As well as looking like a beautiful addition to a wedding dress, a bridal bouquet is expected to emit a sweet and refined aroma throughout the wedding day. Gardenias are therefore a perfect choice for any bride, as they are famed for their complex fragrance with hints of citrus zest and sweeter notes of coconut. The flower is also often used to provide fragrance in perfumes and candles.
The name derives from the aptly-named botanist Alexander Garden, who cultivated them in Charleston, South Carolina, after settling there from Scotland in the late 18th century. The flower took on much of its symbolic meaning in the Victorian era when its red variety became a common gift between secret lovers. Meanwhile, white gardenias — such as those that were part of Jackie Kennedy’s wedding bouquet — also symbolize love, but within the context of marriage represent trust, honesty, and purity. They are also said to denote gentleness within a relationship.
