There are plenty of flowers by other names that are just as sweet and as stylish

Marriage is one of those institutions bound by custom and time-honored traditions. There are dozens of volumes on the shelves of any bookstore that painstakingly outline all the dos and don’ts of your day.

But the world is no longer a traditional place. We’re in an age in which we are taught to express ourselves. Why should our nuptials be any different?

There are certain aspects of a wedding that can be tailored to suit the statement you wish to make about your relationship. One of those is flowers.

Dare to Be Different

Many brides picture roses at their weddings. Bart Brunswick, of Brunswick Florist in Cleveland, says that’s because roses are a no-brainer. “Roses represent finery and elegance to many brides,” he notes. “It’s psychological.”

Not that roses aren’t always a great choice, but there are hundreds of other flowers out there that are just as beautiful and, sometimes, less expensive.

Though the desire to be different is strong, Brunswick warns against taking it too far. “Every bride thinks she can reinvent the wedding. We’re not proponents of that,” he says. “You don’t want to look back — to the ’70s, for example, when everyone was trying to be different — and giggle.”

With that said, there are a variety of elegant flowers that can make any wedding beautiful without crossing the line into bizarre. But getting young brides to look beyond the rose can be difficult.

Catherine Jones, owner of The Cutting Garden in Rocky River, says that Martha Stewart has helped to push the general public away from roses and into creativity. “Martha Stewart sets the trends, for whatever reason,” Jones observes. “And she has educated the public and introduced them to flowers besides carnations, mums and baby’s breath.”

Antoinette, owner of Elegant Events by Antoinette in Bedford, recently arranged flowers for a summer wedding in which roses played no part. “It was a garden wedding,” she notes. “We used soft colors and created beautiful arrangements with larkspur, peonies and hydrangeas.”

Flowers, advises Brunswick, should help create a mood that works for the season and time of day. He describes his floral arrangements as an English county garden, ever-changing, but always ablaze with color in any season.

If you’ve decided that roses aren’t for you, or that you’d like to try something a little different, Brunswick, Jones and Antoinette have suggestions (see chart below) that can help you attain that beautiful, elegant look without the fear of looking too trendy and regretting it 20 years down the road. Also, if you choose flowers that are in season, your bill is bound to be lower. However, if you have your heart set on tulips in February, you can still get them — just expect to pay more.

The most important thing you can do, according to Antoinette, is to sit down with your florist, discuss what you want and be honest about your budget. A good florist can work with whatever you give him or her. And remember that it’s not the number of flowers but how well they’re arranged.