While flowers in your hair are lovely and fun, they can wilt and will certainly not last longer than the day. With a silk or other artificial flower hair clip, you will have a momento of your wedding day that you can wear whenever you want. A clip like the one at left from Flower Clip can be worked into your hair by your hair dresser, or with simple hair styles, you can put it up yourself.

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In Chinese tradition, red is a symbol of joy, so a Chinese wedding traditionally has a lot of red flowers in it! If you are planning a Chinese wedding or one with a Chinese theme, you should know a little about the traditions. For example, white is a color of death, and the only white flowers allowed are white roses, which should be tied with red ribbon or cord.

Orchids are one of the most popular Chinese flowers since they are symbols of love and fertility, but other popular flowers include peonies, daffodils, and the lotus.

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Flower girls already look like angels with their lovely dresses and their sweet young faces. To enhance the angelic image, a halo is perfect. Don’t worry about a gold halo, though, because a flower halo is just as effective and maybe more lovely. A flower coronet, crown, or circlet is fun, beautiful, and exciting for a little girl, who probably already loves to put flowers in her hair. They are beautiful, and the halo effect is a total delight.

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When people think of flower girls they often think of rose petals drifting from the hands of adorable little girls, but rose petals aren’t the only things these sweet girl can strew. Some options may be less expensive than bags of rose petals, and others may just fit your style more as a bride.

Whole flowers are an excellent alternative to rose petals. Small flowers cab be found in just about every shape and color, and you can throw flowers with a short cut life because they won’t be expected to look pretty in vases all through the ceremony. Have a group flower-picking session just before the wedding starts if you own the plants you want to use!

Another option is larger blooms, like whole roses (just make sure that they are thorn-free first). They can be tosses to guests instead of dropped on the aisle.

You may also consider non-flower options. Confetti, fall leaves, even glitter can be used as long as you are willing and able to handle the cleanup (throwing non-organic material like glitter outdoors may be a big no-no, so keep that alternative for an indoor ceremony). One last thought: the flower girls don’t have to throw anything. Imagine how cute they would look walking down the aisle blowing bubbles to herald the bride!

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Potted plants can be beautiful and full of color. They last longer than cut flowers, and make a great gift or door prize. Their pots can be decorated, personalized, and even hidden. In short, potted flowers make excellent centerpieces.

If you have a favorite flower, don’t hesitate to see if it will work for a centerpiece. Although the color may be less varied than with a bouquet, you make up with it by the profusion of blooms and the potential enjoyment for much longer than the short duration of the reception. Give them to your wedding helpers as gifts (like your aunt who helped clean up that spill or you sister who helped manage the bar all night), or for unassigned seating, but a sticker under one place mat at each table and the winners will be revealed after the food is served.

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Do you have a wedding budget? If you don’t, you should, or you might find yourself running out of money before you run out of plans. One important thing to consider when you are creating this budget is the flowers. Many brides set aside around 10% for flowers, but do you really know how many bouquets and arrangements you will need? From decorating the ceremony site to corsages for important people to bouquets to centerpieces for the tables at the reception, you need a whole lot of flowers to carpet your day in rose petals!

If you really aren’t sure, you may be able to get a baseline quote. Give a florist a few ideas for must-have flowers, and then work out the number of arrangements together to get a quote early in the planning. This will give  you an idea of how much truly needs to be set aside for your wedding day blooms.

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Calla lilies aren’t just for funerals. Although white ones can seem bleak because of their historical associations and can also seem to vanish against your gown, some more colorful options might just be perfect. These orange and red calla lilies, for example, are not only eye catching and lovely, but are also a perfect wedding bouquet.

The shape of the lilies makes your bouquet look like it is on fire, and the orange will contrast beautifully with your dress, making the bouquet pop and drawing every eye in the room.

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The hibiscus flower is a beautiful flower, big and bold and perfect for tucking behind your ear if you don’t mind a large floral accent. This flower has been treated this way for many generations in Hawaii, and is even used symbolically by women in social situations to signify their relationships status. When a woman is available, she tucks a flower behind her right ear. If she is taken, the flower is tucked behind her left ear.

To make use of this tradition, have your florist work a flower into your hair on the left side, and even consider doing the same for your maids, switching up the placement depending on their relationship status.

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For a new take on your guest book, consider having your guests sign the centerpieces! A signature vase is a special kind of ceramic vase that is sold with a black ceramic marker to allow guests to express their warmest wishes on a lovely vase that you can later enjoy prominently for many years. Look for them at online stores like Wedding Accessories.

To keep down on potential messes, have guests sign the empty vase as they enter the reception hall, then have someone fill it up and insert a centerpiece later to be displayed right at the head table.

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For some people, planning each detail of a wedding is part of the fun, down to the composition of each centerpiece at the reception. For others, however, the sheer number of details can be overwhelming, and for those people, full  service reception halls can be a lifesaver.

A full service reception hall, among other things, can handle the flower arrangements for you. The coordinator for your event will explain the policy and what they need from you (for example, you wedding colors, flowers you must have or can’t stand, and number of tables) and will handle the flower purchases for the reception. This can also offer a great alternative to having your bouquet match the centerpieces too much, since different florists will likely be handling the two orders.

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