I'll show you what's incredible for your specific date and help you get excited about varieties you maybe hadn't considered. Turns out, when you work with flowers at their peak season in their actual climate, they're pretty stunning.

No Two Bouquets Alike

We don't have a "standard bridal bouquet" that we make over and over with slight variations. Each bouquet is designed specifically for you—considering your dress, your venue, your aesthetic, your season, what's actually growing, and that ineffable thing of what just feels right.

I mean this literally: if I'm making bouquets for three couples on the same weekend, all three will be different. Different flowers, different shapes, different personalities. Your bouquet is yours.

Gathered, Not Arranged

There's a style of bridal bouquet that's very structured—every flower placed just so, perfect symmetry, controlled and architectural. That's beautiful, and some florists do it incredibly well. It's just not us.

Our bouquets feel gathered. Like you walked through a garden at peak bloom and collected the most beautiful things you found. There's movement, there's personality, there's this organic quality where flowers are allowed to be themselves rather than forced into rigid positions. Some blooms face forward, some twist to the side, foliage moves how it wants to move.

This doesn't mean messy or unintentional—it means thoughtfully composed to feel natural rather than manufactured.

Built to Last

Moab weddings often involve some adventure. Maybe you're hiking to your ceremony site. Maybe your photos include scrambling on rocks. Maybe it's 95 degrees. Your bouquet needs to handle this.

We design with desert conditions in mind—choosing varieties that won't wilt in heat, using mechanics that stay secure, creating shapes that won't fall apart if you're active. I want you to be able to set your bouquet down, pick it up, move through your day without worrying about it falling apart.

Bouquet Styles We Love

The Lush Garden Bouquet

Full, abundant, overflowing with different varieties and textures. This is probably our most popular style—lots of focal flowers, interesting filler flowers, textural elements, varied foliage, maybe some unexpected elements like herbs or grasses or seed pods.

When it works: If you love abundance, if your dress has simpler lines that can handle a statement bouquet, if you want something that feels romantic and garden-inspired.

Size considerations: These tend to be on the larger side—12-14 inches in diameter typically. They make a statement.

Seasonal notes: Summer and fall are peak for this style when we have maximum variety available.

The Compact Garden Bouquet

All the charm of the lush garden style but in a smaller package. Still varied, still textural, still lots of interest—just more contained.

When it works: If you're petite or prefer proportions that don't overwhelm your frame, if you're doing significant hiking or activity, if you love the garden aesthetic but want something easier to carry.

Size considerations: 8-10 inches in diameter. Substantial enough to photograph beautifully but manageable to hold for hours.

Why I love this style: All the personality, none of the unwieldiness.

The Textural Desert Bouquet

This one leans into our environment specifically—lots of interesting foliage, grasses, seed heads, desert-adapted plants, with flowers as beautiful accents rather than the whole story. Very organic, very Moab.

When it works: If you love a more bohemian or natural aesthetic, if you want something that feels deeply connected to place, if you're drawn to texture and form over pure flower power.

Seasonal notes: Fall is ideal for this style when we have incredible seed heads and grasses. But it can work any season with the right approach.

Real talk: This style isn't for everyone. It's less conventionally romantic, more artistic and editorial. But when it's right, it's really right.

The Focused Palette Bouquet

Instead of maximum variety, we focus on 2-3 flower types in a cohesive color story. Maybe all blush and peach tones. Maybe burgundy and rust. Maybe golden yellow with touches of coral. The simplicity creates impact.

When it works: If you have a very specific color vision, if you love a more refined or sophisticated aesthetic, if you want the flowers themselves to be the stars without lots of competing elements.

Design note: Texture becomes even more important when you're working with limited variety. We'll vary sizes, shapes, and foliage to keep it interesting.

The Organic Wildflower Bouquet

Looser, more relaxed, less structured. Feels like you picked wildflowers (though again, we're growing cultivated varieties that are much heartier). Lots of movement, varied heights, almost meadow-like.

When it works: For elopements, for couples who want something less formal, for bohemian or adventurous weddings, for photography-focused days where you want something that moves beautifully in images.

Seasonal notes: Spring and summer work particularly well for this style.

The Statement Dahlia Bouquet

This is my September/October special. When dahlias are at their absolute peak, sometimes we just let them be the stars. Massive dahlias in incredible colors, maybe some smaller decorative dahlias for variety, gorgeous foliage, minimal filler. The dahlias do all the talking.

When it works: Fall weddings, dahlia lovers, anyone who wants something bold and dramatic.

Why they're special: Our dahlias are grown specifically for their size, color, and form. Peak season dahlias are just unreal—colors you didn't know existed, sizes that make people gasp.

Size Considerations

Let's talk practically about size, because this matters more than people realize.

Your Outfit: If your dress is very detailed or embellished, a simpler or smaller bouquet often works better—you don't want to compete with your dress. If your dress is more minimal, you can go bigger and more elaborate with flowers.

Your Activities: Hiking to a ceremony site? Keep it more compact. Standing at an altar for 20 minutes? You can handle something larger. Lots of photos in various positions? Think about how it'll look from different angles.

Formality Level: More formal weddings often call for more structured bouquets. More casual celebrations can handle looser, more organic styles.

Personal Comfort: Some people love holding something substantial. Others find large bouquets awkward. There's no wrong answer—it's about what feels right to you.

Color Approaches for Bouquets

Your bouquet doesn't have to match your bridesmaid bouquets or your centerpieces exactly—in fact, I often recommend they don't. Your bouquet can be more special, more refined, incorporate varieties we're using in smaller quantities.

Monochromatic with Depth

All warm tones—coral, peach, rust, burnt orange—but varied enough to have dimension and interest.

Complementary Contrast

Deep burgundy with pops of golden yellow. Magenta with lots of green. Colors that enhance each other.

Earth Tones with Unexpected Accent

Mostly rust, terracotta, and cream—then one or two blooms in a brighter coral or magenta to make it pop.

Jewel Tone Mix

Rich, saturated colors that play well together—burgundy, plum, deep coral, burnt orange. Very dramatic.

Soft Focus

Blush, cream, soft peach, with interesting foliage to add depth without adding more color.

What Goes Into Your Bouquet

Beyond just the flowers themselves, let's talk about the elements that make a bouquet feel complete.

Focal Flowers

These are your stars—the largest, most eye-catching blooms. Typically dahlias (summer/fall), garden roses (when we can get them to thrive), large peonies (spring, if we're lucky), or other substantial blooms.

How many: Usually 3-7 focal flowers depending on their size and the overall bouquet size. Too many and it gets muddy. Too few and it can feel sparse.

Secondary Flowers

These support and complement the focal flowers—slightly smaller, filling out the shape, adding variety. Think roses, lisianthus, ranunculus, smaller dahlias, cosmos, zinnias.

Filler and Texture

This is where personality comes in. Herbs like mint or basil (which smell amazing and add a cooking-garden feel). Grasses for movement. Seed heads for sculptural interest. Amaranth for those incredible draping elements. Scabiosa pods. Strawflower. Carrot flower.

Philosophy: The filler shouldn't feel like an afterthought or just there to take up space. Each element should add something—texture, color, movement, interest.

Foliage

Maybe the most underrated element. We use a lot of foliage—usually more than conventional florists—because it creates depth, adds color variation, provides structure, and frankly, desert-adapted foliage is often more interesting than basic greenery. Foliage doesn’t necessarily mean leafy greens. We are looking for the unexpected and unique textures that nature provides

What we use: Dusty miller (that incredible silvery texture), sage, olive branches, pepper berry foliage, interesting leaves from our own plants, wild grasses.

Unexpected Elements

Sometimes we incorporate things that aren't flowers at all—interesting branches, dried elements, herbs, fruiting branches. These surprises make bouquets memorable.

Mechanics and Construction

I know this seems technical, but it matters for how your bouquet feels in your hands and how it holds up.

Hand-Tied vs. Wired

We almost always do hand-tied bouquets. This means stems are kept fairly natural length and bound together, then wrapped. It creates a more organic look and feel, it's more sustainable (no floral foam, no excessive wire), and honestly, it showcases the flowers better.

Wired bouquets (where each flower is individually wired and taped) can create very specific shapes but feel more artificial. We reserve this technique for situations where it's really necessary.

Wrap and Finish

We usually wrap stems in ribbon, often silk ribbon in colors that complement your palette. We can also do more rustic wraps with twine and lace if that's your aesthetic. Or we can leave stems exposed if you want to see the natural stems.

Details that matter: We secure everything thoroughly so stems don't slip, we add pins if needed, we make sure the wrap is comfortable to hold. You'll be holding this for hours—it should feel good.

The Process of Creating Your Bouquet

Consultation

We talk about what you're drawn to, show you photos from past weddings, discuss what's in season for your date. I ask about your dress, your venue, your overall vision.

Vision Alignment

I'm not going to hand you a catalog and say "pick one." Instead, we're having a conversation. You might say "I love texture and want something that feels wild." I'll translate that into actual flowers and show you what that could mean for your September wedding.

Harvesting

I cut your flowers the morning of or the evening before your wedding—whatever timing ensures peak freshness. I'm choosing the absolute best blooms from our fields and conditioning them to last.

Design

I design your bouquet by hand, usually the morning of your wedding. This isn't assembly-line work. I'm responding to what the flowers are doing that day, how they're sitting together, what feels balanced and beautiful.

Delivery

We deliver your bouquet when you need it—usually when you're getting ready, so you have it for all those getting-ready photos.

Bouquet Preservation

A lot of couples ask about preserving their bouquet, and I always feel torn about this. On one hand, I understand wanting to keep something from your wedding day. On the other hand, flowers are meant to be impermanent—that's part of their beauty.

If you do want to preserve your bouquet, here's what I tell people:

Photograph it beautifully: Sometimes the best preservation is just incredible images. You'll remember how it looked and felt without trying to keep the physical object.

Compost it with intention: This feels right to me—returning those flowers to the soil so they can feed next year's blooms. There's something poetic about that cycle.

Professional preservation: If you really want to keep it, hire someone who knows what they're doing. Dried flowers can be beautiful but they'll never look quite like they did fresh, and honestly, that's okay.

What Your Bouquet Says

Here's something I think about: your bouquet is probably in more of your wedding photos than anything else except you and your partner. It's in ceremony shots, portraits, detail images, candids. It becomes part of how people remember your wedding.

So what do you want it to say?

Does it say "romantic and timeless"? Does it say "bold and unapologetic"? Does it say "connected to this place"? Does it say "joyful and abundant"? Does it say "refined and intentional"?

There's no right answer. But thinking about this helps us design something that feels authentic to you rather than just generically pretty.

Honest Talk About Cost

Bridal bouquets are one of the most labor-intensive pieces we create. Between growing the flowers, harvesting at peak time, conditioning properly, designing by hand, delivering personally—there's a lot that goes into it.

Most of our bridal bouquets fall in the $300-400 range depending on size, season, and complexity. Fall bouquets with peak dahlias might be at the higher end. Spring bouquets with earlier-season flowers might be lower.

I know that might sound like a lot for something that lasts one day. But consider: these are flowers grown without harmful chemicals on a small Moab farm, cut at their absolute peak, designed specifically for you by someone who cares deeply about getting it right, delivered personally. You're supporting local agriculture and sustainable practices. And honestly, when you hold that bouquet in your hands, when you see how it looks in your photos, most couples tell me they'd pay it again in a heartbeat.

What to Think About

As you're envisioning your bouquet, here are some questions to consider:

What's your dress like? Bring photos or descriptions to your consultation. The dress and bouquet need to work together.

What's your venue and ceremony setup? A formal indoor ceremony versus a desert cliff ceremony call for different approaches.

What's your season? This determines what's actually possible and what's at its prime.

How do you want to feel holding it? Powerful? Romantic? Bohemian? Joyful? This matters.

What draws you in photos you've seen? Not to copy exactly, but to understand your aesthetic.

Any flowers you definitely want or definitely don't want? Both are good to know.

Real Bouquet Stories

Let me share a few specific bouquets I've made and what made them special:

Late September Bouquet for Red Earth Venue Massive dinner-plate dahlias in burgundy and rust, smaller decorative dahlias in burnt orange, hanging amaranth, dusty miller, pepper berry foliage. The bride wanted drama and fall colors, and dahlias were at absolute peak. She cried when she saw it. Her ceremony was at sunset and the light hitting those burgundy dahlias is something I still think about.

June Bouquet for Whispering Oaks Ranch Coral and peach garden roses (when they finally decided to bloom perfectly), apricot ranunculus, bright coral zinnias, lots of eucalyptus and olive foliage, touches of queen anne's lace for airiness. More refined than our typical style because the bride wanted something romantic and sophisticated. The color palette was warm but soft—perfect for a mountain venue at golden hour.

August Elopement Bouquet for Castle Valley Small and wild—golden zinnias, bright magenta gomphrena, strawflower, tons of wild grasses and seed heads, very little structure. The couple was hiking to their ceremony spot and needed something lightweight and organic. It photographed like a dream against red rock, all that movement in the wind.

The Moment You See It

I love delivering bouquets. There's this moment—usually while you're getting ready, surrounded by your people, maybe nervous, maybe excited, definitely feeling all the feelings—when I hand you your bouquet.

And suddenly it's real. This day you've been planning is actually happening. These flowers grown in Moab dirt are now yours to hold. This thing we've talked about and envisioned together exists in your hands.

That moment gets me every time. It's why I do this work.

Creating Your Moab Bridal Bouquet

If you're planning a Moab wedding and thinking about your bridal bouquet, let's talk. We'll discuss your vision, your date, what's possible, what's incredible for your specific celebration.

I can't promise to make exactly what you pinned on Pinterest if those flowers aren't in season or don't thrive here. But I can promise to create something beautiful that's authentically you, grown with care, designed with intention, and perfect for your Moab wedding day.

Because your bouquet should feel like it was always meant to be yours, held in your hands, on this day, in this place.

Reach out and let's start the conversation.

Farm Yard
Moab, Utah
Sustainable Floristry & Small-Scale Farming