My first winter wedding as a planner was a January ceremony in Vermont, and the bride had her heart set on peonies. I found them, flown in from New Zealand at three times the June price, and they browned at the edges the moment they hit the cold air between the car and the church. The anemones I’d added as backup lasted all night.
I learned then to plan winter flowers around what’s actually blooming. Each winter month has its own stars, and if you plan around them you’ll save money and get flowers that look fresh. Here are the winter flowers I’d choose, the 14 designs I’d copy, and what each one costs.
What’s in season, month by month
December. Amaryllis is at its peak, along with paperwhites and cymbidium orchids. Evergreens are at their best and cheapest.
January. Anemones and hellebores peak, and January has the widest range of tulip colours. Amaryllis often gets cheaper after the holidays.
February. Ranunculus reaches its peak, and hyacinths and sweet peas start to appear.
All winter. Forced tulips, roses, carnations, eucalyptus, dusty miller, cotton, pinecones and berries such as ilex and hypericum.
Two favourites to avoid: dahlias are essentially unavailable in winter, and peonies are imported from Chile, New Zealand or greenhouses at two to three times their spring price. Ranunculus and garden roses give you a similar soft, full look for far less.
What winter flowers cost
The Knot’s study of 2025 weddings puts the average flower spend at $2,800, and January to March ties for the most expensive quarter at $2,900, because more flowers are shipped from far away. Zola’s figure is much higher at $6,300, so budgets vary a lot.
Per stem, one US company’s winter guide lists tulips at $1 to $2, carnations at 50 cents to $1.50, anemones at $2 to $4, ranunculus at $2 to $3.50, roses at $2 to $5, amaryllis at $3 to $6, cymbidium orchids at $4 to $7 and hellebores at $5 to $8. Evergreens run $1 to $3 a bunch.
Watch the holidays. Christmas week and New Year’s Eve cost the most, so book about a year ahead. Red roses go up 20 to 40 percent between February 10 and 16, and tariffs on Ecuadorian roses pushed prices higher in 2026.
The value window. Early to mid January. Anemones and hellebores are at their peak, and the holiday rush is over.
The colours couples are choosing
Green leads Zola’s 2026 data, appearing in 53 percent of weddings, and Zola’s winter palette is sage, forest green, olive and moss. The Knot found gold in 43 percent and dark green in 35 percent of October to December weddings, though those figures cover 2024. On Pinterest, searches for plum weddings are up 630 percent, merlot 370 percent and raspberry 330 percent. Deep berry tones with dark green and a touch of gold are the winter palette of the moment.
Bridal bouquets (designs 1 to 5)
1. Frosted silver bouquet
The design: A round bridal bouquet of ivory and cream roses, ivory ranunculus, dusty miller, silver brunia and eucalyptus, tied with long trailing gold and silver metallic ribbons.
Best for: Winter and New Year’s.
Cost: Roses run $2 to $5 a stem and ranunculus $2 to $3.50 in winter.
Silver foliage reads as frost without any glitter. I love this for a New Year’s Eve wedding, when the metallic ribbons catch the candlelight.
2. Evergreen and white garden bouquet
The design: A loose garden-style bridal bouquet of white garden roses and white butterfly ranunculus with mixed winter evergreens, tied with an emerald velvet ribbon.
Best for: Winter.
Cost: Evergreens cost $1 to $3 a bunch, the cheapest volume in winter.
White and green is the classic winter pairing for a reason. The evergreens give you volume for almost nothing, so spend the money on good garden roses.
3. Aubergine hellebore micro bouquet
The design: A small asymmetrical bridal bouquet of deep aubergine hellebores and dark plum anemones, tied with a deep plum raw silk ribbon.
Best for: Winter, best in January.
Cost: Hellebores peak in January at $5 to $8 a stem, anemones at $2 to $4.
Pinterest searches for plum weddings are up 630 percent, and this tiny bouquet is the winter version. Smaller bouquets are one of the strongest trends of 2026.
4. Winter field textural bouquet
The design: A soft textural bridal bouquet of ivory ranunculus, silvery dusty miller, brunia berries and dried honesty seed pods, tied with a pale grey velvet ribbon.
Best for: Winter, January to February.
Cost: Ranunculus peaks in February at $2 to $3.50 a stem.
Florist Chloe Powell built this to look like a winter field. The dried honesty pods are paper-thin and catch the light like ice.
5. Tartan Christmas amaryllis nosegay
The design: A compact nosegay of red amaryllis, red sweetheart roses, orange bittersweet berries and holly, wrapped in a red and green tartan grosgrain ribbon.
Best for: Christmas.
Cost: Amaryllis peaks in December at $3 to $6 a stem.
If your wedding falls in Christmas week, lean into it. Amaryllis is at its best in December, and tartan makes it feel like a family tradition.
A boutonniere (design 6)
6. Rosemary and hellebore boutonniere
The design: A small boutonniere of one cream hellebore on a sprig of rosemary, wrapped in undyed twine.
Best for: Winter.
Cost: Zola prices boutonnieres at $20 to $40 each.
Rosemary smells good in a warm room, and one hellebore is all a groom needs. Chloe Powell also makes these with a cluster of brunia berries.
Tables and centrepieces (designs 7 to 10)
7. Red anemone bud vase table
The design: A row of small clear bud vases each holding one red anemone, on a red velvet table runner with red taper candles in gold holders.
Best for: Valentine’s and Christmas.
Cost: Anemones cost $2 to $4 a stem in winter, about half the summer price.
Red anemones give you a Valentine’s table without the rose premium. Red roses cost 20 to 40 percent more in the week before February 14.
8. Potted woodland moss table
The design: Small aged terracotta pots of white snowdrops, white narcissi, wax flower and snowberries set into a bed of green moss along the table, with bronze candlesticks and white tapers.
Best for: Winter, January to February.
Cost: Narcissi run from November to February in the UK.
Philippa Craddock plants the bulbs in old clay pots so guests can take them home and plant them. Moss tablescapes are up 90 percent on Pinterest.
9. Evergreen runner with coloured tapers
The design: A low runner of mixed pine, cedar and fir with red ilex and hypericum berries down the centre of the table, with dark green, burgundy and cream taper candles.
Best for: Christmas.
Cost: Evergreens cost $1 to $3 a bunch and berries are low cost.
This is the most affordable table on the list. Mix the candle colours and the whole room glows.
10. Apple, pear and leaf still life table
The design: A runner of autumn leaves with green apples and russet pears laid along it, a few dried orange slices, and white candles in clear glass bottles.
Best for: Winter.
Cost: Fruit costs far less than flowers.
The Knot names fruit with flowers as a 2026 trend, and dried orange garlands are up 100 percent on Pinterest. It looks like an old Dutch painting.
Ceremony and overhead (designs 11 to 13)
11. Wild winter garden aisle
The design: Low lush arrangements of pine and cedar with white roses and white cymbidium orchids at the foot of each aisle chair, in hidden low vessels.
Best for: Winter.
Cost: Cymbidiums peak December to January at $4 to $7 a stem and last two to three weeks.
Low aisle pieces make the room feel like a garden in the snow. Keep the cymbidiums indoors, because long cold damages them.
12. Christmas tree altar
The design: Five real evergreen trees of different heights standing behind the altar, the centre tree dressed with white amaryllis, pearl garlands, velvet ribbons and pale blue ribbons, with swagged evergreen garlands.
Best for: Christmas.
Cost: White amaryllis costs $3 to $6 a stem in December.
Once Gathered designed this for a December wedding, and it’s the one I’d copy for a Christmas Eve ceremony. Replant the trees afterwards if you can.
13. Blush rose hanging installation
The design: A suspended installation of blush and nude pink roses hanging low over a long table, with floating glass tea lights and taper lights hung inside the flowers.
Best for: Winter.
Cost: Roses cost $2 to $5 a stem outside Valentine’s week.
Flower installations are up 195 percent on Pinterest. Blush keeps it soft, and it costs less than red in February.
An alternative bouquet (design 14)
14. Raspberry bouquet purse
The design: A handled purse-shaped bouquet packed with raspberry and blush ranunculus and red anemones, with a raspberry velvet handle.
Best for: Valentine’s.
Cost: Ranunculus peaks in February at $2 to $3.50 a stem.
Bouquet purses are up 1,015 percent on Pinterest, and raspberry weddings are up 330 percent. This one is my own design, put together from those two trends.
Keeping flowers fresh in the cold
Flowers can freeze at 32°F (0°C) and look fine outside, then turn brown once they warm up indoors. White flowers show it first. Ask your florist to wrap everything in kraft paper and tissue, and never leave flowers in a cold car.
Indoors, leave the wrapping on for 20 to 30 minutes so the flowers warm up slowly, then use room-temperature water. Keep arrangements away from radiators and draughty doors. Anemones open wider in a warm room and tulips keep growing in the vase, so let your florist know how warm the venue will be. For outdoor photos, keep your bouquet inside until the last minute. Florists disagree on which flowers handle cold best, so I treat every flower as frost-sensitive.
Where I’d start
If your date is flexible, pick the middle of January. You’ll get anemones and hellebores at their best, and you’ll miss both the Christmas rush and the Valentine’s rose prices. Build the bouquet around one of those, fill the tables with evergreens and candles, and spend what you save on one big moment, like a hanging installation over the head table.
With love,
Laura Everly Sterling, Glimmering Events
