"The flowers you carry down the aisle should be the perfect complement to your overall bridal look," says Candice Benson, president and founder of The Finishing Touch. "Next to your dress, this will be something that stands out in all of your photographs. When considering your bouquet, spend some time thinking about the size, the colors and the type of flowers you would like to incorporate."

Sue Narin, The Finishing Touch’s in-house florist, has put together some tips to help you determine how to come up with the ideal bouquet.

The first thing to do before you meet with your florist is to look at photos of bridal bouquets online or in print to determine what you are attracted to in the following categories -- color, style, size, flower types and accents.

Color
Whether or not to include colors other than whites and ivories in the bride's bouquet is still a question for some brides. If a color is selected, it does need to be a color that will be complemented by the attendant’s dress color and/or bouquets. As a note, many photographers feel that the all white bouquets against a white or ivory gown do not provide enough contrast to capture well in all photographs.

Style
The most popular bouquet is still the hand-tied round bouquet. Other recent "art" style bouquets have been the scepter bouquet (very long stems bound together to form a long handle with a small, tight ball of flowers at the top) and long, single-garland, cascading style bouquets. The traditional cascade, with it's smaller cousin, the teardrop, are sometimes still used, as is the side-carry, or presentation-style (think ballerina post-performance bouquet).

Size
Typically described by the diameter of the bouquet, current bridal bouquets run between 9 to 12 inches in diameter, with attendant bouquets about 7 to 10 inches.

Flower Types
Brides certainly do not need to be flower experts -- that's why they hire a professional floral designer. It is always helpful to take note of any identified flower types you see in photos that you like.

Accents
These would include non-floral elements and artistic embellishments that add a flair of uniqueness to the bouquet. Organic choices include pods, vines, grass, branches and shells; non-organic would be crystals, beads, sequins, ribbons, etc. There are many ways to get creative with your bouquet.

New Jersey-based The Finishing Touch is a full-service wedding and special event planning company specializing in designing, planning and coordinating our clients’ most special events