Entering a flower shop can make you feel as giddy as a bumblebee. Roses, lilacs, peonies, ranunculuses -- they all look so delicious, how can you possibly choose among them? But tempting as it is to combine the whole lot in a lavish wedding bouquet, you'll be happier in the long run if you exercise a bit of restraint. A neat, chic bouquet looks wonderfully fresh and pretty, and lends an air of carefree grace to any bride's appearance.

Allison Muench Williams chose a simple bouquet for her wedding last October. Composed entirely of delicate Eucharis lilies, it rested easily in her hands. "The fact that it was light and airy made it comfortable to carry throughout the cocktail hour," she says. "When my sister got married, she had a huge bouquet, and she ran to put it down as soon as she could."

One way to ensure that your bouquet doesn't overwhelm you is to treat it as an element of your outfit rather than as a decorative statement. "Look at a bouquet as an accessory to the gown," says floral designer Michael George, who, with Martha Stewart Living editors Hannah Milman and Eric Pike, created the bouquets on these pages. That means applying the same criteria to choosing flowers that you would to selecting a pair of earrings or shoes. Consider color, shape, proportion, and style. Calla lilies, for example, suit a clean-lined dress better than blowsy roses. And intimate Stephanotis blossoms complement a refined, delicate gown.

But a bouquet should do more than suit your outfit. It should also be a beautiful object in its own right. Since flowers are such exquisite creatures to begin with, they don't need a lot of embellishment, and the best bouquets merely highlight the work nature has already done. Minimalist bouquets, composed of a single variety, may be carefully structured to show off the flower's unique character -- the coy fold of sweet-pea petals, the gentle bob of a hyacinth head. When varieties are combined, clashing colors create dramatic effects, and the contrast allows you to see each flower clearly for what it is.

Finishing details are as important as the flowers themselves. George likes to draw attention to a flower's stalk. "Fifty percent of what we see is stems," he says, "so they should be dealt with in an interesting way. You can manipulate them gently or cut them off at a forty-five-degree angle." Most brides prefer to have their bouquets wired and the stems elegantly wrapped. The several designs shown here were inspired by couture details. Made from ribbons and fabric, they echo classic cuffs, ruffs, collars, and bodices.

The simplicity of these bouquets might tempt you to try constructing your own. But be careful: A bunch of flowers is not a bouquet, and creating even the easiest of these designs takes patience, practice, and several hours' work. An expert does more than arrange flowers; he also knows how to select and prepare them to survive the waterless marathon of a wedding day. He begins by finding the freshest, hardiest blossoms, then removes lower leaves and thorns, recuts the stems, and places the flowers in water -- either tepid, warm, or cool, depending on their variety, age, and whether they've been refrigerated or shipped. Unopened buds need to be encouraged to bloom, riper blossoms need to be discouraged from aging too quickly, and they all need to be plumped up with as much water as possible -- all before the bouquet can even begin to be arranged. Once finished, it must be spritzed, wrapped, and chilled, then carefully transported to your waiting hands.

So perhaps you're best off leaving it to others to weed through the flora. You have a more sacred task ahead of you anyway: to transport yourself serenely through your wedding ceremony and into the joyous bustle of the reception. And in your hands throughout it all will be a clutch of perfect flowers, all nodding their heads in solemn approval of the future that you're about to embrace.

Cosmos and Roses, Eucharis and Satin
Sweet Peas and Wood Hyacinth
Astrantia and Calla Lilies
Stephanotis and the Victorian Rose