So I finally got around to visiting my florist, Island Rose. I chose them without a second thought because they have the most beautiful deep red roses and the owner is my cousin. Teehee!

Visit Island Rose's website to view their wedding packages.

Anyhow, while looking through photos online, I decided I loved the dramatic effect red roses had against the pale white or ivory of a wedding dress. By that time, I had also decided that I wanted my entourage to be in shades of nude and white, so a red bouquet would also look great with their dresses.

Clockwise from top left: Scott Lewis Images; Gail & Chad: Bridal Bouquet; Niña & Mikki: Bridal Bouquet.

Sheila Castro, the Supervisor for Internet Marketing, prepared three bouquets for me to look at. I mentioned that I wanted a less full bouquet for the entourage and asked if she could keep the leaves on the stems for a more raw finish.

The flowers were still in bloom a week later! I kept them in a vase and added a bit of sugar to the water.

I'm not too fond of the big lollipop-shaped bouquets I've seen and I thought the size of this bouquet was nice enough to be the bridal one. I like how the leaves make it look as though they've been freshly picked.

I practiced holding the flowers just to see if they'd look okay in relation to my height and size.

Sheila said that they usually put three to five dozens in a bridal bouquet, but I personally feel it'll be huge with that many blooms, not to mention quite heavy. Maybe an additional dozen will be okay.

I love how simple and sparse the half-dozen bouquet looked!

The Groom and I think that this is a great size for the entourage. I really like that just-picked feel that these few roses, still lush with leaves, have. Maybe a simple white or red ribbon can be tied around the stems to dress up the handle.

It's nice and small and easy to carry.

My only worry is that it does look a bit sparse. Mum said it doesn't look very wedding-y because it's too tiny.

I saw these orange roses on the website.

I inquired about the orange roses because I saw them on Island Rose's website. The color is much more striking in person and the roses really opened up over the course of a week. They were really so lovely! I just felt that it was a bit far off from my color scheme plus they couldn't guarantee that they would be able to produce enough in time for my wedding. (Island Rose farms their roses locally.)

I'm meeting with Sheila again to discuss the church and reception flowers further. Will keep you all posted on how things turn out. :)

--Isha.