Last modified: Wednesday, February 15, 2006 9:25 AM EST What's hot in wedding flowers BY JANETTE SEARS/0 0 SUN CHRONICLE STAFF Wedding flowers. How does a bride know what kinds, what colors and what arrangements to select and what to consider when coordinating them? Basic instinct, personal preference, and whatever else moves her, that's how, as those in the know and recent brides will tell you. `` Wedding flowers follow fashion trends, and today, indi viduality, rather than conven tion, is in style,'' said floral and interior designer Rebecca Cole in a recent article for the Society of American Florists. `` No longer do the brides maids' bouquets need to match the bridal bouquet, the bouton nieres and centerpieces. In some cases, each bridesmaid may have a different bouquet,'' Cole continued. Cole is the author of `` Flower Power,'' co-host of Dis covery Channel's `` Surprise by Design'' and a regular contrib utor to the `` Today'' show. Such freedom of choice, however, does not necessarily make it easier for a bride to select flowers, and doesn't diminish the role they play. `` After the wedding, when you go back and you look at all those pictures, you're going to remember the flowers, and it's going to make those pictures so much more beautiful,'' Jenny Stromann, manager of consumer marketing for the Society of American Florists, tells brides. `` Everyone comments on flowers at the wedding. They're a great icebreaker. And, they really do set that beautiful mood, that picture perfect mood that you want for your very special day,'' Stro mann said. Traditional and personal When Kerri Szymanski of Attleboro married Richard Nighelli of Norton this past May at St. John's Church in Attleboro, the flowers she selected reflected a traditional touch and a personal flair. The Nighellis now live in Plymouth. The color scheme began with the feature, a cascade bouquet of white calla lilies and white roses against Kerri's white gown. `` I just went with what I thought was going to look good,'' Kerri said of the flow ers, while noting that she just loves calla lilies. She chose an overall color scheme of white, black and red, with roses providing most of the red accents. rdrtrdrsrdrw15rsp160 SEE FLOWERS, PAGE 3A E from page 2a `` My mother and my mother-in-law carried little mini bouquets with five or six red roses in them and then, to keep the theme going, my bridesmaids each carried a dozen roses, very simple, with a red ribbon tied around the stem,'' Kerri said. To complete the color scheme, there were red roses on the altar and on the cake, with red and white rose petals sprinkled on the cake table and guest tables. When all was said and done, instinct proved to be the right way to go for Kerri. `` The red in the pictures is really the focus point,'' Kerri said of her wedding photos. `` I knew from the beginning that I wanted that deep red, and I just continued it through the whole wedding, the whole theme of everything,'' she said. Also white on white Stephanie (O'Brien) Carroll, formerly of Franklin, also chose the traditional white-on-white for bouquet and dress, with calla lilies -- her favorite -- being the flower of choice. Beyond that, the color scheme took on a seasonal flair to complement the fall wedding she and husband Jamie Carroll, formerly of Easton, had this past October at St. Theresa's Church in Attleboro. The Carrolls now live in Attleboro. Because of the season, Stephanie says she compromised a little on the accent color she really wanted and went instead with red. `` I really wanted pink,'' she said. `` I wanted a pink and black theme for everything, but pink is more of a spring kind of color. That's why I chose the red, so that I could incorporate that but use a deep pink instead of the light pink that I really liked.'' In the end, Stephanie was pleased with the compromise, which allowed her to provide the elegant and formal look she wanted for her bridesmaids, with each of them carrying 18 roses, in two shades of deep pink and two shades of red, against their apple red dresses. The compromise also allowed Stephanie to arrange for her sister, the maid of honor, to carry her favorite flower. `` I gave her a bouquet of all Gerbera daisies,'' Stephanie said. `` That's been her favorite flower since she was little.'' To continue the theme, Stephanie chose red rose boutonnieres for the ushers and table centerpiece arrangements of calla lilies in shades of deep fall colors, including a maroon, which she says almost looked purple. Keeping tradition For Amy (Leger) Gaudette, formerly of New Bedford, a bouquet of white calla lilies against an ivory dress was also the way to go when she married Jason Gaudette, formerly of North Attleboro. `` My memere, when she got married, carried calla lilies, and I just have always thought they were so beautiful,'' Amy said. `` I had a very simple, plain ivory dress, and I wore two gardenias in my hair, inspired from Billie Holiday. I'm a big fan of Billie Holiday. She was big with gardenias.'' Blue was the main accent color at this wedding, however, to complement the summer theme of the Gaudette's August 2005 wedding at the Roger Williams Park Casino in Providence, R.I., the city where the couple now resides. The blue accent came mostly from hydrangeas carried by Amy's bridesmaids, against their periwinkle blue dresses. The hydrangeas ranged in shades of light blue to purple, and the attendants also carried white hydrangeas. With the hydrangea a memorable flower throughout Amy's life and amply available to her, the table centerpieces were also made of blue and white hydrangeas. `` My mother has huge white hyrangea bushes behind her house and my aunt has blue hydrangea bushes, and they just matched the dresses beautifully,'' she said. `` So, I decided to incorporate those just because I am a South Shore girl and I had access to those and they matched everything.'' In addition, Jason's mother, whom Amy refers to as a self-made horticulturist, made complementary floral arrangements in large chalice-style holders for the wedding from flowers she grew. She selected pastel When Valerie McKenney, who grew up in Foxboro, married Edward Hickey, formerly from Dover, Mass., last March, pastel colors complemented both a seashore theme and a springtime theme. The Hickeys, who now reside in North Attleboro, were married at the Seacrest Resort in North Falmouth, where Valerie carried a cascading bouquet, featuring Stargazer lilies, a longtime favorite flower. `` I actually answered one of his ads in the Personal section that the Chronicle runs,'' Valerie said. `` That's how we met, in 1994.'' Along with the touch of pink in the white lilies, Valerie's bouquet included complementary shades of pink, peach, yellow, blue, green and lavender. `` I did not want an all-white wedding,'' Valerie said, noting that her flower children had the same colors for accents on their dresses. `` With the long hard winter we had, I wanted to have as much springtime color as I could. I'm a gardener, so I was missing my flowers.'' The blues were incorporated to complement the blue shirts worn by the groom and his attendants, and to bring the color scheme full circle, according to Valerie. The blue also complemented the various shades of sea glass which, along with beach sand, candles and hurricane lamps, made up the table centerpieces. ``It gave the perception of a springtime and reawakening,'' Valerie said of the entire color scheme. `` It brought a lot of smiles and a freshness to the whole day, and that was important because Ed and I had been together for 11 years and were now finally getting married. So, it was a whole fresh adventure for us as well.'' Valerie also noted that that The Sun Chronicle played a role in their lives 12 years ago. `` I actually answered one of his ads in the Personal section that the Chronicle runs,'' Amy said. `` That's how we met, in 1994.'' Special touch On Sept. 30, Sara Martin will join the long list of brides everywhere who will hope that their choice of color schemes adds that special touch. Sara, a special education teacher at North Attleboro High School, will marry Keith Gustafson, a plumber, at the Coonamesette Inn in Falmouth, and they will reside in North Attleboro. To complement the color of her bridesmaids dresses and highlight the seaside atmosphere of the Cape Cod site, Sara has chosen hydrangeas as the flower of the day. She will carry white hydrangeas while her bridesmaids will carry hydrangeas in shades from blue to purple. Some of the table centerpieces will also include hydrangeas, and Sara says she plans to add arrangements of hydrangea in other areas, including the bathrooms. `` Everything is hydrangeas,'' Sara said. `` It's just different color versions. Even the boutonnieres are little stems of hydrangea.'' With her ceremony starting in the early afternoon and her reception not starting until the evening, Sara said she thinks the hydrangeas will be a good choice because they are a long lasting flower, in addition to their other features. `` It's nice to know that you have a flower that has a color that is going to stand out and that not only do you see the color but people, hopefully, will realize that hydrangeas are a Cape flower, too,'' she said. `` So, it's following the theme of getting married down by the ocean, and it's really a neat flower because you can get it in so many different shades.'' rdrtrdrsrdrw15rsp160 JANETTE SEARS can be reached by phone or fax at 508-222-2442 or by e-mail at janette(at)(at)janettesears.com.