Spring showers bring May flowers and so do spring and summer weddings.
Some Norman shops offer floral advice and decorations for that special day.
Betty Lou Mitchell, owner of Betty Lou's Flowers and Gifts, said as soon as the bride knows where the wedding will be, what colors she will be using and the style of the dress, she should begin looking for her florist.
Mitchell said that during spring and summer, a lot of the arrangements her store provides are detailed with mixed flowers or roses. Pastels are the most popular tones for those seasons.
Mitchell said she advises future brides to tell their floral consultants their ideas and to not bring too many relatives to the consultation. Too many opinions are applied and it makes the consultant's job harder.
Betty Lou's rents silk arrangements starting at about $25, Mitchell said.
Jana Bradley, floral designer and bridal consultant at Earl's Flowers and Gifts, said a bride needs to have her dress picked out before deciding on floral decorations. She said the bride should be ready to choose her flowers about three to four months before the wedding.
"Before a bride comes in, she should have already narrowed the dress selection down to one," said Bradley. "The design of the dress will help determine the type of arrangement to make for the bouquet."
Bradley said most brides come in with dream wedding ideas, but, unless they have an unlimited budget, all of the costs have to come into play.
"The future bride should think about what kinds of flowers she has in mind," said Bradley. "The next step is to let us help decide how the bride could change the original idea so the arrangements fit the particular budget."
Bradley said brides should bring at least one relative or friend, maybe their mother, to help pick the best possible flowers to use.
"Brides should make sure they bring at least one other person with them to help choose the decorations," Bradley said. "Make sure the other person is a close friend or relative with similar taste so the process is much easier."
Earl's rents arrangements starting around $50 for fresh flowers or $35 for permanent.
Maggie Ritch, wedding consultant for Ardella's Flowers, takes a different approach to consulting.
"I prefer the bride to come in without a lot of floral ideas in mind," Ritch said. "This is a good idea because the bride may not be sure on just how much the designs may cost. I sit down with the bride and we look through several floral books to get ideas and I can tell her prices as we go."
Ritch said hand-held bouquets of fresh flowers are very popular. However, she discourages brides from using them.
"I discourage the idea of using the hand-held bouquets for the brides because the stems may rub on the white dress, leaving a green stain, and this will not come out," Ritch said.
The most popular flowers for this season are tulips and hydrangeas in bright pastel colors, Ritch said.
Ardella's rents out several floral arrangements, archways, candle stands and alter baskets starting at $25.
Although floral consultants can be helpful, some brides choose to plan arrangements themselves or with the help of friends and family.
Angela Henry, biomedical science junior, will be getting married this summer. Henry said she has not enlisted the help of a wedding consultant because she has her own team of planners. Her aunt, mother, and soon-to-be mother-in-law took care of all the decorations.
"At the wedding, all of the floral arrangements will be of roses," Henry said. "The roses will be several different colors like deep pink, red, yellow, and orange."
Her reception will also have candle and rose centerpieces on the tables
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