Wedding Flower Arrangements and Ideas

One of the most important items on a wedding planning checklist is picking your wedding flowers and arrangements. Your wedding flowers can set the tone of your ceremony and reception, make up a big part of the décor, and take up a chunk of the budget.

It is an important decision and can be a daunting task. The key is finding a fantastic florist who is experienced in weddings, understands your style and is reliable. Before you start the process of finding a florist, you should first decide on a few things regarding your wedding flowers.

Getting Started

Think about the look of your wedding. Is it simple or opulent? Are the venues bare, or decorated? What colors will be used in wedding invitations? And will the season play a role? Choosing a color scheme will help narrow down the choices for your flower arrangements. In deciding on a color scheme, keep in mind that your invitations, bridal party gifts, bridesmaids' dresses, table accents and even the cake will likely be affected by your choice.

Remember, many flowers are seasonal. Peonies (my favorite) for example are only in season for a few weeks in May. So if you've had your heart set on using a favorite variety make sure your wedding is taking place during the right time of year. Otherwise, you could wind up paying many times more than you need to for out of season flowers.

Here is a list of the most popular wedding flowers organized by seasonality:

• Make a list of the number of arrangements you will need, starting with the ceremony. Will you have arrangements on the stage? Decorating the aisles? Or are you planning to wed underneath a canopy of flowers? How many of your bridesmaids and flower girls will need bouquets or nosegays? Can you use those to create unique bridesmaid gifts? And how many family members will need corsages and boutonnieres? Then move on to the reception. How many centerpieces will you need?

With most of these questions answered you should be ready to meet with florists to see what they can do for you.

Money Saving Tip

You can reuse the flowers from the ceremony in your reception. Most florists will design arrangements that serve more than one purpose. For instance, the bridesmaids' bouquets can be dropped into vases set along the length of a banquet table at the reception. Bouquets in the vases make great wedding party favors for your guests. A cascading arrangement from the stage can be used to decorate the guest book table. This is a great way to not let your beautiful flowers go to waste and to save some money.

Meaningful Flowers

You may have heard of the language of flowers and how each flower has a special meaning. Why are red roses synonymous with Valentine's Day? Because they represent love. Yellow roses mean friendship and white roses mean innocence. Here is a list of flowers and their meanings, but remember, there are different interpretations and you need not put too much stock in the meanings.

Remember

Wedding day flowers are meant to be a part of the overall look of the day, to frame your photos and to accent the setting. They should not steal the scene from the bride or distract from the big picture. Be creative and use what the season has to offer. Keep this in mind and you will make tasteful choices that will not only stretch your budget, but guarantee beautiful wedding flowers you'll love and admire years to come.