When it comes to your flowers, make sure and pick flowers that will hold up in the heat. Depending upon your location this may be a BIG issue or a non issue. But here where I live, any temperature above 85 degrees is tricky for flowers! Your more popular flowers like hydrangea and peony are especially intolerant of heat! Your less expensive flowers such as mums, carnations and alstromeria hold up just fine in the heat. If I have used stephanotis in the bouquets or arrangments, I will often dip them in parafin wax to help them withstand the heat.

HINT: Tropical flowers such as orchids, antheriums, ginger and proteas also hold up well outside in hot temperatures. Make sure your flowers have a water source if they are going to be outside.

If you are planning an outdoor event, there are some items you need to think about, in general. For Example, if you are going to use candles, make sure they are enclosed in glass of some sort (hurricane shades, vases) and use candles that are half as tall as the glass they will be enclosed in. If you have any kind of breeze and the candles are taller, you may be fighting to keep them lit all night!

Keeping your food fresh is another very important aspect of an outdoor event. Warm food can go cold faster when outdoors and cold food can get hot faster when outdoors. When cold food gets hot, sometimes it will spoil. Be very careful with mayonnaise based foods like potato salad, because if the mayonnaise gets hot it will spoil the dish and maybe even make your guests ill. You definitely don’t want that to happen! If you are using a caterer, they will know what to do; but if you are doing the food yourself, be very careful!

Are you putting up a dance floor outdoors. Where? If you order a dance floor to be placed on a lawn or in a garden area, be aware of drainage issues from sprinklers.

HINT: Turn the sprinklers off a couple of days in advance! A wooden dance floor needs a level and firm surface, make sure and ask your supplier if a sub-floor is necessary.

Consider providing shade for your guests if they will be sitting in the sun. Tables with market umbrellas work well. A tent, even if it is just the canopy is great for shading, but changes the atmosphere. All things to think about!

Lisianthus have great looking buds that add a fabulous texture to any bouquet or arrangement. The purple lisianthus is one of the best purple flowers available, in my opinion and was perfect for this wedding pictured below as the bride’s chosen colors were purple and green.

In this picture, you can see that the bride’s bouquet contains white lisianthus with the purple edges as does the bridesmaid bouquet that you can see in the lower left corner of the picture. The buds give a fabulous texture to both bouquets. In the picture to the right you can see the bridesmaid bouquets up close.

These centerpieces also had the purple lisianthus in them. The color scheme was “colorful” using reds, oranges, yellows, purples and blues.  And with rich jewel tone colors being one of the biggest trends this year, the deep rich purple Lisianthus is the perfect choice for your wedding arrangements.

Are you planning to have candles on your reception tables? A gentle breeze can sometimes whip up quite a mess at a moment’s notice. Check out any local craft store for inexpensive hurricane covers to shield your candles from gusts of wind. Also make sure that the flowers you chose will stand up well. Mums for example are excellent for outdoor receptions.

Consider an assortment of paper fans colorfully arranged for your guests to pick up as they head into the reception in your wedding is towards the end of Spring when temperatures can spike up without warning. If you are planning to set up event tents no matter what the weather, think about portable heaters or fans as well to keep everybody comfortable.

Always make sure to check out the location you’ve picked for the outdoor portion of your spring wedding on a windy day. It is possible that what looks to be the perfect place to exchange your vows or celebrate your wedding on a calm sunny day is the worst place possible if the wind picks up. If that gorgeous country setting you and your fiancée fell in love with is surrounded by dirt roads, a kick up in the wind could create a mess.

Generally known as “bachelor’s button,” this lovely flower is a great choice for bouquets and boutonnieres. Although just as lovely as it’s more fragile counterparts, the Cornflower is sturdy and holds up well to pinning, moving and all the other goings on that occur during the wedding and reception. This lovely flower, which is also available in pick and white is perfect as a bridal or bridesmaid hair ornament. Cut cornflowers can be woven into a head band or attached to ribbon hair floaters. These long lasting flowers also are perfect for the groom and groomsmen boutonnieres. It also works well as a corsage, either at the wrist or pinned to a dress so also consider this as a choice for flowers for the mothers of the bride and groom.

These long lasting flowers are also edible, believe it or not, so they are a perfect choice if you are planning to have flowers strewn on the tables at your receptions or even floating in your punchbowl.

One of the most popular flowers for weddings and receptions of the Edwardian era was the fragrant sweet pea. This beautiful and sweet smelling flower was a staple for arrangements back then and if you are planning to re-capture the romance with a vintage style wedding, you’ll want to make sure that this lovely flower makes an appearence.

Sweet peas are available in a variety of colors, white, lavender, blue, pink and even red. These tiny blooms and their long winding stems are perfect to intertwine through centerpieces as a finishing touch. Their fragrance will create the perfect atmosphere for any reception.

And if you are planning to dry the flowers from your reception as a keepsake, the sweet pea will retain it’s fragrance and create a wonderful potpourri that will give you a lasting reminder of your beautiful day.

Looking to add touches of other colors? Consider green Bells of Ireland; white Casa Blanca Lily; pink Boronia or white or blue Delphinium. Stock, Calla Lily,Narcissus and Primrose come in multiple colors and are always excellent choices for everything from the bride’s bouquet to the reception centerpieces.

And of course, let’s not forget the timeless wedding classics. Roses and tulips come in almost any color you could imagine, from the iciest whites to the deepest reds and purples and just about every color in between that you could imagine.

For splashes of yellow consider using daffodils, gerbera daisies, ranunculus, anemone, roses and lilies in your bouquets and centerpieces. Flowering forsythia branches make for a perfect addition to centerpieces or standing arrangements around the church or reception area.

Pink Peonies are a bridal favorite and start blooming naturally in the United States in late May and are perfect for bouquets. Their dense blooms hold up well and give a wonderful shape to any arrangement. If pink is in your color scheme, you might also consider Stargazer lilies, Sweet peas or even Hyacinth. Orchids are extremely popular this year and their delicate blossoms will add a touch of elegance to any floral display for your special day.

Keep in mind that the bridal stores are typically one season ahead of the current time. So if it is March, Spring time when you are planning your wedding, you may be looking at Fall/Winter colors at the dress stores. There is an assumption in this business that you will be planning at least six months in advance.

Do you have a theme? Themes can be picked on colors, hobbies, sports, favorite pastimes, ethnic backgrounds, the schools you went to, etc., etc. Samples themes include golf, wine/winery, Seasons such as Spring, Summer, Fall or Winter, travel, a specific Country, gardening, fishing, baseball, football, music, hearts…..let your imagination soar and make sure you are both on the same page!

Some of the different types of scent categories flowers and foliage are judged by are Aromatic, Heavy, Citrus, Spicy, Sweet

The Aromatic category includes a lot of foliage and herbs. Dill, Eucalyptus, and Lavender are all part of the Aromatic category. So are most of the greenery used during the Christmas Holiday Season.

The Heavy Fragrance category includes Gardinas, Oriental Lilies, Stephanotis and Tuberose.

The Citrus Category covers Waxflowers and eucharis. Both of these have a light lemony scent

The Spicy or Peppery Category includes Mums, Stock, and Florist Bloom. The prevailing scent in this group is a clove scent with some blooms having a stronger scent than others.

The Sweet Category is the one that always comes to mind when you think of flowers. Hyacinth, Lilac, Carnations, Freesia, Sweet Peas, Lily of the Valley and of course, last but not least, Roses make up this category.

I had a local television appearance last Friday, 2/10/12 and the subject was “Bye Bye Boring Valentine’s Day Roses”. This company, www.fiestaroses.com sent me 5 different rose bouquets for the show…rainbow roses, blue roses, purple roses, lime green roses and half red and half white roses. Their sister company, www.theultimaterose.com sent me 3 foot long red roses as well. I can’t say enough great things about these companies and the product they sent to me for the FOX 40 episode.

Please check them out if you are looking for unique roses…they ship overnight anywhere in the U.S.”

And as my special gift to all of you who have taken the time to read my blogs, participate in our community and for flower lovers everywhere, here is my full length FREE video talking about Rainbow Roses.