Italian Bouquets: so creative and alive with buds and blossoms, stylishly hand-wrapped with soft satin ribbon so as to protect the finest bridal hands from staining or scraping.

Each bride follows her heart in picking her flowers and deciding what blossoms will bring out her emotions and how they should look when she holds them in her hand, arms down turning sideways, against the fabric of her wedding gown. Italian florists can adorn a bouquet with thousands of minute beads and jewels adding sparkle, tone, magic, romance, volume, personality.

The most down-to-earth Italian Wedding Bouquet to memory is played out in the Artichoke Theme Bouquet and Olive Oil favors one romantic European couple chose for their special day dedicated to mother earth and Italian style.

The bride is an onorary Italian! She still speaks the language and is in touch with her 'Italian Family' who hosted her during her study abroad in Florence... and believe it or not, her best friend of 25 years from Newport Beach, California now lives in Italy too!

The groom is originally from Bulgaria, alas his suave European manners and that exotic look in his eye.

Together they created an earthy ambiance and edible memory of their Wedding Day, paying careful attention to packaging and wrapping, frosting and decorating.

All the bridesmaids bouquets are replicas of the bridal bouquet, an artichoke nosegay accented with roses, peonies, ivy, and added greenery. Each bouquet is hand-wrapped leaving the tips of the stems bare for a natural look, bridesmaids wrapped with green ribbon, the bride's wrapping matching her dress.

Table centerpieces followed the green scheme with more artichokes and ivy, occasional peonies or roses.

Their wedding rings set in a moss-filled cup made of bark, entwined with baby ivy and two ribbons to tie their bands.

Olive oil favors were labeled by hand for each guest to pick up on the way home, an Italian remembrance for this Italian-style Wedding.