Choosing the Right Blooms
Colour, flower type and arrangement style all matter. As does finding flowers that suit your personal style.

Seasonal style
Choose flowers that are in season. Out-of-season blooms will cost you more.

Double duty
Pick blooms that match both your ceremony and reception decor. That way you can reuse ceremony flowers at the reception. Altar arrangements, for example, can dress up the guest-book table or the ladies' lounge.

Pretty priorities
Spend the most money on the bouquets and ceremony flowers, they're the first things that guests see.

To have and to hold
Select a small, hand-tied bouquet instead of a large crescent bouquet. Smaller bouquets are cheaper, more sophisticated and easier to carry.

Treasured token
Ask for a smaller, less expensive arrangement for the traditional bouquet toss. That way you can keep your actual bouquet as a precious memento from your wedding day.

Candlelight couture
Use candles lavishly and flowers sparingly on reception tables. Try a low vase or container with rose petals floating in water surrounded by lots of candles, for example.

Pretty plants
Instead of cut-flower arrangements, place several small plants like miniature rosebushes in a terra-cotta pot or antique silver buckets.

Popularity pays
Look for florists with a high volume of customers. The more flowers a shop buys, the less they pay per stem.

Simple chic
Pick one bloom instead of multiple blooms, and request simple arrangements to cut down on labour cost

Photo credit : Andrew McCaul