Summer flowers have to stand up in heat and humidity, lasting all through the day and night, not succumbing to soaring June through August temperatures by wilting in just a few hours. So sturdiness is a key factor.

Kathy Prentiss, owner of Sweet Peas Flower Shoppe in Madison (973-377-1041; www.sweetpeasflowershoppe.com) says that you can significantly expand your selection of different varieties of flowers for your day just by choosing their arrangement. “Most flowers will do just fine in hot summer weather when they’re packed nice and tightly in a bouquet. They hold their moisture in this arrangement much better than if you decided to carry three stems in one hand-tied arrangement. We hydrate them well, and then we spray them with a finishing wax” for shine and protection.

Some flowers do much better when you place them in a water source, such as a vase for centerpieces. “One example that’s popular in summer is the hydrangea,” says Prentiss. “But they will flop if you use them on an archway or as décor other than in a water-filled vase or arrangement.”

We’re quite lucky in New Jersey to have so many beautiful locally grown flowers that stand up extremely well in summer weather. “We use a lot of locally grown farm flowers such as sunflowers, yarrow, zinnia, and wildflowers, which all do really well in the heat,” says Prentiss. “And for almost any other kind of flower that you might think wouldn’t be in season, we can fly them in from the countries whose seasons are opposite ours.” That means that you can get tulips in the summer, but they will likely be the French style of tulips that grow overseas at that time.

Regionally, some flowers end their natural seasons right before or at the start of our summer wedding season. Prentiss says that it’s extremely hard to find lilacs from the end of June on through August (which is a surprise to many brides.) “Peonies are thought to be a common summer flower,” says Prentiss. “But while we’re seeing them in great numbers in June, it’s almost impossible to get them in July, August, and September. In fall, though, the red peonies return.”

Prentiss suggests that boutonniere flowers, by virtue of standing alone on a lapel and not in a water source, need to be of a “tougher” variety, such as the sturdier mini callas, orchids, and hypericum berries with mixed foliage.