chapwoman's Blue wedding

So I've been trying to decide on flowers and centerpieces.

At first, I wasn't going to even carry a flower bouquet b/c I thought, what's the point if you don't even hold it during the ceremony...I want to be holding Mark's hands. But then I thought a splash of color against a white dress would make for really pretty photos (and I've hired a phenomenal photographer). So, I think I've bought into the bride's bouquet thing now.

At first I thought I'd like a bunch of super colorful Gerber daisies. And maybe I still do. But I also really love orchids, although they're super expensive.

My future sister-in-law keeps reminding me that this is a "once in a lifetime event" and that I should make sure that I do things right -- and not just do whatever. (I'm always very cost-conscience.) So maybe I pay the price for some orchids.

But I'm having difficulty getting inspired and finding orchid-style bride bouquets. Can any give me some suggestions? I am in the midst of a DIY-Google search as well as any florist search for ideas. I'm also looking into wholesalers. Have any of you other brides found a good wholesale website?

As for centerpieces, I can't decide if I want flowers or something else. What would that something else be, I'm not sure. Candles, well maybe, but not convinced yet. I hope to only have a few small tables, perhaps the cabaret style maybe bigger, so I certainly don't need an elaborate centerpiece. Spider mums are pretty funky...Oh, one fun centerpiece idea I had was to put battery-operated LED lights into empty wine bottles. Maybe there could be single flower stems coming out of them. I'm not sure that we're allowed candles.

There are so many beautiful, exotic, unique flowers out there, I'm having such a hard time deciding. How have you other brides decided? What questions do you ask yourselves? Although I'm having a "blue" wedding, I haven't really found any blue flowers that I like.

Orchids are also pretty delicate, although if I combine them with other flower types, they should be more sturdy, right?

Ah, decisions, decisions...