Everyone hopes to have a picture-perfect wedding day. Getting to that point

takes untold amounts of time, money, energy and patience. Even the tiniest

detail cannot be left unchecked, if we have any hope of eluding Murphy's Law.

These days, brides-to-be must even consider potential allergic reactions to

their flowers, in addition to the more traditional details. It's enough to crush

the faint of heart.

A big item on the wedding planning list is the flowers for the church, the

wedding party and the reception. It that goes wrong, it can be a real disaster.

Many problems can arise in this area, such as flowers not being delivered on

time, not fresh, or not the flowers the bride ordered. Just imagine if your

perfectly orchestrated color scheme is ruined because the wrong colored flowers

arrived. Just try sending them back or getting new ones in time. Besides the

ambiance of the wedding being ruined, there is now an upset bride. Taking

certain precautions may avoid this disaster.

The first detail to be attended to is the color scheme you are choosing . Be

sure to be decide this well advance, or you will guarantee yourself a headache.

You will usually base the colors of the flowers on the colors of the

bridesmaids' dresses, so decide on that before you start to look at flowers.

Stick to your color scheme and then pick flowers in that color scheme. Be

definite about the color. Some flowers are available in just about every colors,

while others are limited. Don't try to pick a specific type of flower, it may

not work with that color scheme, just start with the color. Bring swatches and

be ready to complement rather than match. Before that first crucial meeting with

the florist, certain steps will prepare you.

Even though, nowadays, many flowers are available all year long, you need to

take the season of your wedding into account when you are choosing your flowers.

There is a certain charm added to the wedding if the flowers suit the season.

Sunflowers in the middle of winter may not convey the tone you want, plus out of

season flowers arel probably be more expensive. Formal church weddings need more

sophisticated arrangements than a wedding on the beach, so you need to consider

the type of wedding you're planning.

When you are planning the budget for your flowers, keep your total wedding

budget in mind. A rule of thumb is to spend ten to fifteen percent of your total

wedding budget on the flowers. Spending more than that will cause you to skimp

on other more important items. Discuss your budget and its limitations honestly

with your florist at the very beginning. He can work with you to explore

different ideas that will make your day perfect and still keep this lovely part

of your wedding in budget.

You also have to consider the size of the bouquets for both you and your

bridesmaids, the shade of your gown, if you are going to have an additional

bouquet to toss, and the temperature of the season, if you will be outdoors for

any length of time. (Many flowers react badly to very cold temperatures.) And as

if that is not enough to worry about, you need to worry about pollen that may

stain your gown. (For example, lilies should have stamens removed because of

this problem.) Be flexible, and make sure you take the advice of your florist.

He wants your day to be perfect too.