Have you ever met a bride who didn't have flowers at her wedding? Probably not but those flowers can take a chunk out of the budget. Here are a few tips to keep costs down on wedding flowers.

Choose flowers that are in season. While it's possible to obtain tulips in July and daisies in the dead of winter you'll pay a good price for them. They also may not be as fresh as you'd like because they'll most likely have to be shipped from a foreign country. That adds to the cost as well.

Choose common colors not exotics. The most common flower color is yellow and the least common is black, which isn’t really a true black, but a very dark bluish purple. If you want fresh flowers stay with the standard colors. And remember that flower colors vary quite a bit within the family. In other words you might have a specific shade of pink in mind and order flowers that should be in that color. The reality is that the flowers will be in a range of pinks not just the specific pink you have chosen. The exception is roses. Roses are bred to be a definitive color and won't vary much if you stick with a named hybrid.

Choose flowers that travel well and last. Some flowers like carnations are sturdy enough to hold up well in a wedding bouquet for a day or so, others like narcissus won't look fresh out of water for more than a few hours. Your flowers have to get from the grower to the florist to your wedding which could take up to a week.

Concentrate on the flowers for your reception. If you're being married in a church and having the reception elsewhere focus your budget and flowers on the reception. Most wedding receptions take less than an hour, most of the wedding time is spent at the reception. Churches also have limitations on where arrangements can be placed.

Choose inexpensive flowers but use them lavishly. Orchids are very expensive when compared with say, chrysanthemums. If you're aiming for an over the top lush look, you'll get more flowers for your dollar with common inexpensive flowers. Surprisingly roses are not that expensive as long as it's not near Mother's Day or Valentine's Day.

Use greenery with a generous hand to fill out arrangements. Leaves aren't nearly as costly as flowers.

Hope these wedding flower tips have helped.

Dee Power is the author of several nonfiction books. Find more wedding tips at  Weddings on a Shoestring Budget