To help you with the wedding planning, here is an overview of general floral guidelines. You can increase the effectiveness of the decision making by preparing ahead of time, a list of items you will need, a list of the types of flowers you like, pictures of styles you like and color swatches, if you have them. Your floral professional will also have pictures of flowers, bouquets and arrangements to help determine exactly what will create your perfect floral package. Beware of pre-planned "Wedding Packages." These are for the florists benefit and may not be what you want. Floral designs created from fresh and silk flowers may help you stay within your budget.

Choose wedding flowers that either can serve more than one function or can be kept as a remembrance of the occasion. Standing baskets filled with sprays of fresh or silk flowers that decorate the ceremony can later be moved to the reception site, where they look elegant placed behind the head table or at the entrance to the room. An arch is useful at the site of the ceremony, in a garden wedding, or the bride may wish to make her entrance under a flower covered arch before being escorted down the aisle. Later, this same arch could showcase the cake table or the guest book table. A swag, placed at the top of such an arch, made of silk or dried materials, can be retained by the newlyweds, evoking fond memories of the wedding day. The head table can be highlighted by using a swag or floral centerpiece made of permanent botanicals. This later becomes a lovely addition to a first home.

More often than not the selection process will begin with a discussion of the Bride's bouquet. You will have a choise of five basic styles. These are cascades, crescents, contemporary, nosegay, and arm or presentation style.

Maid and Honor and Attendant bouquets will generally closely resemble the Bride's in color, style or both. Often the Honor Attendant's bouquet is simply a scaled down version and the other Attendant's scaled down again, giving three distinct sizes of the same bouquet. If a style change is selected, the Bride may have a cascade, the Honor Attendant, a teardrop, and the Attendants, a nosegay. If the Bride would like a traditional all or nearly all white bouquet, the Attendant's bouquets can be created using the same flowers in brighter colors.

Perfect for a flower girl may be a silk headwreath made of ribbon, tulle and tiny flowers, which can be enjoyed by the wearer after the wedding as well as on the special day itself. This wreath is sometimes hung on a wall with the brim of a straw hat, to be worn or displayed in the home.

After these items are selected the process will often work through the personal flowers. Corsages, boutonnieres, Flower Girl baskets, Ring Bearer pillows, and hairpieces may all need to be discussed.

Corsages and boutonnieres are worn by Groomsmen, Ushers, Guest Book and Gift Attendants, Soloists, some Officiants, immediate family members, including grandparents, and anyone else taking an active part in the ceremony or reception.

Once all of the personal flowers have been decided it's time to discuss the decorations for the ceremony. Altar decorations include arches with floral sprays and accents and greens and ribbons, candelabra with accents, ribbons and greens, floral arrangements in baskets or on columns, altar table arrangements, unity candles with floral accents or created within an arrangement.

Also for the ceremony are: aisle runners, pew or chair bows with greens, flowers or both, aisle candelabra with ribbons flowers and greens, guest book flowers and aisle arrangements.

Since more time will be spent at the reception than the ceremony, careful consideration should be made of the reception decorations. Centerpieces for the guest and head tables, cake and cake table flowers, knife and server decorations, favors, buffet arrangements, bandstand decorations, and limosuine/get away car decor are just some of the items you will need to consider.

Budget idea--crystal bowls holding a few beautiful flowers placed on a mirror works well.

Why not add disposable cameras to the set of each guest table? The impromptu, candid shots will become your favorites.
Other decorations which may become part of your reception include: balloons for the centerpieces, balloon arches or columns, and balloon sculptures. Props, backdrops and special signs can also help make your wedding an event to remember.