Rocks, fruits, feathers, and flower pods are some fresh ideas to try out this season. Clare suggests gluing rocks to a stick to use as accents in your bouquet. Feathers are coming in vogue, too. “I have a lot of brides that will do a huge flower surrounded with feathers,” she says. Clare also recommends using fruits like champagne grapes, green grapes, apples, and gooseberries as interesting and unexpected accents.

Flowers don’t have to be full-grown to make a bouquet or arrangement pop. “Pods are very interesting. There are a lot of cool textured things in spring, and a great accent color is green. There are so many shades of cool green colors,” she says. Clare recommends lotus, iris, tulip, or ranunculus pods. In spring, she suggests using “things that have just bloomed, and then play with it so that each one has some interest.”

When it comes to creating gorgeous and original arches or huppahs, “the sky is the limit,” Clare says. One idea is to use cherry-blossom branches to form an arch. At one wedding, Clare used two urns as bases for the branches that intertwined at the top of the arch. Other possibilities are vines and branches. “We love doing a really natural look, a little off the beaten path,” she says.

Pull back when it comes to over-the-top detailing, Clare warns. “The key is texture, but nothing so avant-garde that it’s scary,” she says. “I’m such a natural person, I hate using fake items. The exceptions are when it comes to ribbon—I love different textured ribbon.” Try braiding ribbons together or using several different textures to wrap around the base of your bouquet, or even bark. “It’s sort of authentic,” she says.

These unconventional details and a fresh, pastel color palette are hot trends for spring. Try working soft rose, ivory, and cream into your floral arrangements, Clare suggests. Make sure to “change it up so that it’s interesting, but nothing off the deep end,” she advises.