The bride's bouquet

A bride's bouquet is her most important accessory.  One thing you should never skimp on is the bridal bouquet, because it's in all the photographs. Your bouquet should complete and complement your look without overpowering it. Avoid extremes of colour and size (which will also make it more difficult to carry). It should also reflect the season and the time and the setting of your wedding. If you are opting for a casual look, a single stem or hand-tied bouquet or posy might be appropriate. For a more formal esemble opt for something more structured, like a wired bouquet. Or you could choose to have one large bloom constructed from many blossoms or petals.

Usually the dress starts things off. There are lots of different things to take into account: the shape and height of the bride, what is fashionable and what is not. Flowers are hugely influenced by fashion. As well as beads you can incorporate ribbons, feathers, jewels, tassels, organza, shells or fruit into your bouquet. Things come in and out of fashion. Generally speaking the trend is for smaller bouquets because dresses are simpler. The huge bouquet is out. Nowadays brides do not want to be seen carrying a garden down the aisle! It does not complement the look. You need to match the flowers to the dress and the aspirations of the day. Try to avoid styles and blooms that are overwhelming and seek your florist's advice. Ask him or her take you through the various styles of bouquets and seek a shape and size appropriate to you overall look.  If you do not want to carry a traditional bouquet you have other options: in winter you could wear a fur or faux-fur stole or a muff and pin a corsage onto it, you could have a bag created from flowers, carry a parasol wired with fresh flowers in summer, or have a pomander hanging from your wrist, but never use anything dyed. There is a danger the dye could come off onto your outfit. Also avoid having too strong a clour contrast within your bouquet as it can then look as though it has holes in it. Be especially careful of this if you are having black and white photographs.

Having decided on a style and a size of bouquet (which could be dictated by your choice of blooms) explore how the bouquet becomes the basis for the rest of your wedding flowers, especially the flowers carried and worn by the rest of the bridal party. If you have chosen well, the bouquet will easily  form the basis of the other flowers and arrangements you use throughout the rest of the day.

If you have chosen to wear flowers in your hair, remember that your florist is not a hairdresser! Therefore be sure that you have liaised with your hairdresser and your florist and specified in advance how you would like the flowers delivered (for example, fastened to a comb, wired onto grips or a tiara).

Your bouquet may be delivered several hours or more before the wedding ceremony. If so, ask your florist for advice on how and where to store it. Generally speaking it should be dampened, covered with moist tissue or muslin and kept as cool as possible.

If you are doing your own flowers, or a friend or family member has volunteered to do them, be sure your bouquet is free from thorns andthat pollen stems (many of which can easily stain) have been removed. If you have opted to do your own flowers, seriously consider purchasing just your bouquet from a professional. They are time-consuming to construct and require a high level of expertise. If this not an option, choose something very simple.

After the wedding you may want your bouquet professionally preserved- Not all florsits recommend this.  Not all florist recommend this. If you do want to preserve yours (either as it is, or as a smaller version) there are specialist companies who offer various preservation methods. But you must arrange this in advance as your bouquet will need to be delivered to them straight away. If you want to still toss your bouquet, order a less expensive version of it for the purpose.