Create Harmony in Your Wedding Flower Arrangements

Harmony is created when you wisely choose different parts you can combine to create a whole (your wedding bouquet or arrangement). Singing in harmony is where all the voices in a song blend together beautifully.

If just one person is singing off-key, the whole song sounds terrible. The same thing applies to harmony in a floral design. If just one component does not mesh with the rest of the design, it ruins the look of the whole thing.

You can create harmony by

1. having a theme or mood for your arrangement (formal, informal, natural, contemporary, special occasion etc.) which is often set by the container you choose.
2. using the same color flower (you can vary the shades of the color, or the size, shape, and texture of the flowers)
3. placing your finished design in a spot that is well-suited to it.

Let's take a closer look at some of these.

Container

Your container is part of your design and therefore needs to be part of the harmony. The container you choose will depend on the size of your design, the size of the flowers you use, the shape of your design, the mood you want to create, and where your design will be displayed.

The shape of your container needs to compliment the shape of your arrangement. Also, larger, heavier flowers need a container large enough not only to complement them but also to keep the arrangement from falling over. Smaller, more delicate flowers look better in a smaller container.

Flowers

The mood or theme of your arrangement plays a big role when creating harmony in your arrangement. If you want a garden themed arrangement, you should choose flowers that look like they have just been picked from the garden (e.g. sunflowers, asters zinnias). If you want a very distinct and sophisticated look to your arrangement, you can select tropical flowers and foliage.

The flowers you choose have to be in sync with the mood of your arrangement and with each other. For example, your garden themed design shouldn't have a large bird of paradise in the center. This flower does not blend with you country/garden theme.

Location

It is important to know where your arrangement will be displayed. If the room is very large, your container, your flowers, and the size of your arrangement should be large.

The color of the room and its theme will also play a role in the decisions you make when choosing the elements of your design. You want your arrangement to harmoniously blend in with its surroundings.

If your arrangement is going to be displayed in the center of the room, you need to design it with that in mind. If your arrangement is going to be displayed in the corner against a wall, it can be designed with focal point mainly on one side.

After choosing all the materials for your wedding flower bouquet or arrangement, place them together on your design table and look to see if they blend well with each other. Are they in harmony? Do they mesh well like harmonious voices in a choir?

Nadine Visscher has arranged flowers for more than 15 years and has written The Beginner's Guide to Wedding Flowers found athttp://www.WeddingFlowerDirections.com

Wedding Flower Ideas For Every Season - Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring

Take a cue from the seasons with these inspiring wedding flowers ideas for every season...

Winter Wedding Flowers and Decor

Winter theme weddings can be uber chic and ethereal. Use these ideas to create your wonderland...

• Color palette - new-fallen snow - use whites and creams accented with silver or gold; winter sparkle - ice blue or navy accented with silver; black tie- black is especially suited for a winter wedding when paired with white, silver or gold.
• Go glam - deck your halls with crystal detailing for a sparkling winter effect- adorning linens and chair covers or sprinkled over table tops. The result is deliciously glam and oh so fab.
• Liberal use of candle light - the glow will add warmth and elegance.
• Holiday theme - decorate with potted evergreens, pine branches, wreathes, poinsettias, ornaments, bells, or twinkling white lights.
• Added interest and texture - incorporate holiday greenery or tiny crystals into your arrangements.
• Creative bouquets - instead of flowers, carry tea lights, votive candles or cascading bells.
• Tossing alternative - have your flower girl throw silver glitter or sprinkle fake snow.

Winter Flowers In Season

• White stephanotis, poinsettia, holly, amaryllis, camellias, roses.

Spring Wedding Flowers and Decor

The tulips are blooming, the temperatures are rising - what a perfect time for a wedding! Get inspired with these ideas for spring flowers...

• Color palette - green and white - an elegant accompaniment to a garden setting; yellow and green -another fresh, natural color pairing; preppy - combine hot pink with green or mango (think polka dots and gingham); chocolate brown - this trendy hue works well for spring - pair with pale blue or pink.
• Go wild with patterns - create a playful effect - think gingham, polka dots, eyelet lace, swiss dots and stripes
• Add some greens - grasses and greenery are a natural for outdoor garden settings. Drape over arbors and incorporate in arrangements
• Creative containers - put your arrangements in simple, homespun containers like wicker baskets, watering cans, teapots, or urns.
• Potted plants - potted arrangements create a natural, organic look. Best of all, you can plant them for a timeless reminder of your wedding

Spring Flowers in Season

• Classics include tulips, daffodils, lilies (especially calla lilies and easter lilies), magnolias, gardenias, hydrangeas, gerbera daisies, apple or cherry blossoms.

Summer Wedding Flowers and Decor

Set the stage for a sunny summer wedding with vibrant colors and inspirations from the great outdoors...

• Color palette - bright and bold - hot pink and deep red or mango and fuchsia; nautical - navy and white is a clean summer classic, accent with touches of yellow, red or gold; seaside - combine aqua with beige, peach or white
• Go casual - summer weddings lend themselves to a casual decor scheme - fitting of a backyard barbecue. Think checked table clothes, benches and picnic tables.
• Go natural - incorporate natural decor elements like fruits, vegetables, even insects (like ladybugs or dragonflies, not necessarily roaches!)
• Get lit - light up an outdoor evening reception with lanterns or torches.
• Fruits - fruits like lemons and limes look whimsical and chic when filled in tall clear vases
• For a beach look - incorporate shells, sand, and sea glass in your arrangements

Summer Flowers In Season

• Abundant flowers are always in style at a summer wedding. Use bright and cheerful blooms like sunflowers, peonies, hydrangea, mums, daisies, dahlias, zinnias, and roses. Or create a breezy, airy look with white on white - using roses, stephanotis, calla lilies, snowball mums and daisies - and incorporate a touch of blue - like blue hydrangea.

Fall Wedding Flowers and Decor

Get autumn-spiration with these flowers and decor ideas with a fall twist...

• Color palette - colors of the season - adhere to mother nature's fall color palette: reds, oranges, browns, rusts, and yellows; jewel tones - make a rich, interesting twist to the traditional autumn color scheme; mix with metallics - gold, copper, bronze - for added pizazz
• Back to nature - use simple decor to subtly enhance the season's natural bounty. Use the autumn harvest for inspiration; think gourds, pumpkins, squash, gold dipped fall leaves, bales of hay, jugs of cider...you get the idea.
• Go fall glam - you're not confined to rustic and casual in the fall. Create a posh autumn ambiance, and drape lush velvet (a traditional fall/winter fabric) in a rich chocolate brown or gold throughout your reception space. Accent the scene with antique broaches, crystal candelabras and stemware.
• Autumn harvest - add pears, apples, cranberries to your arrangements
• Natural texture - incorporate leaves, acorns, sprays of wheat
• Creative containers - hollow out pumpkins or realistic fake ones, or use stained wooden boxes, terra cotta pots, or rustic lanterns
• Tossing alternative - have your flower girl toss leaves or acorns instead of flower petals

Fall Flowers in Season

• Popular fall flowers include montbretia, hypericum, mums, sunflowers, roses, and daisies. Consult our complete list of fall wedding flowers

Get even more ideas and advice to help you plan your wedding flowers.

Cori Russell is editor for Elegala.com and Gala Weddings Magazine. Elegala.com is a complete wedding planningresource with a national directory of wedding venues and services, along with articles, expert advice, checklists and photo galleries to lead brides through every step of the planning process. Brides can request wedding vendor quotes from top vendors across the nation.

Adding Accessories to Wedding Flower Arrangements

You can put more than just flowers into your wedding flower arrangements. You can add bows, candles, balloons, or plastic novelties.

You can set a theme for your wedding using accessories in your arrangements. For example, you can add a duck, chick or bunny for an Easter wedding, you can add little wreaths or candy canes (real or plastic) for a Christmas wedding, or you can add hearts for a Valentines wedding. Whatever accessories you decide to add, you personalize your flowers in this way and add your own personal touch

Novelties

Many novelties already have a wire pick inserted at the bottom, so you can very easily insert this directly into the floral foam along with the flowers. If your accessory has no pick, simply take a piece of heavy wire, heat up one end of it by holding it in a flame, and the insert the heated wire into the base of your novelty. If you novelty moves on the wire (up and down or around and around), put some glue right where the wire enters it. This should secure it

Balloons

Balloons add a festive feel anywhere. They can be filled with helium to float in the air in your arrangement. Helium balloons need to be securely anchored. You can do this by having them tied to colorful ribbon. Tie the ribbon to a little wooden pick and knot them firmly. You can then insert the wooden pick into your floral foam. The wood will expand from the moisture, making your pick all the more secure

Candles

Candles area favorite at weddings. They create a beautiful, soft, romantic atmosphere, making them perfect for weddings. You can purchase plastic candle holders that look like a little "cup" with a large plastic point below it that can be inserted into your foam . These holders come in different sizes. Your candles should fit into them snugly - that way you know they will be secure. The base of the holder anchors into your floral foam and keeps your candle from tipping over.

If you can't find a candle holder the right size, you can push the candle directly into the floral foam. First cut the base of the candle to a bit of a point to make insertion easier. Push the candle slowly, straight down.

Do not twist the candle as this could make the hole larger than it needs to be and make the candle less secure. Only try this method with narrower, smaller candles. Larger pillar candles will be too top heavy and will fall over easily

You can also make your own candle holder. You take at least 5 wooden picks about 4 inches long and use rubber florist's tape to tape them evenly spaced to the base of your pillar candle. You can then gently insert the picks into your floral foam. You don't have to use florists' wooden picks, you can use less expensive wooden skewers for kabobs.

I prefer not to have the candle actually rest on the floral foam. The moisture of the floral foam could travel up the wick of your candle. The best way to prevent that is to use the florists' plastic candle holders. Second best is to make your own holders with the wooden picks.

Whatever type of accessory you choose to add to your wedding flower arrangements, it will be the focal point. Place it low in your arrangement to keep it balanced.

Nadine Visscher has arranged flowers for more than 15 years and has written The Beginner's Guide to Wedding Flowers found athttp://www.WeddingFlowerDirections.com

How to Create Unity in Your Wedding Flower Arrangements

When designing your wedding flower arrangements, you want to create a sense of unity. This is accomplished when all the harmonious components of your arrangement are combined artistically to create a united whole. You don't want your design to look like it is not unified. Three ways you can achieve unity are using proximity, repetition, and transition.

Proximity

When you have flowers and foliage designed close to each other, you have proximity. Having them together avoids chunks or separations. If you have different textures, colors, sizes and shapes, you can still have unity if you utilize proximity.

Repetition

Another way of achieving unity is by repeating some element of your design. You can repeat a color throughout your design to unify it. This is probably the easiest element to repeat. You can also use repetition with other elements like texture, angles, lines, flower type, flower shape, and flower size.

Transition

A more difficult method to create unity is by using transition. With careful planning, you can create a gradual change from one element to another. A good use of transition produces a pattern that results in continuous eye movement. You do this by using intermediate colors, texture, shapes, and sizes. For example, you can use orange flowers to create a transition from yellow to red.

When you design your own wedding flower arrangements, create them with a sense of unity. You want the arrangement to look good as a whole. You want to avoid having it look like you just randomly put together a bunch of chunks or pieces.

Nadine Visscher has arranged flowers for more than 15 years and has written The Beginner's Guide to Wedding Flowers found athttp://www.WeddingFlowerDirections.com

Seven Ways to Cut Your Wedding Flower Costs

Most people have a set amount of money that they can spend on flowers for a wedding. Usually the cost of wedding flowers is about 10% of the entire wedding budget. Of course this number is flexible - you might want to splurge in one area (e.g. your invitations) and tighten the reins in another (e.g. your flowers). Here are 7 different ways you can lower your flower costs:

1. Use less expensive flowers rather than exotic ones. Chrysanthemums, carnations, alstroemerias, and baby's breath are beautiful flowers and can make a stunning display. These flowers cost a lot less than roses and lilies yet can do the same job.
2. Use exotic blooms very sparingly such as only in your bouquet or your fiance's boutonniere.
3. Use flowers that are in season. They will be less expensive and you have a greater chance of them being fresh.
4. Avoid getting married around times where flower prices are higher - Mother's Day, Valentines's Day, Christmas, and Easter.
5. Use less expensive look-alikes. For example, roses tend to be costly, so to cut costs, you can use lisianthus.
6. Use smaller bouquets and arrangements. Instead of having 40 roses in your bouquet, cut it down to 25 roses. If you have your heart set on a certain size, you can then add ivy, berries, herbs, or other affordable flowers to fill up your bouquet. Your bridesmaids can carry single stems down the aisle. That can be both dramatic and elegant. Sometimes less is more.
7. Use your ceremony flowers at your reception. Arrange for someone to transport any arrangements that you may have to your reception. Use your bridesmaid flowers to decorate the cake table and yours to dress up the head table.

These are just a few ideas for how to trim your wedding flower costs. Keep them in mind when planning and you will save yourself a significant amount of money. It is possible to have very beautiful wedding flowers without breaking the bank.

Nadine Visscher has arranged flowers for more than 15 years and has written The Beginner's Guide to Wedding Flowers found athttp://www.WeddingFlowerDirections.com