Mystical Wedding Flowers at The Secret Gardens in Bodega Bay

9 Sept

When a bride first reached out to me about her wedding at The Secret Gardens in Bodega Bay, she described her vision in the most magical way:

“My wedding vision is inspired by Pre-Raphaelite artwork full of magic, fairies, and goddesses. I want my wedding to have a dark romantic, mystical feel, leaning into the forest where the ceremony will take place. I imagine lots of candles, flowing drapery, and cottage core details. My bridesmaids will all wear flower crowns, and my bouquet should feel like wildflowers I gathered before the ceremony. I picture archways draped in flowers, especially in the ceremony area..”

As a Sonoma County wedding florist, I love when couples share such a clear theme. It allows me to design florals that don’t just decorate a space, but actually tell a story.

Designing a Wild, Romantic Bridal Bouquet

This bride didn’t want her bouquet to feel heavy or overly traditional. Instead, she asked for smaller, delicate blooms that would create movement and texture — like something freshly gathered from a meadow.

While roses weren’t the star of this bouquet, I used them sparingly to introduce specific shades of terracotta and wine red into the palette. Their color added depth, while the rest of the bouquet remained light, whimsical, and full of organic texture with berries, vines, and delicate blooms.

The result was a bouquet that looked wild and natural, with just enough richness from the roses to tie in the bride’s chosen colors.

The Secret Gardens in Bodega Bay: A Magical Venue

The Secret Gardens is already a breathtaking venue, with its lush greenery and tucked-away feel. To complement this natural backdrop, we designed florals in a palette of sage green, terracotta, and wine red. The bridesmaids wore sage green dresses and flower crowns, tying the entire look together in a way that felt straight out of a fairytale.

For the ceremony, archways were dressed with climbing greenery, blooms, and candles, creating a sense of enchantment that echoed the bride’s Pre-Raphaelite inspiration.

Why Your Inspiration Matters in Wedding Florals

One of my favorite things about floral design is transforming a couple’s inspiration into reality. And inspiration can come from anywhere:

A favorite painting or piece of artwork
A destination you love
A season or a flower that feels meaningful
Even just a mood or feeling you want your wedding day to evoke

What matters is not being literal, but interpreting your inspiration through color, texture, and style. For this wedding, the theme wasn’t about adding fairies or props — it was about creating a darkly romantic, mystical mood through floral design.

Bringing Your Wedding Vision to Life

This Bodega Bay wedding was the perfect example of how a theme can guide your florals without being overwhelming. The soft, wild bouquet, the subtle touch of roses for color, the sage and terracotta palette, the bridesmaids’ crowns, and the ceremony arch all worked together to tell one cohesive story.

If you’re planning a wedding and have a theme, vision, or even just a feeling in mind, I’d love to help bring it to life through flowers. You can reach me here to start the conversation.