Welcome to The Bride Files - covering all things related to weddings as Laura prepares for her big day.

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I'm in the middle of deciding on the flowers for my wedding. To be honest, I never realised there was so much to it. I just thought you picked out a nice bouquet and off you go. How wrong was I? Besides the styles of bouquet you can have, which I've now learnt are cascade, posy, hand tie, pomander etc, you have so many other things to consider. Your budget is a massive factor. Not only do you have to consider yourself, but all your bridesmaids, the button holes for the groom, groomsmen, the dads and corsages for the mothers. Not to mention the ceremony and your venue. Then there are some flowers that you might want but aren't in season for your wedding. Talk about stress! So, with that in mind, I've started thinking about alternative bouquets. Ones that aren't dependent on flowers in bloom and also a bit more unusual. You can go for artificial flowers and they can be quite nice, but the ones I have found are a bit more unusual and striking. These Irish companies have combined alternative material to create bouquets, such as brooches, feathers and buttons and they are incredible. The massive bonus with these bouquets is that you will have them long after the wedding. Heirloom Bouquets Designer Pauline Forde is behind Heirloom Bouquets. She has put her creative energy into designing vintage style bouquets.

Pauline's experience of working with fashion, design and flowers lead her to experiment with different design forms, textures and styles to create bridal bouquets as a perfect alternative to fresh flowers.

Each design can be created to coordinate with the bridal gown and can include a piece of family heirloom jewellery to add sentiment.

All About Weddings All About Weddings have a huge variety of alternative bride or bridesmaid's bouquets with silk flowers, gems and brooches. All their bouquets are made to order so they can be adapted to suit you. Brooch Bouquets Ireland offer a unique and cost effective range of unique brooch bouquets. Each bouquet is handmade especially for you. They are designed with your colour scheme and unique style, and can incorporate any brooches or jewellery of your own. These bouquets are truly amazing and can be made in any size and style with a variety of material such as buttons, sea shells or just fabric roses.