By Erin Love


Flowers play a very important part in a wedding, whether the ceremony is big or small, expensive or inexpensive, at home or at a chosen destination; so, it would be wise for a bride to put her time and energy into choosing the perfect flowers for her wedding. Think about it...have you ever been to a wedding that did not include flowers in some form? Even in a very simple and intimate ceremony, the bride will carry some sort of flower, even if it is a single stem, or she might wear a flower in her hair. And, what would a ceremony be without a boutonniere on the groom's lapel!

As a Certified Wedding Coordinator, I have worked with many florists, and they all agree that a knowledgeable bride ends up being a happy bride. The initial meeting with the florist will go much smoother if you bring with you a list of your favorite flowers and those you definitely want to include in the wedding. You and the florist can then go through the list and choose the flowers that will be available at the time you have scheduled the event. Below are a few more tips and tricks that I have learned along the way. I hope they help you as well:

* Not all flowers can be used year-round, but the most popular ones can! These include roses, orchids, lilies (calla), gerber daisies, chrysanthemums, freesia, iris, alstromeria, and stephanotis.
* Start looking at bridal magazines a year or so in advance if possible. This way you will be able to see an entire year of seasonal bouquets and arrangements. Save pictures of the ones that you are most fond of!
* Consider the place where your flowers will be displayed. For example, if your ceremony site is colorful and beautiful in its own right, you may not need to add more color with flowers. Instead, choose flowers that are more natural and will not distract from the beauty of the site.
* Save money on arrangements at the reception by interspersing tables with flowers on them and tables with candles on them. This also makes for more visual interest.
* Don't worry about having your bridesmaids bouquets match yours or each others, for that matter. Have fun with it! Mix and match! One of my favorite looks right now is having bouquets graduate in color from darkest to lightest. (The lightest being the bride's bouquet.)
* Incorporate elements of your style into the arrangements! For instance, if you love diamonds and ice...add crystals to your arrangement. If you love the outdoors, go with feathers.

The bottom line is that choosing the right flowers for your wedding can be fun! Take as much time choosing your wedding flowers as you did choosing your wedding dress and it will pay off!

By Ken Bolt



When it comes to flowers, Weddings are one of the largest events. More flowers are used on a single wedding day than any other day of the year. Weddings are big occasions for everyone involved; from the bride all the way down to the caterer - and the flowers are no exception. The flowers are an important part of the wedding. Without the flowers a wedding would be a very drab affair. The flowers add decoration to the wedding location, but they also give the wedding energy and life.

Many times the flowers of a wedding are made up from the favorite blooms of the bride-to-be along with other flowers for the color of the bloom, which will fit in with the dress colors chosen by the bride-to-be. The flowers and the colors of the wedding theme will go hand in hand. It has been said that many look at the wedding flower arrangements online, but most never buy their wedding flower arrangement from the web.

Many brides-to-be don't really have a clue as to the type of arrangement or how they want their bouquet arranged, so they must look at pictures. Because weddings take so much time to plan, and in almost all parts of the planning the bride-to-be must be present, so it stands to reason the bride-to-be does not have a lot of free time when the wedding is in the planning stages.

In order for them to have some ideas regarding the wedding arrangements, the bride needs to look at pictures. Her options there would be to visit the florist and look at the pictures they have in books, or they can look on the web. The web can be accessed at all hours of the day or night. Many smaller florists close by 5 or 6pm and don't open again until 9 or 10am the following day. The bride-to-be will find it easier to find time to look on the web. She will be able to look at the pictures several times before making her final decision. She can then print out the pictures to take to the local florist or to give to her wedding planner.

It is unclear why more brides-to-be don't order their wedding flowers online. Maybe they are not aware of how an FTD florist works. Maybe she believes the UPS or the FedEx driver will be the ones who will deliver her wedding arrangements to the chapel. However, if she lives in the Burlington, Ontario area of Canada, the florist on the web she is looking at could also be the local florist she chooses for her wedding arrangements. Brant Florist in Ontario has an extensive web site, which includes wedding arrangement as well as a location close by in Burlington.

About: Brant Florist has been owned and operated by The Bolt family since 1977. Doyle, Tim, Elaine and Ken Bolt treat every customer the way they would like to be treated. Staff are well trained, have years of experience and are always professional. The shop has been processing internet orders since 1996 with a computerized network to manage and record all orders. The shop was originally established in 1961 by Mr. and Mrs. Jones. That is over 45 years of successfully serving customers like you.