Just as brides will deliberate over their wedding attire, carefully choosing a wedding fragrance has become an important detail to get right. Depending how you want to feel on the day, a perfume can be uplifting and playful or pretty and romantic. It’s also one of the few elements worn on the day that you can easily re-wear in the future, and has the power to transport back to the day whenever you do.  

Make it yours

Taking this idea and dialing up the luxury, ultra-lux weddings are seeing brides create their very own, custom-blended wedding perfume. A personal wedding fragrance gives the opportunity to create something truly unique. You might want your fragrance to remind you of a specific holiday or place that’s important to you as a couple, and include floral notes that have symbolic meaning to you, or perhaps conjure family memories. Or, if you’d like a blend that encapsulates your wedding, you can call on the expertise of a perfume expert to reflect details of your wedding day, from your bouquet to the styling, and effectively bottle your wedding in a fragrance. 

A number of international fragrance and beauty houses offer this bespoke service. One of these is London-based perfumer, Floris, that, over its almost 300-year history, has created unique scents for British Royalty.

Another is Guerlain, the French brand behind the classic Shalimar, created fragrances for Napolean. They work with brides (and grooms) to create your one-of-a-kind wedding scent.

A couture approach

The process involves working with a master perfumer who will translate your tastes, and any special memories or other important factors, into a number of components such as oils, spices and flowers. Their expertise comes to the fore as the perfumer blends these elements to create a harmonious and truly individual fragrance for your wedding day. Just as with fashion, a couture fragrance can require several ‘fittings’, as scent can subtly be subtly different on each wearer. 

As with any couture service, there can be a high price tag, as you’d expect in the world of the ultra-lux. If such luxury is beyond your budget, try a service such as that offered by Jo Malone, whose fragrances are popular with many brides. 

Their bridal consultations will help you identify the perfect perfume for your wedding day. As well as offering body products such as bath oils and body lotions to give your chosen scent longevity, they can also advise on how to fragrance your wedding venue, and offer favours or bridal party gifts.  

Even if your budget does not stretch to the level of the ultra-lux wedding, take a (floral) note of inspiration and make scent a central part of your wedding wardrobe.