What to do with flowers
A guaranteed, breathtaking way to add to the beauty of your wedding is to add fresh flowers. Flowers have a special place at weddings due to their characteristics—they are aromatic, delicate, peaceful, and full of life. The color and type of the flower depends upon the season and your own preference, which will make the wedding decorations that much more personal. And when trying to secure a willing, reasonably priced florist, keep in mind that Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day are the busiest times of the year for florists, so choose a different day or call someone way ahead of time.

Without even thinking about the color and type of flower, you should consider what you’re going to do with your flowers. Wedding flowers serve a variety of purposes: They will be used in mother and grandmother corsages and in groom and groomsmen boutonnieres. You may also want to order bouquets for you as well as for your bridesmaids and petals for the flower girl’s basket. Garlands made of flowers could decorate yours or your flower girl’s hair. And naturally, you could place flower decorations around the ceremony and reception areas.

Your flower decorations should match the spirit of what they are decorating. At the ceremony, the flowers should respectfully complement everything else without being flashy. If you are getting married in a church, you won’t need too many decorations, because churches are beautiful in themselves and therefore your decorations could look stuffy or unnecessary. You could place flowers at the altar and on the pews, though some churches may not even allow that. If you are getting married outside, embrace the natural beauty of flowers! Upon going into the ceremony area, you could have an archway ringed with flowers. Wreaths, bouquets, and other arrangements could go anywhere.

As the reception is for celebrating your wedding, flower decorations are a great way to make the area more special. You could place flowers at the entrance, on the buffet table (if you have a buffet), at the bar, and really, anywhere: You could even put flowers on the cake. Just don’t go overboard: The most expensive part of your flower budget will typically go toward the centerpieces and reception room décor, so consider how many flowers you will want so you can stay in budget; and remember you can decorate with other things than flowers. Flower centerpieces are beautiful but keep in mind that the bigger and more elaborate the centerpiece, the harder it is for your guests to talk to each other from across the table.

The flower girl’s basket should have petals that your flower girl will throw along the aisle. These petals could match yours or the bridesmaids’ bouquets or they could match the ceremony flowers. Your florist should be able to give further advice. You could also put single flowers in her basket for your flower girl to pass out. Another option for the flower girl is to have her throw candy or glitter confetti, or, rather than throwing things, she could just walk down with a bouquet like a mini bridesmaid.

If you’re low on budget or you want to keep your flowers as a memento, you might want to consider buying silk flowers. While technically they are “fake flowers” they can look exactly like real flowers, depending on the quality. Silk flowers can be made into bouquets, corsages, and centerpieces just like real flowers. If you decide you want to have silk flowers, don’t order too many—simple and elegant is better especially for silk flowers, and because you’re buying fewer flowers than you might ordinarily, you might have some extra cash to get higher quality silk flowers. Silk flowers are also convenient because they can be bought in advance and they are easier to transport if you are having a non-local wedding.

By Lynn Luecken Today's Bride Magazine and Shows

Read more from Today's Bride Magazine online, or find out where you can pick up your free copy today!