• What style is your wedding gown?
• What atmosphere and style do you wish to convey? Will your choice be casual, formal, traditional, or modern?
• Is the wedding outdoors, in a church, or at another site?
• During what season will the wedding take place? What flowers are available during Spring, Summer, Fall, or Winter?
• Will a florist design your bouquets or will you or a friend do the work?
• Do you want to use silk flowers or fresh flowers?
• Do you have a specific flower in mind?
• What is your budget? Consider that exotic flowers will be more expensive than readily available ones.
• Can you recreate an expensive floral bouquet with less expensive flowers? Fresh flowers may be available from a friend's garden, and many grocery stores carry a good selection of flowers at a reasonable price

The Bridal Bouquet

If your wedding dress has a simple design with few embellishments and clean lines, choose a bouquet that is also simple and has the same clean lines and minimal design. In many instances, a monochromatic color with an accent flower is a good choice. Calla lilies, tulips, orchids, or a hand-tied bouquet of roses often work well.

A romantic, princess style gown with ruffles, pearls, and lace looks better with a traditional cascading bouquet or a large round bouquet filled with blossoms. Just make sure the bouquet is not too large, especially for a petite bride. Remember, the bouquet comes down the aisle ahead of the bride, so you don't want the flowers to overpower her. Roses, sweet peas, peonies, hydrangeas, daisies, iris, carnations, freesia, and greenery such as ivy, seeded eucalyptus, and ferns give a romantic, fresh-from-the-garden look.

If you like a natural style, you might choose wildflowers or flowers from a friend's garden. You could use coneflowers, black-eyed susans, sunflowers, grasses and herbs, bluebonnets, zinnias, Queen Anne's lace, daisies, tulips, or peonies. For Fall and Winter, evergreen and berries can add a nice accent.

When planning a formal, candlelit wedding, you could choose a hand-tied bouquet of roses embellished with pearls and ribbons. On the other hand, a graceful spill of orchids could enhance a cascade of roses, lilies, and greenery and would fit with your formal gown style and cathedral length veil.

Brides have the choice of an arm bouquet, such as a long-stemmed arrangement, or a handheld bouquet in any size, color, or style. While fresh flowers are a fragrant choice, silk flowers can be arranged ahead of time if the bride wants to do her own bouquet and can be kept for years after the wedding as a keepsake. Take time to look through wedding magazines and the books at your florist. Choose flowers that are appropriate for your dress style, season, and location. Because of fast, worldwide shipping, the floral options available year round today are abundant.

The Bridesmaids Bouquets

Bridesmaids' bouquets often coordinate with the bride's bouquet in style, whether traditional, modern, or casual. When choosing these bouquets, consider the color, fabric, and pattern of the dresses. Multi-colored, mixed bouquets are better for a solid color gown, and simple monochromatic bouquets are better for a busy print. Make sure the bouquets are not too heavy, and make sure the flowers chosen don't cause allergies for an attendant.

Bridesmaids' bouquets don't have to be the traditional hand-held flowers. Instead you may choose a single bloom tied with an attractive ribbon, a nosegay, or a tussie-mussie. Each bridesmaid might carry a bouquet made of one flower type or color to mirror the bride's bouquet. Or have your attendants carry woven or silver baskets, or a stylish handbag filled with flowers. These also make unique bridesmaid gifts. Perhaps a grapevine wreath with flowers attached will fit your style. While Spring or Summer weddings typically use lighter flowers in blue, yellow, or pink, Fall and Winter season weddings often use mums or deep colored flowers with an accent of colored leaves, evergreen, and berries. 

Bring a sample of the bridesmaids' dresses to your florist so that ribbon, trim, and flower colors can be closely matched. The florist will then know the color scheme of your wedding and can add visual interest to the bridesmaids' dresses with the flowers chosen. Make sure your florist knows whether you want seasonal flowers or headdresses for your bridesmaids.

The bridemaids and their flowers surround and complement the bride's beauty so that she stands out on her special day.

Wedding Party Flowers

You will also need to choose flowers for the other wedding party members, including the groom, mothers of the bride and groom, and the flower girls.

The groom's boutonniere usually matches the flowers in the bride's bouquet. The boutonnieres for the groomsmen may coordinate with the bridesmaids' bouquets. Choose flowers that blend with the lapels of the groom's and groomsmen's wedding attire. Also consider flowers for the ushers, ring bearer, fathers and grandfathers.

Corsages for the mothers of the bride and groom, and other special women guests, should coordinate with their wedding attire and the bride's bouquet. If you don't know what color they will be wearing, white is a safe color. The corsages may be either pinned on or worn on the wrist. Another idea that is becoming popular is to have them carry a petite, hand-held bouquet.

Your flower girls could carry a small round bouquet called a nosegay or a basket of rose petals to distribute when walking down the aisle. Flower crowns make a nice headpiece for the flower girls.

The Modern Bride wedding planner has a helpful section which covers wedding flowers, favors and decorations. It features dozens of beautiful bouquet, centerpiece, and flower girl basket photos. Modern Bride magazine also lists some helpful pointers for selecting a florist.