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Good Morning Everyone! As I’m sipping a cup of coffee after a busy day yesterday in Huntington Beach, I received a note from my good friends over at Elegala.com.  They shared with me 9 Creative Ideas for Wedding Flowers that are unique and modern ideas that are sure to inspire your own creations!

Your wedding flowers offer ample opportunity to stretch your creative muscles and add a bit of originality to your wedding day, so don’t be afraid to design a floral scheme that bucks tradition. This list of our favorite ideas for bridal bouquets, centerpieces, colours and other decorations is a great place to start designing a memorable decor scheme.

I hope you enjoy what they have to share & have a super week – cheers!

Play with Shape
Arrangements with a just-picked, unstructured look are replacing the tightly-bound bouquet and centerpiece shapes of previous seasons. Ensure a modern, not messy, look by choosing the right flowers. Hearty blooms like lilies, orchids, and amaranthus work well in looser arrangements because of the sleek shape of the individual blooms. Also consider incorporating non-floral elements like feathers, berries, and crystals to add interest and depth.

Get Into Navy
Sophisticated and classic navy is one of the hottest colors on the 2009 wedding palette, and many brides are daring to think beyond basic baby blue by incorporating the darker shade into their floral schemes. Naturally navy flowers may be hard to come by, but there are some options that are a close match: deep blue violets, thistles, and hydrangea are available in various shades of blue and indigo, while roses are a versatile bloom that can be dyed any colour – including navy blue. Pair these bold navy blooms with white or ivory for a classic look, or yellow for a bright burst of colour.

Think Beyond the Vase
Options abound beyond the basic floral vase for holding your flowers. Consider instead mixing and matching clusters of unique containers like wood buckets, mason jars, cans, pitchers, antique urns and uniquely shaped vases to add interest and reflect your wedding theme. Some ideas: Fill watering cans with wild flowers for a garden fete, or use apothecary jars filled with sand and sea glass to complement to a waterfront wedding.

Lighten Up
Candles, always a popular choice for centerpieces, are becoming even more popular as a budget and eco-friendly enhancement to traditional floral centerpieces. Ample candlelight lends the day a romantic, organic feel, while the natural resource saves electricity and drapes the setting with an intimate glow. Another way to enhance your arrangements with lighting and really make your centerpieces pop is through a technique called pinspotting. This advanced light design shines tiny beams of light from the ceiling to illuminate the center of each arrangement.

Get Stoned
Say good-bye to light pastels and muted shades, and seek inspiration from the baubles on your ears and wrist. Rich gemstone colors like amethyst, turquoise, and amber are hot on this year’s wedding colour palette. Accent these rich colours with soft sandy tones or grays instead of chocolate brown (so last year!)

Go Green
Going green is easy when it comes to wedding flowers. Consult Mother Nature for inspiration and bring the outdoors in. Natural objects like stones, leaves, pinecones, even twigs can add an organic aesthetic to your reception décor. Place in rustic containers or scatter amongst pillar candles for added ambiance. Get more green weddings ideas and advice here.

Make it Personal
Further seeking to personalize their weddings, brides are using their wedding flowers to call out specific interests by incorporating unique items into bouquets and centerpieces and creating a conversation piece for guests. For instance, book worms can use use intricately piled leather-bound books in place of floral centerpieces, and wine lovers can use wine bottles and decanters as centerpiece holders.

Tie it Together
The hand-tied bouquet continues its reign as the most popular bouquet style as brides opt for a tailored and natural look to their wedding flowers. A fresh bunch of flowers gathered and wrapped in a wide satin ribbon presents the look of simple elegance, but brides wishing to up the glam of this otherwise simple look can embellish the bouquet with brooches, pins, and crystal picks.

Lose the Corsage
De rigueur brides are forgoing corsages and instead having the moms carry nosegays or tussy mussys down the aisle. Besides the fact that corsages tend to conjure up memories of proms gone bad, there’s practical reason for this trend because it saves the dress – often made from fragile fabric – from pulling and tearing from the weight of the corsage.