Wedding Wedensday: Choosing a bouquet

i'll be starting a new series called Wedding Wednesday for all things wedding related. we'll discuss how to choose flowers for your wedding, decor options ranging from candlelight to escort card table designs and discussions of all the other do's and don'ts when it comes to creating the perfect look for your wedding. i'm not sure i believe that there are any "don'ts"... it's more about doing what you want rather than what you think you should do.

today the focus is bouquets. there are so many options and i've talked about them before here, here and here.

but how do you choose??? is it by season, color, budget? do you match your bouquet to the rest of the design of the wedding? should you and your attendants carry the same thing or different colors?

here's my answer...you can do anything you want. helpful right? seriously, you should choose your bouquet with the same intentions that you chose everything else that you will be "wearing". your bouquet (maybe more than any of the other flowers) will be in most of the pictures from the day so you should love it...you should work with your designer to choose a design, color and feeling that will truly represent your wedding style.

sometimes a client will come to me with a picture of exactly what they want or at least what they think they want. some may end up with that bouquet while for others its a process of discovering that often what they thought was perfect is in reality perfect for someone else.

this goes back to choosing a designer who can understand you and your style.

here are a few things to keep in mind when designing your bouquet:

• consider the dresses, suits, the shapes, style, fabric and the embellishments. do you want to enhance these things or carry something that will be simple and subtle in comparison?
• do you want something feminine & romantic or sleek & modern?
• think about what size you want the bouquet to be, over sized full & lush or something smaller like a petite nosegay.
  
• is there any flower that you MUST have included in the bouquet? then you need to think about season...i can't tell you how many dreams i've crushed when i had to tell them that peonies are not available in the fall.
• you do not need to match your decor or the attendants. everything can coordinate but certainly doesn't need to be the same. this is especially true if the ceremony and reception are at separate venues.

keep these things in mind and you are sure to design a bouquet that you love and while you're at it enjoy the process, choosing the flowers should be fun!!