"Bouquets don't need to match the reception," David Stark, a leading New York floral designer and partner to Avi Adler, explains. "They're an accessory to what you're wearing, not to the decor. The rest of your guests won't match the party."

Proportion is a critical factor in design. Stark dislikes big bouquets. "The bouquet should never look like it's carrying the bride. It's like a piece of jewelry-something flattering to the scale and size of your body-it's just another accessory."

Michael George, another outstanding New York floral designer, describes the bouquet as another fashion element comparable to the dress or shoes. "The look, the size, the color-all flowers are influenced by the culture of the fashion world," he says. George creates original bouquets by taking cues from the style of the wedding gown and listening to the bride's dreams and fantasies. Although famous for his striking graphic-art minimalist designs, he would still create a billowy bouquet of garden roses and romantic flowers if that complemented the bride's fantasy and dress.

Just as look-alike tables have faded into history, so are look-alike bridesmaids. As with tables, George and Adler still maintain some unifying element for the wedding party. For classic bridesmaids dressed alike, George varies the color of otherwise identical bouquets; for maids in different dresses in black, he substitutes unique objet d'art floral accessories that are not bouquets; and for bridesmaids in differing style dresses of the same fabric and color, he customizes similar bouquets to complement individual body type. For even more diverse bridesmaids, those in different dresses of different colors, Adler limits all bouquets to one color-white, shadowed with hints of green. Each bouquet is still composed of completely different flowers. Mothers and grandmothers carry white nosegays. Stark offers this final advice, "Wear what you're comfortable in and that's beautiful."