Google wildflower bouquets, with a focus on bridal bouquets, and you end up with plenty of gorgeous bouquets full of wildflowers assembled by talented professional wedding florists. So talented and professional, in fact, that the wildflowers cease to look like something gathered and instead look like something grown on a farm somewhere in South America.

No, no, no. When I think wildflower bouquet, I think of something like this:

Or this:

Or this:

Of course, I understand that it’s the type of flower and the arrangement that makes a wildflower bouquet. But why go through all the trouble of gathering wildflowers (or paying someone to do it for you) and then put them into an arrangement so polished that the significance of the blooms themselves is lost?

Images: 1, 2, 3

Feathers make great wedding accessories, whether they’re in a bridal headpiece or in a bridal bouquet or even on a wedding cake! You can find feathers in every color under the sun, so coordinating with even the wackiest wedding color schemes is no problem. How else can you use feathers in your wedding? Here’s a bunch of pictorial inspiration to help you figure out where to integrate this easy to use wedding accessory into your big day:

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If you’re in the market for a fun, easy DIY bridal bouquet idea, have a look at La Belle Bride’s felt heart bouquet tutorial! You can make one for around $10, which is a helluva lot less than your standard bridal bouquet or anything similar you’ll find on Etsy.

Seriously, it’s easy. You don’t have to be an experienced or talented seamstress (or Ms. Martha) to make this bouquet. It’s one wedding DIY project you won’t have to stress over!

Most brides-to-be are familiar with the more common alternatives to the bridal bouquet toss. For example, the practice of calling all of the married women (or couples) out onto the dance floor at the reception and giving the bouquet to the one who has been married the longest.

Another pseudo alternative to the traditional bouquet toss is the breakaway bouquet or fortune bouquet toss, where the bouquet breaks into pieces (with fortunes or charms attached) mid-flight and there’s enough for everyone. Then there’s the wish bouquet – the bride still sets up a bouquet toss, but she invites all the women at the wedding to come to the dance floor and make a wish. Whoever catches the bouquet will see their wish come true.

And some brides simply present the bouquet to an honored relative or, don’t do anything with the bouquet beyond carrying it. It’s all good, whatever route the bride takes.

But I really really really love this alternative to the bouquet toss photographed by Jagger Photography because it’s just so simple. You’re a single lady and you want the bridal bouquet? Hoping for luck in matrimonial love? Well, there it is – go ahead and grab it. Just be willing to endure some ribbing if your friends and family are anything like mine. And if you’re the bride, be prepared to take your bouquet home with you if it turns out that there are no willing bachelorettes at your wedding.

What are your bridal bouquet tossing plans?

Bridal bouquet charms are one of those wedding extras that you can take or leave depending on your budget and tastes. If you do relish the idea of a little bling on your bridal bouquet, then maybe a charm (or two or five) is the answer. Bridal bouquet charms come in many forms – from memorial charms to rhinestone animals to monograms to just about anything else small enough to be clipped on to a stem. With that in mind, here are some pretty pictures of bridal bouquet charms to get your mental motors racing. Enjoy!

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Maybe that should be spinspiration! Terrible, I know. But aren’t pinwheels fun? And there are so many great ways to use them in weddings that it would be impossible to list them all. Favors of pretty paper pinwheels with your names and wedding date printed on them come to mind. And how about using them in place of flowers in reception table centerpieces? I can even make it simpler – get a punch of pinwheels that coordinate with your wedding color scheme and stick them in the ground! Easy-peasy!

Gorgeous pinwheels for your bridal bouquet by Rule 42

Pinwheel wedding cake seen on Real Etsy Weddings

Bride and groom with pinwheels as seen on The Wedding Chicks

Pinwheels on a dessert buffet created by April Foster Events and pinwheel aisle decorations as seen on Wedding Bee

Pinwheel table numbers from Crossroads Cottage

Now I know what you may be thinking… what an odd, fussy topic, right? With all of the other things the poor bride-to-be has to think about while walking around on her wedding day – stand up straight! smile! where’s your train?! is your bodice slipping?! bra sweat!! MINTS!!! – why add one more worry for her to stress over? Hey, you know me, I like stress-free weddings and happy brides, but I also like thoroughness, and some people are concerned with the right way to carry a bridal bouquet (or groom’s bouquet).

After all, a too small bridal bouquet can look dinky and a too large bouquet can look overwhelming (and make your arms feel like they’re going to fall off). Carry a bridal bouquet too high up and the beautiful blue necklace you borrowed from your grandmother might not show up in your ceremony photos. Carry it too low, and your arms may fall asleep and your posture may change for the worse. And that’s just for your standard round hand-held bouquet. Choose one of the many less common types of bridal bouquets, and you run the risk of looking awkward.

I’m sure your know that there are lots of different kinds of bridal bouquets, from the regular (nosegays and cascade bouquets, for example) to the bizarre. How to carry some bouquet types is obvious – the arm sheaf and loose arrangements of calla lilies come to mind. But for other bouquets, a little help comes in handy. Before I lay out the help, though, a note about size:

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