A gate at a wedding venue and a groom’s car decorated with exotic flowers. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Dec. 3: The flower business in the city appears to be in full bloom as wedding bells have started ringing. Original, fresh and exotic flowers top the list even though people seem eager to splurge on decorative items.

Unlike a few years ago when wedding flowers meant marigolds, tuberose and roses, the market today has been swept by a flood of imported flowers such as orchids, liliums, carnations, gerbera and daisies.

These flowers are mostly supplied from Bangalore. They can be arranged in bouquets, in different shapes and patterns, depending on the florist’s imagination.

For this, customers will have to make bookings seven days in advance and leave the rest to the florist. On the D-day, people from store would decorate the desired space, depending on the choice of flowers and budget.

Dupattas, ferns and stems are also included to enhance the floral designs. To make the selection of flower arrangement easier for clients, catalogues showing various designs and patterns are available at the store of every florist.

“At times, we also take emergency orders about two days in advance. However, that happens only when we have enough workers and less number of orders. Business is at an all-time high as people prefer expensive, exotic flowers that stay fresh for up to four days. We make sure the flowers reach us early in the morning so that we have enough time to deck the stage, car, gate and altar,” said a florist from Dhabaleswar Flowers, Janpath.

Although, rose still remains the most favoured wedding flower, people prefer the exotic varieties compared to the local ones. Florists here import the flowers available in an array of soothing colours such as white, pink, yellow, red, lilac and peach.

Orchids are earning a lot of popularity and hence making their presence felt in medium-budget weddings.

These flowers lend an element of sophistication and elegance to beautify spaces. They are mostly used for decorating mandap backgrounds, gates and cars. However, in high-budget nuptials, liliums — which lend a heady aroma to the ambience — take centrestage.