What Exotic Flowers Are Good Choices For Tropical Wedding Bouquets?

Are you planning a tropical wedding and need some ideas and help on choosing the best flowers for your tropical wedding bouquet? Here, you'll find several descriptions with pictures of exotic flowers to help you make a more informed choice on what suits your upcoming wedding.

If your wedding will be held on a tropical island then you may want to consider having your bouquets and centerpieces made locally using the beautiful and exotic flowers that are grown and cultivated on that particular island. It's actually cheaper than importing the "typical" bridal flowers such as roses and carnations.

Hawaii has some beautiful exotic flowers that naturally grow there, but interestingly enough, a lot of the flowers that we typically associate with Hawaii aren't really native to the island at all, but were brought over by explorers and travelers. (See our Hawaiian Wedding Ideas page.)

If you're not getting married on a tropical island, but instead, you're planning a beach wedding but want exotic flowers and a tropical wedding bouquet, you may find it a bit more expensive. However, if you can find a suitable substitute that is similar to the flowers you desire, you may be able to save some money in this area.

Have a look at some of the flowers shown below, along with several photos of tropical wedding bouquets to get some great ideas.

Tropical Wedding Flowers

Anthuriums

The Anthurium was first brought to Hawaii by Samuel Damon (an English missionary), in 1889 from Colombia. It has a long shelf-life, making it a beautiful choice for bouquets and floral arrangements. This flower comes in a bright vibrant red, a lovely pink, green midori, peach, and white.

 

Birds of Paradise

The bird-of-paradise is a bold and colorful flower. The bloom itself resembles a bird's head (hence the name) and is one of the most popular of tropical flowers. Its origins started in South Africa and were cultivated in Madagascar. It comes in a vibrant orange or yellow, with accents of blue to deep purple.

 

Dendrobium Orchids

Dendrobium orchids originate from South East Asia and span an area that Northern India to the islands off the East coast of New Guinea and Australia to Polynesia. There's over a thousand varieties that come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors.

 

Ginger

Ginger is a gorgeous, symmetrical floral bloom that is grown in most tropical areas around the world. The flower has been cultivated for thousands of years in both China and India, although its exact origins aren't known. Other names for this ornamental flower are: ostrich plumes, torches, and golden "beehives". These flowers were first introduced to Hawaii during the past century. Colors are red and pink.

Heliconia Psittacorum

Similar to the bird-of-paradise flowers, these dainty and exotic blooms are a fabulous way to add bright splashes of color to wedding flower arrangements and bouquets. Varieties such as "false bird of paradise", "parrots beak" and "parakeet" can be used and feature colors of red, yellow, orange and pink.

 

Proteas

The Proteas was named after the Greed god Proteus and is a native flower of South Africa and Australia. There are several varieties such as Pink Mink and Pincushions (this spiny variety resembles a sea urchin). They are colorful and comes in shapes that are feathery, fuzzy and spiny. The blooms are long lasting, making them an excellent choice for wedding table arrangements. They come in shades of red, orange, and yellow.

Other Popular Tropical Wedding Flowers

In addition to the above suggestions, other flowers that are quite popular are:

• Crown flowers which are small, delicate flowers with no scent. They come in lavender and white.
• Hibiscus is a popular wedding flower, regardless of the wedding location. The blooms are large and trumpet-shaped and range in color from white to pink, red, orange, purple or yellow.
• Ilima feature bright yellow and orange petals. They are a favorite of the Hawaiian's and were worn by Hawaiian royalty.
• Pikake is a traditional Hawaiian wedding flower, often chosen to be woven into leis. They are tiny, white delicate flowers with a lovely scent.
• Plumeria comes in shades of bright oranges, pinks, yellows and white. It has a nice, sweet scent.

Pictures of Tropical Wedding Bouquets

The above flowers would all be wonderful to use in a bridal bouquet. In addition, here are some photos of beautiful tropical wedding bouquets that should help spark some ideas for your own flower arrangements.