Think of a wedding and the image conjured up invariably includes a vision in white, a sea of hats and flowers, flowers, flowers.

And the florists of the world will be waiting excitedly to see which flowers Kate has chosen for her wedding.

Will she take inspiration from Diana whose huge bouquet contained gardenias, lilies of the valley, white freesia, golden roses, white orchids and stephanotis?

Or will she opt for something totally modern and go for exotic anthuriums, or be totally romantic and carry a bunch of scented Sweet Williams?

Whatever she carries it will all be held together with the skill of the florist and florists these days have become artists, pushing the boundaries of their craft.

The best way to choose your florist is through personal recommendation, or asking for the name of the florist whose work you have admired at a recent function.

Ask to see their portfolio to assess the range of their skill and imagination.

Try and help the florist out as much as possible. As creative as most florists are, they are not mind-readers, so the more information you can give them the better – pictures from magazines, pictures of the dress, fabric swatches, key themes, or special items the wedding theme is based on – for example, if you’re wearing your grandmother’s brooch, it might be nicer for you to incorporate this into your bouquet, rather than wear it on your dress.

That way you can come up with the perfect selection of arrangements, from the bouquets and buttonholes to the table centrepieces at the reception.

No two weddings are ever the same and with the average spend varying between £300 and £2,500, it is clear that every bride has different ideas about what impact they want their flowers to make.

Be guided by your florist about which flowers are in season and remember that wired work will be more expensive, but will last better on the day. Wired work takes a lot of skill and time, and ensures you have a completely bespoke item – as any princess deserves!

It may be helpful to prepare a brief before visiting a florist, to include:

The style of bouquet:
• Traditional shower (a long, trailing bouquet, wired or in a foam holder)
• Garden flower posy(country-style loose bouquet, hand-tied or in a holder)
• Compact hand-tied (all the flowers tied tightly in a dome)
• Continental wand (the flowers are layered and upright)
• Wire -work decorative bouquet (flowers are stuck to a decorative, handmande wire trailing frame)
• Crescent-shaped bouquet
• Collate some ideas from magazines, books, and our on-line wedding gallery
• Wired hand-tied (a Victorian bouquet has concentric circles of flowers, or you could opt for a 50s-style small wired posy)

Headdress
• Circlet (flowers wired in a circle)
• Floral tiara
• Floral Alice band
• Flowers woven into hair

Type of flowers
• Preferred colours
• Shape of the bouquet
• Scented flowers
• Flowers with special meaning, like the first flowers he ever bought you, or what your mother had
• Avoid scented flowers if you have allergies – ask your florist to recommend the best flowers for you

Carrying the bouquet
• Trailing or upright
• Will you need to carry it with both hands?
• Do you want to carry it in one hand, or select body jewellery such as a wrist corsage so you can have your hands free?

Style of dress
• Have a clear drawing or picture of both dress and veil
• Colour swatch of fabric

Size
Something that is often forgotten is the size of the bouquet. For example, if the bride is small, an enormous trailing bouquet will overpower her, whereas a small hand-tied posy would be far more suitable. Agood florist will take the bride’s frame, height and basic shape into consideration.

Budget
Set a budget and give this to the florist. Be prepared to be slightly flexible but do not be pushed into anything which is not wanted.Agood florist can work with any budget and suggest ideas to suit. If the bride is on a budget then stick to flowers of the season. Remember these flowers are going to be handled so ensure they are hardy. Again the florist will advise on what will flop! It’s advisable to set aside ten-12 per cent of your overall budget to spend on the flowers for you, the church and your reception.

Ask…
…to see some of their previous work to ensure that your wedding flowers will be as beautiful as you dreamed.

Table arrangements
These should be very low or nice and high to avoid getting in the way of guests. Don’t forget, plants could also be used as table arrangements. These can be very attractive as well as cheaper (dependant on the plant) and a memento for people to take home with them at the end of the night.