It is a good idea to book the first consultation with your florist about six months before your wedding, after you have chosen your dress and colour themes. However, some brides place their order over a year in advance, where as other brides decide to leave it to much closer to their big day.

You may wish to reserve your wedding date well in advance of your first consultation with your chosen florist, especially if you are having a summer weekend wedding as these dates can be booked up well in advance. A small charge is common, but this should be deducted from the final cost of you flowers.

A good florist will be happy to see you as often as you feel necessary, and should contact you a few weeks before your wedding day just to check that everything is alright with your choice of flowers.

Check that your florist knows your venue, or offers to visit it before your wedding day, as your choice of venue could effect the style or size of some of your flower choices.

It is very useful if you could provide your florist with a swatch of fabric if you are having the bride's or bridesmaid's dresses made, as this will help if the colour of the flowers and ribbons are to be matched as closely as possible to the chosen colour scheme.

Books, magazines and web sites provide an excellent source of ideas, if you see something that you like bring the pictures with you to your first visit with your florist. These ideas can usually be redesigned to fit in with your colour scheme and season.

Always make sure that you see examples of the work that the florist who is working on your wedding has produced, if you don't like their previous work will you like what they may produce for you?

Do not be pressurised into placing an order straight away and paying a huge deposit, or spending more money than you can afford. You must be confident and feel comfortable that you want to work with the florist you have chosen.

Your bouquet should compliment the style of dress that you have chosen. A large shower bouquet will look out of place with a simple, straight designed dress, a minimalist bouquet can look lost with a full skirted dress.

The shower bouquet draws the eyes from the top to the bottom, therefore can have a slimming effect. However a petite bride can be overshadowed by such a large bouquet.

A posy style bouquet draws attention to the middle of the body. It may not be suitable for brides not wishing to draw attention to their hips and also for very tall brides.

The bouquet is held just below waist level, if this is likely to obscure a detailed part of the dress then think about choosing a bouquet which lies across your arm such as a sheaf bouquet.

Flowers which are in season will be your best value option, if you desperately want flowers which are out of season they will be expensive, (if at all obtainable), have them as feature flowers in your own bouquet, but choose complimentary flowers for your attendants.

The flowers that a brides chooses tends to reflect their personality, extroverted brides tend to choose flowers which are bright and vivid, whereas quieter people tend to feel more comfortable with a more conservative choice of flowers.

An attendants flowers should always compliment those chosen by the bride.

Choose a more informal mix of flowers; hand-ties, baskets, hoops, wands, and pomanders look effective.

Think about the age and size of your attendants, small children may struggle holding a bouquet for any length of time.

Try not to choose the same bouquet as the bride, 'but smaller' it is your big day - make sure that you stand out from the rest with an amazing bouquet.

It is traditional for the mother of the bride and the groom to wear a corsage, this usually has more flowers in than the buttonhole. The most popular flowers are roses, but complimentary flowers from the bride's bouquet are also very popular.

It is traditional for the groom to provide buttonholes for himself, the best man, ushers and fathers.

The usual choice for a button-hole is a single flower, traditionally a carnation or rose, however a modern touch is for the button-holes to be made using a feature flower from the bride’s bouquet.

It is common for the church to provide flowers for the service, it is a good idea to check this out first before you spend money ordering these flowers from the florist.

Choose flowers for your reception which compliment the flowers and colour scheme of the bridal party.

If you are having a civil service at the same venue as your reception you can use the same flowers in both the ceremony room and the reception room.

The head table usually has an arrangement called a 'long and low', this can be anything from 3 - 5 feet in length and sits on the edge of the table facing the guests.

Flowers on the guest's tables can vary from the simple and minimalist to the very extravagant, ideas include single flowers in shapely glass vases, traditional posies, candle arrangements, tall vase arrangements, even displays inside vases - let you imagination run wild.

If you have tables where people are sat opposite one another, try not to have large arrangements at eye level as the guests will find themselves trying to peer round extravagant displays to achieve eye contact. Aim to have a display either under 30cm or over 60cm.

It is traditional for the mothers of the bride and groom, plus any other people who have been especially helpful in the planning of your wedding, to receive a bouquet of flowers as a thank-you gesture.  An aqua hand-tied bouquet is the best option as you can be sure that the flowers have been in water since the florist made it.