Flowers are a beautiful part of a wedding ceremony. They adorn the groom and his attendants, they travel down the aisle with the bride and bridesmaids, and they decorate the church and reception hall. And if you believe in folklore, the lady who catches the bride’s bouquet will be the next to marry.

Flowers are also associated with folklore in other ways. In the Victorian era, men sent flowers with special meanings to women as a means of communication. Back then, the meanings of flowers were common knowledge. These days it’s more acceptable for a man to just come out and tell a woman how he feels, and these meanings are not as well known.

Knowing the meanings of different flowers can help you choose the best ones for your wedding day. Following are the traditional meanings of some of the more popular wedding flowers.

Roses

Roses are very popular flowers associated with romance, so it is fitting that they are often used in weddings. Specific meanings vary by color.

Red roses are known as symbols of love, pink ones symbolize elegance and admiration, and white roses represent innocence and purity. Yellow roses are associated with friendship and joy, orange roses represent enthusiasm and passion, and lavender roses symbolize love at first sight.

Daisies

Daisies are often used at informal weddings, but they may also make their way into more formal ceremonies. These flowers represent innocence and beauty. Gerbera daisies represent those things too, but they also stand for cheerfulness. Daisies are available in a wide variety of colors, making it easy to incorporate them into any wedding color scheme.

Lilies

There are many varieties and colors of lilies. In general, lilies stand for innocence and purity, but some specific varieties have their own special meanings. Bold and beautiful stargazer lilies, for example, symbolize aspiration, and the pink ones have become known as a sign of prosperity. The smaller Peruvian lilies represent friendship and devotion.

Tulips

Tulips are adored for their simple beauty and wide variety of colors. The flowers generally represent perfect love, but some colors have additional meanings. Red tulips, like red roses, stand for true love. Purple tulips are symbolic of royalty, and yellow ones send a message of cheer.

Carnations

The carnation is one of the oldest flower varieties in the world, and it is very popular in wedding arrangements. Carnations come in numerous colors and are symbolic of love. The colors of carnations have meanings similar to those of roses of the same color. Red stands for deep affection, white represents purity, and pink symbolizes gratitude.

Other Popular Wedding Flowers

There are several other flowers that are often used at weddings. Irises are lovely flowers for a wedding, and they represent faith and hope. Graceful and delicate orchids represent love, beauty and strength. Sunflowers symbolize loyalty and happiness.

Choosing the perfect flowers for your wedding can be a tough decision, because there are so many beautiful flowers to choose from. Learning the meanings behind the flowers can make that decision a little easier.

With all that goes into planning a wedding, it can be difficult to remember everything. But if you forget the wrong thing or don’t plan sufficiently, things can go awry. Important items could be forgotten, or improper timing could cause you to be late getting out of the reception hall, resulting in overtime charges.

Taking some precautions when planning your wedding could help you avoid missteps. It can also reduce your stress levels leading up to the big day. Here are five things you can do to help avoid wedding mistakes.

1. Limit your guest list. Much of your wedding planning will be based on the number of guests you invite. If you keep adding on guests, you could drive your costs up. It could also result in not having enough room for everyone at the ceremony or reception.

As a general rule, you can expect 80-85% of the people you invite to show up. But it is important to take into consideration the fact that those who do come may bring unexpected guests. So it’s usually best to plan as though everyone will be there.

2. Know all applicable rules and regulations. Laws pertaining to marriage licenses, for example, vary from state to state, and possibly even from county to county.

They are only good for a specified time period, and some localities impose waiting periods before you can get them. Checking up on all of the legalities ahead of time can help eliminate unpleasant surprises on your wedding day.

If you’re having a church wedding, it’s important to make sure you know what types of dress and music are acceptable. There may also be specific requirements regarding the ceremony itself. Your officiant can fill you in on all of these things.

3. Make sure that all vendors know the details of your ceremony. Obviously they’ll need to know the day, time and location, but there may be other things they need to know as well.

It’s not a bad idea to visit each vendor a week or so before the wedding to go over everything, just to make sure you’re on the same page. And it’s also smart to bring along a list of vendor names and phone numbers on your wedding day, just in case problems should arise.

4. Do all beauty treatments a couple of weeks in advance. A dye job or tanning session gone wrong can put a major damper on your wedding day, especially if it’s done a day or two before the ceremony. Doing these things ahead of time gives you time to fix any problems that might arise (or lose the sunburn).

5. Be prepared. While you can’t foresee the future, having backup plans and supplies to use if things go wrong could save the day. If you’re getting married outside, secure an indoor location in case the weather doesn’t cooperate.

Putting someone in charge of bringing in an emergency kit with sewing supplies, toiletries, first aid supplies, and other things that members of the wedding party might need is also a good idea.

To eat, drink and be merry! That’s the real reason guests love attending wedding receptions. Because food and fun go hand in hand, many couples plan their wedding food and wedding drinks at the same time they’re planning the reception.

And even though the majority of wedding receptions are held during the evening, this doesn’t have to be the case with yours. If you’re working on a tight budget, instead of planning a nighttime sit down-style reception, consider arranging a morning, brunch, lunch, or cocktail reception. They can be just as festive, but at a fraction of the cost. To set the tone, select a location with a pleasant daytime view. If you prefer an evening reception, a buffet dinner will cost less than a sit-down dinner as will a paid bar versus an open bar.

You need to plan your wedding food and drinks well ahead, at least 6 - 12 months in advance of the big day. Oftentimes, the reception location is selected because of the fact that the wedding food and non-alcoholic drinks are offered as part of the package price. And while these venues may not create the wedding cake, they will often refer a wedding cake specialist. At a minimum, you’ll find they offer cake cutting/serving services.

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