See how groups of blooms in similar shades make true harmonious arrangements when it comes to wedding bouquets.

Here, an array of muted shades and an artfully relaxed shape is both surprising and sophisticated. Our twist on the traditional trailing bouquet includes a smattering of barely budding spirea boughs among a spray of garden roses, lilies, ranunculus, and andromeda. Finish with loops of luxe velveteen and satin ribbons, leaving the ends long and loose.

It’s easy to give classic white blossoms a modern edge: Just add a few copper accents and hints of tints. We warmed up hellebores, iceberg roses, and spray roses with magnolia leaves (flipped over to display their brown undersides) and a wide, embroidered satin ribbon.

Think of this free-form arrangement as your prairie-home companion. A tangle of tiny blooms -- sugar baby orchids, oncidium orchids, bunny tail grass, and cedar and mimosa branches -- becomes more than the sum of its petite parts when tied with a lace ribbon and raffia leaves.

Here's living proof that a bouquet need not be packed with petals to impress. If anything, the sparing use of shapely lady slipper orchids against a verdant backdrop of pepper grass, air plants, scabiosa pods, and succulents makes the flowers stand out even more. Bind stems with a leather cord to underscore the earthiness.

Picture this: a mix of violet, lavender, and white, plus a few blooms reaching for the sky. This clutch of tulips, lilacs, sweetpeas, ranunculus, and astrantia might as well have been lifted straight from a Dutch still life. The masterstroke? A wide silver bangle, slipped over a velveteen ribbon, encircling the stems.