Reception halls are more available and affordable. Your guests’ calendars are less busy. Winter is also a safer season for wedding bouquets, which don’t mind the cold. But which winter flowers to pick?

“Many winter brides opt for classic white or romantic red amaryllis and roses. But I can winterize any color by adding winter berries, sugar branches—and scattered artificial snowflakes or acrylic ice cubes,” says Susan Scimeca of Black Eyed Susies in River Edge (201-225-0772; www.blackeyedsusies.com).

“In this global marketplace, we can find your favorite flowers somewhere even in the dead of winter, but it can get pricey,” explains Kathy Kocinski of Sweet Peas Flower Shoppe in Madison (973-377-1044; www.sweetpeasflowershoppe.com). Some florists charge premiums to import flowers in winter, while others discount prices during this slower season.

Kocinski offers some tips for winter brides: “Use a florist located close-by, in case of snow. One or two scented varieties are enough; fragrance can overwhelm at indoor weddings.”

We asked area florists for their ideal winter wedding designs. For the ceremony, Scimeca recommends wintergreen pew swags and standing candelabras. Her altar arrangements would mix all-white lilies, orchids, amaryllis, and roses, punctuated with cedar greens, ice branches, and winterberries.

For Kocinski, the ideal winter bridal bouquet would include fragile flowers that don’t hold up in summertime heat: gardenias, lilacs, roses, sweet peas, and lots of orchids, all in snowy whites and creams.

As boutonnieres, Christine Eastman of Stargazers Florist in Denville (973-476-6799; www.stargazersflorist.net) recommends mini calla lilies or white roses. On the tables, she pictures square vases with compact creamy hydrangeas, roses, lisianthus, and silvery loops, with tiny votives all around.