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Flowers play an important role in your wedding plans. From the reception to your bridal bouquet, flowers add to the air of celebration to your ceremony and carry your theme for the reception. Investigate the Missouri Wedding Flowers Guide when picking your blooms.

White hawthorn blossom is the Missouri state flower. The delicate white flowers with a reddish-pink center are found in bunches on hawthorn trees. While mostly found in the southern part of the state in the spring, you will find them in botanical gardens and backyards across Missouri. These blooms are not available commercially, but could be picked and arranged in simple bouquets by an artistic bride. Other small white flowers could be substituted, such as dogwood, without guests being any the wiser. The Missouri primrose is another state-themed bloom. These delicate yellow blossoms are considered a wildflower and would add color and a local touch to your bouquets. Small vases of primrose, in bunches or as single flowers, would match a yellow theme and keep the reception decorations simple for a country wedding.

If your heart isn't set on a Missouri native, your flower choices are unlimited. Look to your wedding colors for inspiration. A professional florist can show you all the flower possibilities available in your chosen colors. The season of your wedding will help you narrow down your choices. Sunflowers shine in a summer wedding, daffodils are perfect for a spring ceremony and tiger lilies mirror all the rich colors of fall. You can also make any flower support your wedding season with accents such as pine cones for a winter wedding or gourds for a harvest time wedding. Ribbons, lace, seasonal ornaments and theme-based accessories can all be added to change those daffodils into the perfect fall choice.

Flowers aren't your only option for wedding decorations. Potted plants, ficus trees and royal palms can all be used to decorate. A friend of mine transformed the local fire hall into a tropical paradise by renting two truck loads of palms, ferns and schefflera from an office plant contractor. Tulle was woven in the fronds and small colored lights in sky blue added drama and matched her wedding colors. She turned a dusty garage into an elegant reception location while saving hundreds of dollars. The plants were returned to their owner the next day after a few volunteers removed the party decorations.

If you are looking for exotics or delicate flowers, which might be damaged in Missouri's winter cold, look into silk arrangements. Gone are the plastic, dusty arrangements of the past. Today's silks can be difficult to distinguish from real flowers unless you are the person holding them. Choosing silks relieves you of any wilting worries, you can order them whenever you are ready and your arrangements will last a lifetime.

If your budget is tight, there are some places you can trim. Design your ceremony flower arrangements so they can be easily moved to the reception site. Large baskets of flowers can bookend the alter and then do the same duty on either end of the buffet table. Alter decorations, if created with the head table in mind, can easily be moved once everyone has exited the wedding site. Assign this task to a trusted friend. Your family and the wedding party will be busy taking the formal wedding photos with you. A groomsman's wife or the flower girl's mom might be good choices.

Finding the right florist is critical to this part of your planning. Ask recently married friends and relatives who they used. A recent anniversary celebrant might also have some good suggestions. Websites such as the Yellowbook can be helpful to get you started, but you need to see a florist's work and check out the flowers in person.

Consider donating your arrangements to a local retirement home or hospital once the reception has come to a close. If you will be leaving for the honeymoon shortly after the ceremony, the flowers will be wilted by the time you return. Let your flowers brighten the day of someone else before they expire.

Flowers add so much to a wedding. Silk or natural, flowers define the ceremony site, make the reception venue sparkle and bring beauty and personality to your wedding. A single seed grows into the beautiful bloom you will hold on your wedding day. What a wonderful metaphor for a wedding.