Tips for picking out a florist

It's hard to imagine a wedding without flowers. They add a special touch of beauty and fragrance to the event that complements the overall style and color scheme. But before you begin making up bouquets of roses and lillies, you must invest time in choosing a quality florist. Here are some tips from the experts.

• Family and friends are excellent sources for recommending florists. If
  you've admired the flowers at a friend's wedding, request the name of her
  florist.
  
  
• The role of the florist is to demystify the whole experience. But there
  must be a level of trust.
  
  
• The bride should allow them to use their discretion when it comes to
  choosing the right flowers.
  
  
• The florist you choose should help you work within your price range as
  well.
  
  

Once you've come to a decision, go over the details with him or her. Your florist should also visit your church and reception, site with you to discuss the most visually effective floral arrangements. It also helps to have a swatch of the fabric you're planning to use, so that you can choose flowers to accent the look.

Preserving your bouquet

Bridal bouquets represent the loveliest expression a bride will make on her wedding day. It may be one of the few memories that is important enough to preserve and display prominently in your home throughout your marriage.

Experts say that a bride's bouquet can be a source of supply for many different interesting home accents. If choosing to keep it intact, some form of preservation is essential to keep it from crumbling; freeze-drying being the best solution. Silica preservation can also work reasonably well, although flowers will take on more of a dried floral appearance with this method.

Once preserved, these complete bouquets can be encased in glass to be further enjoyed, possibly hanging on the wall or even placed in a dust-free spot like a china cabinet. Broken apart, it can become part of a floral arrangement, suitable for a dining table, hall or anywhere else in a home.

Or, the flowers can be made into a garland or swag wall hanging, or even a wreath.

68% of couples still prefer white wedding

A white wedding in church is still the most popular way of tying the knot although costs have shot up significantly in just one year, according to a new survey.

Despite the growth in unusual venues from ballrooms to rollercoasters the majority of couples still prefer to keep their big day traditional. The poll in Wedding & Home magazine found A majority of couples, 68 percent, still prefer walking up a church aisle compared with 90 percent 10 years ago.

More and more are opting to complete the traditional look with a white wedding. Trendy outfits are rejected by 88 percent of brides, a 20 percent leap on last year. But while brides splash out up to $860 on a new dress their husbands-to-be are most likely to spend a tenth of that on hiring morning dress.

Flowers should be simple but elegant

Just as wedding gown fashions have become increasingly elegant and simple, the bridal bouquets seem to be matching the trend.

A small, tighly knit bouquet compliments a simple a-line dresses, while a large cascade of roses is more fitting to a bride wearing tule.

For Karin Kissler, who's been designing bridal bouquets for more than 20 years, it helps to understand the tone of the wedding when selecting flowers. However, if the bride doesn't have a clear idea of what she wants, she tries to draw her out. "I can show her flowers that might go best with what she's wearing. The best flowers are available in March and April. Those are spring flowers, and not as expensive,'' she says.

This year, Kissler has been designing more round nosegays, with simple looks such as all roses instead of cascading flowers. She will tie them together with a satin ribbon, sometimes with exposed stems. "Often brides bring me sashes off the bridesmaids' dresses,'' she said.

In addition to the bridal bouquet, flowers need to be designed for the wedding party. "You need bride and attendants' (bouquets), boutineers for all the men who are doing anything, from ringbearers to grandfathers to ministers. You need corsages for the women, altar arrangements, pew bows and aisle runners,'' says Kissler.

Whatever flowers you plan for your wedding, plan ahead. This means at least one month in advance, and often brides will begin looking at books and gathering ideas three to four months ahead.

Flowers have to be ordered, special ribbons have to coordinate with dresses, and, according to Kissler, some weddings take her a full week to prepare for. "I'll order my flowers more than one week in advance. I'll start making my bows ahead,'' she said.

When choosing flowers for the altar arrangement, which can also be used at the reception, kissler suggests picking flowers that will show up in a photograph. "Any memory you have is in the photograph,'' she said. Another memory that can be preserved is the bride's bouquet. Kissler often makes a smaller bouquet for the bride to toss at the end of the reception, so that she can keep the main one.

Personalizing your wedding is sew simple

Every bride wants her wedding to be unique -- why else would some couples agree to profess their love on the crest of a roller coaster. Fortunately, you don't have to go to this extreme to personalize your nuptials. With a bit of ingenuity, a can-do attitude and the proper tools, even ceremonies steeped in tradition can be tailor--made.

For instance, many brides select a motif and stick with it from shower decorations to the icing on the wedding cake, says Nina Kay Mileneus, a sewing expert and recent bride. Perhaps a lovely monogram is selected -- something very elegant and practical for beyond the special day. With one of today's computerized sewing and professional embroidery machines and a simple touch of a button, the bride-to-be can stitch this monogram on everything from table linens to her garter. Mileneus did just that. She picked-up on a floral design from her mother-in-law's very delicate, antique veil.

"So much of the entire wedding process is focused on the bride and her family. I wanted my mother-in-law to feel equally as special. Besides, I loved the idea of integrating a part of her past into the day that marks the beginning of our future," says Mileneus.

She coupled her sewing machine with her PC and special sewing software, the Husqvarna Embroidery Pro Customizing system, to scan the design and then embroider the floral motif on her modern-day gown, napkins, table toppers, ring bearer's pillow and even the dresses she made for the flower girls' dolls.

If flowers and monograms are not your thing, don't worry. Most all of these dream sewing machines offer libraries of designs featuring every imaginable category from fly fishing -- for the bride who wants to let her husband know "Nothing will change once we're married" -- to religious symbols and traditional doves.

Consider these possibilities to make your wedding planning hassle-free and your wedding day truly special all while sticking to your budget.

• Purchase linen guest towels from a discount department store then embroider your selected motif in one corner. Give these delicate treasures as gifts to friends and relatives who host pre-wedding parties and showers.
  
• Need a guest book? Use scrap fabric from your wedding gown or perhaps one of grandmother's heirloom table runners to cover an inexpensive journal. Trim it with matching lace and of course add your theme design.
  
• Make a wine bottle wrap from a fabric triangle trimmed with your embroidered motif. Add the happy couple's monogram. Then stitch a buttonhole in one corner to slip the opposite corner through to secure the wrap around the bottle.
  
• Present bridesmaids with a gift they can use the day of the wedding and treasure for years to come. Create an elegant envelope or Victorian-look drawstring bag embellished with your theme.
  
• An easy to assemble project, and a really unique accent, is a fabric sconce inviting any number of decorative options including the wedding's theme motif. Fill with long stemmed wild flowers for the bridesmaids to carry or as pew decorations.
  

Creative wrapping tips for shower gifts

You're pressed for time, yet you still want to show you care creatively and fashionably. It's easy. Use these pointers from American Greetings to ensure your gift is received with a smile.

• Be different and wrap one half of a present in one design and the other half in a complementing solid paper. Attach a solid bow that brings everything all together.
  
  
  
• Inexpensive items and things you can find around the house can become creative package decorations. For example, ball up a piece of ice cream-colored tissue paper and nestle your scoop into an ice cream cone -- the perfect topping for a package wrapped in ice cream-patterned paper or a gift for an ice cream lover.
  
  
• Attach something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. A lovely piece of old lace, tied with a blue ribbon and topped with a shiny new penny, is certain to catch the eye of the bride-to-be.
  
  
• Mix two different complementing colors of tissue to top off gift bags. Attach a bow or a package decoration to make this very easy wrap extra special.
  
  
• Wrapping gifts in unexpected ways adds to the fun of the occasion. Roll golf balls in a cylinder of golf-themed wrapping paper, tied at each end and between each ball with curling ribbon. Curl the ribbon with a pair of scissors.
  
  
• When giving a gift for the kitchen, such as a blender or mixer, attach color-coordinating measuring cups or spoons to tie in with your gift.
  
  
• Fresh flowers make great present-toppers on any occasion. Stick with solid color wraps that complement, rather than compete with, your ensemble.
  
  
• Add a fan fold for special occasions. Cut a section of wrap and fold in half diagonally. Fold into a fan and tie or tape the fan to your gift.
  
  
• Draw out the anticipation of a gift-giving occasion by delivering the gift scavenger-hunt-style, having the recipient follow clues on a series of notes to lead him or her to the present.
  

Butterfly kisses for the new mister and missus

Miranda and Jim Merril wanted something spectacular for their wedding -- a special touch their guests would never forget. The couple, who hail from Evergreen, Colorado, decided to release butterflies as they walked down the isle of their outdoor wedding.

"It was the most uplifting moment of the ceremony," Miranda recalls. "I'd recommend it in an instant."

Why butterflies? Throwing rice is out because it's bad for birds. Balloons are not good for the environment. And everybody's doing those little bottles of soap bubbles or disposable cameras at the reception.

Miranda, like many brides today, opted to purchase the butterflies at her wedding from a butterfly farm she found on the Internet. The company sent the butterflies individually in small triangular boxes with air holes. The insects arrived in chrysalid form and were timed to hatch inside the boxes two to three days before the wedding. At the ceremony, ushers handed each guest a box with instructions to open it at a specific time.

"It was expensive," she says, "but the pictures were amazing."