There is a huge misconception that making a DIY bridal bouquet is one of the hardest things in the world, and you need to be a professional florist to pull it off. This is not the case.
Whether you want to know how many flowers in a bridal bouquet there are, or just how to make sense of what florists do when they create such a special arrangement for their customers, we’ve got you covered in today’s blog post.
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DIY Wedding Bouquets
In the world of floral arrangements, DIY doesn’t always produce the best results, nor is DIY always the cheapest option. But we believe that if people have the right information, they can create viable bouquets for weddings.
And who knows? Maybe those with hidden talents can discover their love for flower arrangements by trying their hand in DIY wedding bouquets. We’ll tell you all about it in today’s post.
DIY tips and guidelines:
- It is not true that you have to get everything from just one supplier or vendor. We recommend that you shop around and take what you want from different vendors.Mix it up so you can bring your actual vision to life. Set a budget, and just maximize that budget. Maximizing your budget means looking for less costly alternatives, and at the same time, you should be able to obtain what you need for the vision you had in mind.
In the beginning, of course, this is going to take some time to complete. Nevertheless, familiarizing yourself with different vendors and suppliers is going to help you in the long term. Should you need to create a similar bouquet in the future, you will know where to go.
- Think seasonal when designing your arrangement. Seasonality is something that florists keep in mind when offering arrangements to their customers. They want to make sure that they can produce what the customers need and at the same time, they want to keep the costs at a reasonable level so they won’t lose money on any projects.A good example of seasonality would be peonies. Peonies are supplied sporadically because they’re not the easiest to grow. However, hydrangeas are on the opposite end of the spectrum.
Hydrangeas are available all year long, which makes them suitable for many kinds of arrangements. Doing some research online will also give you a good idea as to what flowers are easier to come by in your city or state. Or if you want, you can also purchase flowers online.
How to Make a Wedding Bouquet
Identify where you can get the flowers and supplies
So the first thing you should do is to identify where you can get the flowers and supplies. You will also need to obtain some florist tools so you can manipulate and set the flowers the way you want to. Some of the tools and supplies you will need are a florist’s knife, ribbon cutter, pliers for florist wire, florist pins, wrapping material, a bucket, and some water.
For the flowers, we recommend that you use a collection of flowers that is not too ambitious or expensive but will still pack a punch collectively when made into a bouquet. Some nice flowers for wedding bouquets are lisianthus, spray roses (the white ones), lady waxflower, hypericum, and the like.
You can ask the florist supplier about recommendations as well, as they would know which flowers are most suitable for wedding bouquets. Take note that there is no essential difference between a DIY wedding bouquet and a commercial wedding bouquet created by a florist physically – what differs is the technique used in creating them.
Before creating any design, we recommend that you go over the principles of flower design first (including harmony, emphasis, unity, and the like). You can sketch your design first, using the flowers you are thinking of using as reference, before starting on your design.
Wedding bouquets have a specific look so you will already have a good idea as to what they should look like. At this point, it is perfectly fine to be creative but at the same time, you should keep the intention of the arrangement in mind when creating the arrangement.
Steps to prepare the flowers
- Using a stem stripper or your hands (make sure you wear gloves), remove all the excess foliage from the stems of the flowers.
- Next, remove all of the thorns on the roses.
- Using a pair of florist’s scissors or cutters, cut the stems so that they are all uniformly sized.
When all of the flowers are uniformly sized, it’s time to build the foundation or base of the bouquet:
- Select two to four flowers that will serve as the foundation of the arrangement.
- Bind the base together with some florist wire or tape.
- Leave 1.5” of allowance at the top of the stems whenever you perform any wrapping
- The bottom of the stems should have at least 5” of allowance
When the base is ready, it’s time to move on to building the rest of the bouquet.
- Start by adding flowers around the central or focal point of your bouquet, which is the base that you just bound previously.
- Keep your vision in mind as you keep adding flowers.
- Make sure that you add sufficient color and texture to the bouquet.
- Use florist tape to bind the bouquet solidly so the flowers have good saturation.
- When you’re done creating the bouquet, add some more floral tape until you have an exposure of 1.5” near the top of the stems.
- Make sure that you have about 4” of allowance below.
- Use pins to attach the ribbons to the bouquet. Decorate slowly, so you can monitor the bouquet as it progresses to completion.
