In the lead up to your wedding day, make your florist your new best friend. Your florist with their wealth of experience and knowledge will be able to assist you with your floral bouquets and arrangement decisions, offer expert advice regarding the latest trends, and ideas for complimentary arrangements.

The following tips will help give your flowers more life allowing you to display your flowers for as long as possible.

12 ways to increase the life of your flowers:

1. There are some varieties of cut flowers which last longer than others e.g. carnations tend to last longer than roses. If it is important to you for your flowers to last as long as possible consider this and choose your flowers wisely. Your florist will be able to point you in the right direction.

2. Cutting the stems of the flowers on an angle with sharp scissors allows for the maximum exposure to the clean water aiding absorption.

3. The removal of any bruised or discoloured leaves or petals, and also leaves that are below the waterline of the vase, discourages the growth of bacteria. Damaged flowers or leaves which are soaking in vase water, speeds up the damage to the flowers as the bacteria encourages the break down the flower cells.

4. Choose a clean vase and fill with fresh water for your floral arrangements. The addition of flower food, or sugar to the water provide some nutrients to the plants to extend their shelf life.

5. Consider the vase you use, as glass or plastic vases do not react with flowers, however using a metal vase could reduce the life span of your flowers, as it reacts with some of the chemicals.

6. If you re-cut the flowers stems and change water every 2-3 days you will give yourself the maximum amount of flower life.

7. Choose flowers suitable to the outside temperature at the time of the year of your marriage, for example, orchids tend to deteriorate quickly in cold temperatures, while sunflowers fair well in a hot climates.

8. Keeping the flowers in a cool spot, (between 18 to 22 degrees Celsius), and away from extremes in temperature, will extend their life. The cooler the room the longer your flowers will last, however flowers subjected to very low temperatures causes them to become susceptible to damage. Never put your flowers in a freezer.

9. Air conditioning will cause flowers to dry out quickly so pay particular attention to keeping up the water supply for arrangements in this environment.

10. Keep the flowers away from drafts (e.g. heating or cooling vents, direct drafts, tops of appliances etc), slows the ageing of the flowers keeping them bright and fresh.

11. Keep the flowers out of direct sunlight which has the same effect on flowers as exposure to drafts, so avoiding this will create longevity.

12. Use flowers that are in season for your wedding day bouquets, and other floral arrangements.
Importing flowers increases the time between their harvesting and the display of them, which will reduce their life span; (It should also be noted that out of season flowers increases the price of the flowers, which may put a strain on your budget).

With a little care you flowers will look fresh and bright for longer lasting enjoyment.

A florist like The Flower Shed is your best friend when it comes to choosing your flowers, offering advice for your wedding day arrangement choices, and the after care for your flowers.

For assistance with your options, advice, friendly service, and value for money contact The Flower Shed. http://www.theflowershed.com.au/ Belinda Cook manages the Wedding Planner Directory website, focusing our service on connecting people planning weddings with wedding service providers in their local area. Free tools are available for downloading, examples include budgeting tools, and checklists for planning your wedding; as well as plenty of expert advice, tips, and ideas, to make your wedding day truly special. Wedding Planner Directory helping create lasting and memorable moments to treasure. PO Box 6186 West Footscray VIC 3012 Australia Email: info@weddingplannerdirectory.com.au Web: [http://weddingplannerdirectory.com.au]