As a flower farmer in Ontario who specializes in dried wedding flowers, I’ve noticed something interesting over the past year: I seem to get a surprising amount of interest from Calgary brides. It got me wondering whether there’s something about the Alberta wedding aesthetic that makes dried flowers especially appealing. I may be biased, but when I picture prairie and Alberta weddings, I think of barns, open fields, ranch-style venues, mountain views and a more relaxed, natural atmosphere. That seems like a pretty natural fit for dried flowers.
Here in Ontario, I see plenty of weddings in wineries, city venues, banquet halls and industrial spaces, where the floral style can be quite different. Of course, there are rustic and outdoor weddings everywhere, but I’ve noticed that many of the Calgary brides who find my work seem particularly drawn to that natural, meadow-like look.
Even though I’m all the way across the country, I actually think dried flowers are one of the easiest types of wedding florals to order long-distance. You don't have to worry about a fresh bouquet spending a day in a shipping box or arriving at exactly the right stage of bloom. Dried flowers can be arranged, packed carefully and shipped months before the wedding, which gives couples quite a bit more flexibility.
After spending some time looking through the work of other dried flower growers and everlasting floral artists, I put together this list of places I would look if I were planning a Calgary or Alberta wedding and considering dried wedding flowers.
1. Harvest Hill Flower Farm (starting at $100)
Shop Harvest Hill Dried Wedding Bouquets
Yes, I’m putting my own flower farm first, but there’s a reason I think Harvest Hill can be a good fit for a Calgary bride looking for natural, meadow-inspired dried wedding flowers. I’m located in Ontario, but dried wedding flowers give me the freedom to ship Canada-wide. I offer ready-made bridal bouquets, DIY dried flower bunches and custom wedding orders, so you can choose between ordering a finished bouquet or using my flowers to create some of your own wedding arrangements. My arrangements feature bunny tails, statice, strawflowers, lavender, and other foraged material around the farm. I don't use any pesticides to grow the flowers, and I stay away from dyes to emphasis the natural colours of the flowers in my designs.
I grow all of the flowers myself here on my small Ontario flower farm, then harvest and air-dry them before using them in my wedding work. My aesthetic is very much inspired by the meadow: natural colours, soft textures and arrangements that feel like they could have just been gathered from a field. I’m not trying to make dried flowers look like fresh flowers. I actually love the character and variation that comes with flowers that have been grown, harvested and dried naturally.
One of the things I love most about everlasting wedding flowers is how far ahead we can work. Your wedding flowers don't have to be a last-minute detail. We can work on your order months before your wedding date, and you can have your bouquet and other dried florals safely in your home well before the wedding. For a Calgary bride planning a barn, prairie, outdoor or more relaxed wedding, I think that combination of a natural floral style and being able to have the flowers finished well in advance is a pretty great option.
2. Lady Shat Farm (starting at $40)
Shop Lady Shat Farm Dried Flowers
If you're a DIY bride, Lady Shat Farm is another one I'd look at. They offer dried flower bouquets (not wedding ready) at a much lower price point, around $40, which could be a great starting point if you're comfortable doing some of the arranging yourself. Rather than purchasing a completely finished bridal bouquet, you could use a few bunches as the base of your wedding flowers, add more stems for volume and arrange or customize them yourself. I think this could be especially appealing if you like the look of dried flowers but want to keep your floral budget lower and don't mind doing some of the creative work yourself.
3. The Luna (starting at $175)
See The Luna's Wedding Flowers
If you're looking for something more bohemian, The Luna has a very different aesthetic from my own. Their work incorporates more pampas grass and preserved dried florals, with that soft, bohemian wedding look that has become so popular for weddings. Bridal bouquets start around $175, and they're located right in Calgary, so this could be a good option if you want to work with a local florist and prefer not to have your flowers shipped from another province. If you're picturing pampas grass, neutral tones and a more styled boho arrangement rather than a garden-meadow bouquet, this is one I'd look at.
4. Bloom Boom (starting at $190)
Bloom Boom is another Alberta option, with wedding flowers by Amanda serving Alberta and Saskatchewan. Their work has much more colour and personality, which I love seeing in the dried flower world because dried florals don't have to mean beige and neutral. Bridal bouquets start around $190, with boutonnieres and hair comb pieces starting around $55, and they also offer DIY wedding flowers. That gives you another option if you're somewhere between wanting completely designed wedding florals and wanting to arrange everything yourself. If you love bold colours and want your dried flowers to feel cheerful and distinctive rather than muted, I'd definitely take a look at their work.
5. Karinya Botanicals (starting at $120)
See Karinya Botanicals Wedding Flowers
Karinya Botanicals is another Ontario-based flower business that ships across Canada, so I wouldn't overlook Ontario growers just because you're getting married in Alberta. I've been particularly inspired by her colourful, meadow-like designs because there's a really nice balance between looking natural and feeling intentionally designed. Her work incorporates flowers such as strawflower, German statice, ammonium, sea holly, wheat and lavender, and wedding bouquets start around $120.
I also like that her business extends beyond weddings into everlasting home décor and craft fairs. As someone who grows and dries flowers myself, I really appreciate that connection between the flowers you grow for a wedding and the flowers that can continue to be enjoyed long afterward.
6. 805 Florals
See 805 Florals' Alberta Wedding Florals
If buying from an Alberta flower farm is important to you, take a look at 805 Florals. They offer both fresh and dried wedding flowers, along with bouquets and beautiful wreaths. I always love seeing flower farms offering wedding work because there's something special about knowing your flowers were grown by the same people who are designing them for your wedding. If you're looking for Alberta-grown flowers and want to explore both fresh and dried options, this would definitely be one I'd add to your list.
Why I Think Dried Flowers Work So Well for Alberta Weddings
Obviously, I'm a little biased here. I've built my business around dried wedding flowers! But I think the appeal goes beyond simply liking the look. Dried flowers give you a lot of flexibility that fresh wedding flowers don't. Your bouquet can be made well in advance, shipped across the country and sitting safely at home long before the wedding day arrives. You're not dealing with flowers that need to be kept cool or used within a few days, and you have much more flexibility around when the actual floral work gets done.
They're also incredibly well suited to outdoor and rustic wedding settings. A dried bouquet can have that slightly wild, gathered-from-the-field look that works beautifully with wood, stone, old barns, open fields and natural landscapes. At the same time, dried flowers don't have to look rustic. They can be colourful and structured, soft and neutral, bohemian, meadow-inspired or surprisingly elegant depending on the flowers and the way they're arranged.
As a flower farmer, I especially love the fact that dried flowers let you hold onto something from your wedding for years afterward. Your bouquet isn't going to disappear after a week. You can keep it on a shelf, display it in your home or have individual flowers incorporated into another keepsake. There's something really nice about having a physical part of your wedding sitting in your home years later.
A Few Things to Consider When Ordering Dried Wedding Flowers in Calgary
If you're ordering dried flowers from outside Alberta, I'd start earlier than you might with a local florist. Not because dried flowers are difficult to ship — they're actually quite easy to ship compared with fresh flowers — but because you want plenty of time to communicate about your colours, bouquet size, wedding party flowers and overall style. I'd also ask whether the flowers are naturally dried or preserved, whether the colours are natural or dyed, and where the flowers were grown if that matters to you. If you do choose an Ontario supplier, shipping costs will be higher than if you go local.
And don't be afraid to mix and match. You could order your bridal bouquet from one florist, buy DIY bunches for your tables from a flower farm and make your own bud vases or smaller arrangements. That's one of the things I like most about dried wedding flowers: there isn't just one way to do them.
If you're a Calgary bride searching for dried wedding flowers, I hope this gives you a few places to start. There are some really beautiful dried and everlasting floral businesses across Alberta and Canada, and I love seeing more couples choosing flowers that can be enjoyed long after the wedding day. And if you end up ordering your flowers from an Ontario flower farm, well... I certainly won't complain.
