Flowers play a big role to one’s wedding. Without the flowers, the wedding venue and the wedding reception would look too plain and bare. This article suggests a guideline on how to carefully plan and decide the perfect flowers for your dream wedding. Next to her gown and cake, a bride tends to spend a lot of time picking out the right flowers for her dream wedding. Why would she not when without flowers, no wedding would be complete. For hundreds of years, flowers have been an integral part of wedding ceremonies and receptions. The ancient Greeks hold the first actual recorded use of flowers in weddings where the bridesmaids are tasked to create decor that includes the bride’s bouquet, boutonnière, garlands, and poesies for guests. May you have grand or intimate, indoor or outdoor wedding, flowers is sure to be part of your celebration.

Like most celebrations, the first thing you need to put into consideration in planning weddings is the amount you are willing to spend. For those on a tight budget in the Philippines, you might want to check if your church of choice has already “packaged” flowers in the overhead cost. You can also take a quick trip to The Flower Market (the Philippines’ most popular resource for flowers purchased in bulk) to have a good grasp of how much the raw cost is. If you need to choose where to spend on flowers between the church and the reception, go for the later. It will be celebrated longer (the wedding itself lasts for only two hours max while the reception’s two hours minimum) and can create a wonderful atmosphere paired with good food and an engaging program.

After deciding on how much to spend (and no alterations please!), look for your flower supplier at least a year and a half in advance. Do your homework by conducting background checks and interview your choices (best done in person). Once you have decided on whom to get, work on your color scheme and arrangement. The location, season (thank heavens we only have two here in the Philippines), wedding theme, and bridal gown should all be taken into consideration. Three major displays should be appropriate for ceremonies held in medium sized churches. These flowers are set-up by the entrance and by the altar. Do make sure that the seats by the aisles are encrusted with minor displays as well. Skipping such will make the venue too bare.

Whatever your decision is, make sure that you and your supplier understand and take note all of your ideas and specifics. Do request for sketches or simple models before you sign a contract. If your supplier can provide you a model, have someone take your photo next to or holding (whichever is appropriate) it. That should give you an idea if your supplier can actually dispense your agreed design.