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What Kind of Bouquet Should You Carry?

Flowers have a very important role in your wedding. While bouquets are traditionally carried by the bride and other members of the wedding party, choosing the right shape and size will speak volumes.   When you place your initial consultation appointment with the florist, ask them to have a few bouquets to show you in the various shapes mentioned below.  It will not only help make your decisions easier but will also help you  understand the differences in floral varieties and bouquet types. Here are some key terms you should know from A to W:

Arm or Crescent: Flowers are nestled over the arm.

Assembled in Foam: Flowers are held in florist’s foam that is placed in a plastic holder. This form of construction is less labor intensive than wiring.
Ballerina: A round bouquet made up of a few flowers arranged with tulle or netting.. This bouquet was popular in the early 1940s when the war made flowers scarce.

Biedermeier: A tight, rounded bouquet made up of concentric circles of blossoms. Using different flowers for each circle can give a striped effect.
Boutonniere: Flowers worn on the lapel by the groom and the male members of the family. Bigger is not better, in this case, and some men may opt out altogether.

Cascade: A bouquet anchored in a hand-held base. Flowers and greenery hang or “cascade” down the front.
Colonial: Large bouquet of the same shape as a nosegay.

Composite: Individual petals and leaves are wired and put together to create the appearance of a single giant blossom. Give the labor involved, this method results in a rather expensive bouquet.

Corsages: Flowers usually worn by the mothers of the bride, as well as grandmothers and married sisters. They could either be pinned to the dress or worn on the wrist. They should not be so large so as to actually cover a great part of the outfit or of a color that would clash with it.

Hand-Tied: The stems of the flowers are tied together with ribbon or tulle. That would be the method used for an arm bouquet.

Mono-botanical: all one type of flower.

Nosegay: A round, densely packed cluster of blooms, all cut to the same length and then tightly wrapped with ribbon or in a hand-held base.

Pomander: The flowers form a small ball, often carried by a loop of ribbon. This bouquet is often carried by flower girls.

Posy: small scale nosegay made up of buds.

Presentation or Pageant: a bunch of long-stemmed flowers cradled in the bride’s arms.

Single Stem: one long-stemmed flower, which may have ribbons around the stem is carried, a good complement to a minimalist style gown.

Spray:  flowers gathered in a triangular-shaped cluster.

Teardrop: a variation on the cascade bouquet; it is rounded on top and comes to a point at the bottom.

Tussy-mussy: a Victorian style of nosegay carried in a silver cone holder.
Wired: The top part of the flower is removed from most of its stem. Wire is threaded through the top of its stem, allowing the flower to be twisted and turned to form the bouquet’s shape

Wristlet: This small flower bouquet worn on the wrist.

While there are so many shapes and sizes to choose from, there are no written rules as to what your bouquet should look like.  Be different, have fun.  After all, it's your wedding and you are the star of the show.  Let your bouquet stand out and be a reflection of your personality!

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed...

As I was searching for items to blog about this week, I ran across this heartwarming story about a wedding dress, first worn in 1959, that has been borrowed and used for 6 other weddings in it's lifetime.

Still having my wedding dress and having used it for other reasons, contests, photo shoots, etc., it felt good to see this dress being used as it was intended, to be passed along or handed down through the family. With today's budget friendly bride, this is a tradition that is long overdue.

Read more about the amazing journey this wedding dress has been on here.

Putting together a wedding day emergency kit

The Girl Scouts said it best: "Be Prepared." A good bridesmaid or wedding planner readies herself for an upcoming wedding (and reception), by packing a wedding day emergency kit.

You can buy prepackaged wedding emergency kits or you can create your own. The purpose is to be ready for anything the bride or bridal party might need. You can go one step further and create baskets for the restrooms of the reception that include incidentals that party-goers might need.

In addition to a list of vendors and their contact information (you want to know who to call if there's no cake!), here's what to include in your bridal party emergency kit:

Band-Aids

Black socks (or whatever socks will match the groomsmen's outfits, since no one wants to find out last minute that there's one guy in the party with white socks!)

Clear Nail polish

Hairspray and extra bobby pins or hair elastics

Lint brush

Mints

Nail files (and nail polish in the appropriate shades, when possible)

Pain relievers (try to have a variety of options, so that people who can't take one kind of pain reliever can have other choices)

Sewing kit (especially safety pins and scissors for any last-minute dress emergencies)

Stain remover (such as Shout Wipes or Tide to Go Sticks)

Static cling spray (or dryer sheets!)

Tampons or pads

Tissues

If you're also going to stock the restrooms with baskets of essentials, you can include most of the things mentioned for the bridal party emergency kit. You may also want to add a spray-on deodorant, a few AA batteries (in case a guest's camera dies), individually-wrapped toothpicks, and other odds and ends, depending on your guest list.

Danielle E. Brown is a Boston-based writer and event planner.

What is the role of the best man?

Ever wonder how and why your soon-to-be hubby made his decision for THE BEST MAN? Is he still thinking about it? Could there be a toss-up between his best friend and a relative?

Generally the best man helps the groom throughout the wedding day with anything he needs (including getting him to the ceremony on time and sober), but there’s more to the tradition of the best man, and Tom Santilli of Examiner.com has some great insight into this important wedding tradition.

Read More Here