A special bouquet for the big day

Make your bridal bouquet "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue ... "

Next to the wedding dress, a bridal bouquet most reflects a bride's style and taste. Not to worry if you overindulged on the dress — with a little planning, your favorite posies, and some pretty ribbon or borrowed lace, you have the perfect, affordable bouquet. We made three bouquets to match three different wedding styles: romantic, elegant and casual.

Romantic bouquet

For a classic bouquet in pale pink, ivory and white, we made a nosegay of garden roses, white rose buds and freesia.

Mix the rose buds with the open garden roses and add the freesia around the edges to create a round shape.

Place the open freesia blossoms on the inside of the arrangement.

When the bouquet is the size you want, secure it with a rubber band and then wrap white florist tape from the top, under the flowers, to about 4 inches from the bottom. (You can also cover the entire stems with white tape for a more formal look.)

Wrap ribbon around the tape-wrapped stems and secure with tiny pins.

When finished, clip the ends of the stems even and tie a bow around the upper part, just under the blossoms. If you wish, you may use more pins to secure the bow.

Leave long ribbon tails for a romantic look. We used 2 ½-inch, two-toned, hand-painted ivory French ribbon for the nosegay. The ribbon was expensive (about $5 per yard), making this nosegay the most expensive of the three bouquets at about $40.

Other flowers suitable for this bouquet include lily of the valley, tea roses, gardenias, white hydrangeas, orchids, parrot tulips, ranunculus and carnations.

Elegant bouquet

A long, sleek arm bouquet of blue iris complements the sophisticated bride. The formal look of this bouquet is highlighted with long ties in white satin picot-edged ribbon.

Inexpensive and easy to make, this elegant bouquet takes only minutes to prepare. Cut off the white bulb part of the stem and thoroughly wash the stems in soapy water before positioning them with the open flowers in the front.

Secure one-third from the top with florist tape or a rubber band. Cut the stems even at the bottom and wrap ribbon, about 3 to 4 inches wide, around the stems and secure it with tiny pins.

Tie a bow around the wrapped section and let the flowing ends fall just past the stems of the bouquet.

This bouquet was under $15, including the ribbon.

Other flowers suitable for this bouquet style include calla lilies, white iris, alstroemeria, blue delphiniums, orange blossoms, anthuriums, peonies and long-stemmed roses.

Casual bouquet

For the bride who plans a fun and casual wedding, sunflowers tied with scalloped black grosgrain ribbon fit the bill. This is a terrific bouquet for an outdoor wedding as the flowers will stand the heat better than most.

A bride who isn't afraid of mixing color can tie some mid-sized sunflowers together with several rubber bands and green floral tape. The flowers are heavy, so thick rubber bands work well. Wrap the stems in 2-inch-wide ribbon and let the long tails flow the length of the stems.

This bouquet and ribbon was about $23.

Other flowers suitable for this bright, modern style include dahlias, alstroemeria, carnations, black-eyed Susan, gerbera daisies, Mexican sunflowers and zinnias. Consider using black and white striped, cobalt-blue or chocolate-brown ribbon for a different twist.

General tips

If you plan your wedding a year or more in advance, you or a friend could grow many of the flowers you use for your wedding bouquet. A friend who enjoys working with flowers may also be happy to make your bouquet. It's a fun way to be involved in the wedding and makes a lovely gift for any couple.

For a frilly bouquet, purchase an organdy ruffle holder to place the flowers in before adding the ribbon accents.

Use a heirloom handkerchief as the sleeve to wrap around the bouquet stems for the "something old." Add a bit of lace from your mother or grandmother's wedding dress to the ribbon streamers or tuck it into the folds of the sleeve.

Budget Bouquet is an occasional feature in digs.