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Updated Mar 17, 2025You'll Totally Fall for These Cascading Wedding Bouquets
Make a statement by carrying one of these oversized bouquets.
by Hillary Hoffower
Updated Jan 22, 2025
No matter your wedding style, cascading bridal bouquets have a swoon-worthy effect that makes people stop and look. These decadent arrangements, typically designed with flowers and vines that spill out from the bouquet, are most often associated with royalty and glamorous themes—they're intended to make a statement. But there are so many different ways to embrace the cascading wedding bouquet, and we've got plenty of examples to prove it, from pastel arrangements for a spring wedding to luxe jewel-tone bouquets that double down on the regal vibes. Before meeting with your florist, check out these cascading floral bouquets from real weddings to inspire your very own design.
What to Know About Cascading Wedding Bouquets: What They Are | Ideas | FAQs | Finding Florists
What Is a Cascading Wedding Bouquet?
Of all the types of wedding bouquets, a cascading flower bouquet resembles an upside-down teardrop, with a rounded bunch of flowers at the top that gradually taper down into a single point. The end result is a bouquet that cascades over your hands and down the front of your wedding dress like a waterfall.
While there isn't meaningful significance behind the cascading wedding bouquet, they were very popular at the turn of the century. "Fashionwise, dresses had large skirts and ornate ruffles and veils were long and voluminous, so the flowers matched," explains Michelle Hannah, owner and head designer at Wild Floral Design based in Bronx, New York, who focuses on floral designs that are garden-like and romantic in style. "Imported flowers were not really a thing, so flowers were more expensive and a status symbol."
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That means the bigger, the better. Bridal cascade bouquets from this time often featured gardenias, orchids, carnations, lilies and roses and a lot of foliage, she adds. Sometimes, flowers were attached to ribbons and cascaded down from the bouquet to add additional floral elements and length.
These larger-than-life bouquets were also a major staple of the '80s—Princess Diana famously carried a cascading bouquet that nearly reached her ankles, spurring a wave of waterfall-inspired arrangements and one of the biggest wedding flower trends of the decade.
Today, wedding cascade bouquets are still a go-to option if you want to make a statement or embrace a maximalist mindset for your wedding day—and there are a few different styles you can opt for. A waterfall bridal bouquet is a more classic cascade, rounded at the top and trailing into a point for a teardrop-like shape. Or you can take a more modern route. A drip bouquet, for example, features flowers and foliage trailing downward in a more asymmetrical design for a drip effect.
Cascading Wedding Bouquet Ideas
If you're more of a visual person, seeing real-life examples of bouquets will give you a clear vision of what you do or don't like. Get ready to bookmark these luscious cascading wedding bouquet ideas.
1. White Cascading Bouquet
This blooming white cascading bridal bouquet boasts champagne-colored garden roses and hydrangeas with some lush greenery. The classic color palette mixed with a cascading design creates a style that's both timeless and modern.
2. Cascading Red Orchid Bouquet
Believe it or not, this sumptuous bouquet of red, burgundy and peach is made of faux flowers—perfect for the budget bride who wants to DIY. The result is an artificial cascading bridal bouquet that's effortlessly rich in romance.
3. Small Cascading Bridal Bouquet
Cream and blush flowers interspersed with touches of orange, yellow and taupe blend together in a husky color palette, while wispy tendrils of foliage create a subtle cascade effect in this bohemian cascading bouquet.
4. Cascading Greenery Bridal Bouquet
This emerald-hued arrangement is proof that you don't need florals for your cascading bridal bouquet. A verdant mix of greenery and foliage makes a statement in itself.
5. Cascading Burgundy Bridal Bouquet
Dripping red amaranthus is the perfect choice for cascading winter wedding bouquets. This one is elegant and luscious, featuring wild sprigs of green.
6. Cascading Sunflower Bridal Bouquet
Photography: Caitlin Alohilani Photography
,Florist: Culver City Flower Shop
Sunflowers are a popular choice for rustic themes and summer weddings, but they look great in a blue and white cascade bouquet, too. Pair them alongside other cheerful blossoms, like blue thistle and craspedia, for a farm-inspired design.
7. Cascading Phalaenopsis Orchid Bouquet
Photography: Margot Landen Photography
,Florist: Bloem Decor
This luxe bouquet is literally dripping with orchids. The white flowers, known as phalaenopsis or "moth" orchids, provide multiple blooms per stem, which adds to the waterfall effect. Understated blush roses balance out the top of the arrangement.
8. Cascading Wildflower Wedding Bouquet
Photography: Kaitlyn Luckow & Alexander Kanastab
Wildflowers are ideal for creating an asymmetrical bouquet—their natural look has a perfectly imperfect finesse. Accents like goldenrod, wheat stems, hops vines and baby's breath can be clustered on one side of the bouquet to create the cascade shape.
9. Purple Cascading Bridal Bouquet
Make your waterfall cascade bouquet stand out even more by finishing it with long ribbons that mirror the trailing vines. This pastel purple and blush bouquet looks gorgeous for a springtime garden fete.
10. Pink Bougainvillea Cascading Wedding Bouquet
A waterfall shape can add oomph to an otherwise monochromatic bouquet. Bright pink bougainvillea anchors one side of this oversized flower arrangement, creating a cascading effect and contrasting with the coral and yellow blooms.
11. Romantic Cascade Bridal Bouquet
This swoon-worthy cascade is a romantic bride's dream. It's brimming with luxurious mauve and blush blooms, interspersed with delicate white flowers and sweet peas for an unexpected touch.
12. Dramatic Drip Cascade
Photography: Jon Duenas Photography,
Florist: Fieldwork Flowers
This dramatic arrangement of greenery and white roses is evidence of the power of a drip cascade. The asymmetrical effect has a contemporary feel that's ideal for a minimalist wedding.
13. Muted Peach Cascading Bouquet
Soft, ruffled blooms in bold yet muted shades of Moroccan spice contrast with earth-toned accents, ferns, seasonal grass and foraged texture. The combination creates an effortless movement and organic flow, finished with a complimenting shade of naturally dyed silk ribbon.
14. Cascading Fall Bridal Bouquet
The color palette in this red cascading bridal bouquet is one of our favorites for a fall wedding. Amaranthus bunches add a lush look to this bouquet of dark red dahlias, with peach and orange ribbons trailing down the stems for a whimsical finish.
15. Cascading Wedding Bouquet With Orchids
Photography: Madeline Rose Photography Co
,Florist: Dillon's Florist
Let orchids have their moment to shine by making them the only star in the show in your cascading wedding bouquet. The white and green combination has a classic effect for a chic wedding.
16. Tropical Cascading Bouquet
Photography: Christina McNeill Photography
,Florist: Mandy Grace Designs
Brightly colored blooms, like the orchids, anthurium and ranunculus seen here, echo the fun, easygoing vibes of a tropical or beach wedding theme. Palm fronds were used to create the cascade shape.
17. Cascading Bouquet With Ranunculus
This vibrant bouquet in a palette of pinks, purples and reds cascades beautifully with ranunculus and greenery. It packs a punch for a lively fall wedding.
18. Blush Bohemian Cascading Bouquet
Blush blooms and textured greenery are artfully arranged for a bohemian cascading bouquet befitting a forest wedding. The look is delicate, sweet and natural.
19. Blush and Ivory Bouquet With Vines
Blush and ivory are two of the most timeless wedding colors. But if your style leans more classic-with-a-twist, you can put an unexpected spin on this elegant palette by opting for a dramatic cascading bouquet. The oversized shape will make a statement all its own, so stick with classic flowers like ivory roses, blushing bride proteas, pieris and trailing vines to avoid going too modern.
20. Cascading Rose Bridal Bouquet With Lilies
For a truly regal approach, carry an all-white wedding bouquet—a tradition favored by some of the most famous royals, including the Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Eugenie and Princess Diana. This example includes white roses, dendrobium orchids and lilies.
21. Colorful Cascade Bouquet
Photography: Care Studios
,Florist: Studio South
A beach wedding calls for a wild bouquet that comes to life in a rainbow of colors. With violet and magenta hues popping with buttercream yellow, this cascading bouquet delivers just that.
22. Cascading Peony Bridal Bouquet With Orchids
Two coral charm peonies act as the focal point for this colorful bouquet, accented with roses, astilbe, dendrobium orchid stems and assorted greenery.
23. Cascading Bridal Bouquet With Eucalyptus
Leafy greenery, like this silver dollar eucalyptus, is another way to fake a waterfall bouquet without going all in. The wispy branches naturally soften the shape of the arrangement while adding movement and texture.
24. King Protea Cascading Bouquet
Photography: Coryn Kiefer Photography
,Florist: Floral Elegance
Pink cascading bridal bouquets never fail to catch the eye, and this one does just that thanks to king protea and rose blooms. Accents of yellow and blue peek out among them for a muted effect.
25. Rustic Cascading Bridal Bouquet
Photography: Molliner Photography
,Florist: Porch Therapy
Perfect for a fall wedding or farmhouse chic theme, this bouquet features a subtle cascade shape and a neutral color palette, with white dahlias, dried scabiosa pods and a touch of bougainvillea.
26. Tropical Cascading Bridal Bouquet
White orchids and green amaranthus combine for an elegant cascading bouquet befitting for a destination wedding. We can just see this coming down the aisle at a beach ceremony!
27. Winter Wedding Cascading Bouquet
Foraged evergreens bring an unexpected touch to this cascade effect, paired with moss and soft pink and ivory blooms for some serious but subtle winter wedding vibes.
28. Fuschia Cascading Bridal Bouquet
Fuschia, violet and red come to life in this beauty. Designed with ranunculus and orchids, it's inspired by the cascading shape of bougainvillea, which is too temperamental to withstand high temperatures.
29. Springtime Cascading Bouquet
This cascading bridal bouquet of dahlias, ranunculus, roses, lavender and seeded eucalyptus is giving us major springtime frenzy. It emits a light and airy vibe that's part elegance, part bohemian.
30. Green Jasmine Cascade Bouquet
Photography: Abby Jiu Photography
,Florist: Edge Floral Event Designers
A dreamy cascade of jasmine vine, eucalyptus, roses and dusty millers creates an organic, timeless bouquet that is utterly enchanting. We love how it's paired with a long blue ribbon for that final touch.
Cascading Wedding Bouquet: Frequently Asked Questions
Cascading wedding bouquets are every bit as dreamy and romantic as they sound. Now that you have a better idea of what you want yours to look like, here's what you need to know to land the right effect.
What Is the Cost of a Cascading Bridal Bouquet?
Wedding flower costs typically eat up about 10% of your overall wedding budget. But how much is the cost of a cascading bridal bouquet? That depends on the materials used and the season. For example, many feature orchids, which Hannah says can elevate the price. She typically starts at $350 and goes up to $600, depending on the materials and size of the bouquet. You can learn more about who pays for wedding flowers and how much bouquets and other floral arrangements will cost in your region using The Knot Budget Advisor.
What Are the Best Flowers for Cascading Wedding Bouquets?
Any professional wedding florist can work their magic to incorporate your favorite flowers, but there are a handful of blooms that easily lend themselves to cascading bouquets. Flowers that grow with long stems, like calla lilies, orchids, roses and tulips, are great for creating the rounded base of the bouquet.
Hannah loves using vine-like flowers, like chains of hyacinth and flowering jasmine in the spring and clematis and amaranthus in the fall. Sweet peas and bougainvillea are also frequently used in cascading wedding bouquets to create the long, spindly effect toward the bottom of the arrangement.
What Foliage Is Used in Cascading Bouquets?
We can't forget greenery, which is another essential component for this type of design. "Generally, I like wispy vines that create movement and gestural curls as they cascade," Hannah says. "It's also an interesting place to use seasonal vines, berries, branches and other textures."
Foliage used in cascading bouquets runs the gamut depending on the season. Hannah gravitates toward asparagus fern, silver dollar eucalyptus and string smilax in the winter; tender branches such as spirea and genestra in the spring; ivy, pandora vine, honeysuckle, green tomatoes on the vine and elaeagnus in the summer; and bittersweet vine and Jackson vine in the fall.
How to Find Cascading Wedding Bouquets
Although cascading wedding bouquets can be a bit tricky to design, the right florist will be able to bring your vision to life. You can start the hunt for one on The Knot Vendor Marketplace, selecting "florists" and filtering your search by location and flower arrangement. You can narrow your search further by reaching out with the right questions to ask a florist:
- How often do you create cascading wedding bouquets?
- Can you show me examples of cascading wedding bouquets you've designed?
- What flowers and foliage would you suggest that fit my color theme and palette?
- Are there any seasonal limitations on flowers typically used in cascading bouquets?
- How do you make sure the cascade flows in a balanced manner?
Don't forget to ask about their rates and logistics, such as their communication style and how the bouquets are delivered (or picked up) the day of. You'll find a florist who can craft your dream cascade in no time.
Additional reporting by Samantha Iacia.
