Arranging Flowers Part 2
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As I mentioned in Arranging Flowers Part 1, I plan on doing my own flowers for my wedding and recruited the help of some friends and family. This is something that I want to do because I love flowers, and just so happens to be budget savvy. I decided to use a local floral supply. I just felt better picking out my own flowers, and this way I can ensure that they are the colors I want them to be.
Since I have never done more than a couple of arrangements at once, I needed to do a trial run. This way I would have a more specific number of how many of each flower that I need, I would also have a rough estimate of how long it would take to make each item, centerpiece, bouquet, boutonierre, etc. I had already picked up the non perishable items I would need for my arranging:
Assorted ribbons, good stem cutters, green florist tape, clear florist tape, corsage pins, scissors, E-6000 glue, floral wire.
So on one of my days off, I headed to the floral supply and picked up a small assortment of the flowers that I wished to use. I picked up 10 blue hydrangeas, 2 dozen roses, 1 bunch of delphinium, 1 bunch of baker fern, and 1 bunch of solidago. From these items, I created, photographed (well the G2B can be thanked for the photos) and then took apart each piece.
Top Left: my bouquet Right: centerpiece A
Bottom Left: bridesmaid bouquet Right: centerpiece B
To create each bouquet, I built around a central stem, once I had the desired size and design, I wrapped each bouquet with about 3 feet of florist wire. I then wrapped double faced satin ribbon around most of the handle and used E-6000 to glue in the end. I then cut all of the stems to the same length For the bridesmaid bouquet, I added a dash of the periwinkle ribbon.
To create each of the arrangements I started with an empty vase, then placed the clear florist tape in a grid pattern, and taped around the edge of the vase.
For centerpiece A, I used a cross formation, and for centerpiece B, I made a grid of 3×3. I then began arranging the flowers until I thought that they were full enough. I am planning on using a couple of different colors of linens, so I though it important to have a couple of different arrangements. I plan on using at least two different vase sizes, but at this point only had one.
For Centerpiece A you may have noticed the crystals, I created these as well, working in the jewelry world, crystals like these are things that I come across, so I adhered them to these willow branches with fishing line and a little E-6000. I bought the bunch of willow branches already with the greenery on them. The came in about 4 foot sections that I cut down to create many pieces. The items used for these are here:
I also will need boutonierres so that was next.
The grooms, the groomsmen, and the mothers' were all created in the same way. I started with a flower and a piece of baker fern, cut the stem to about an inch and wrapped with about a foot of floral wire. I them wrapped green floral tape around the base and secured with a little E-6000 (in case you didn't notice this is my fave glue for all kinds of crafts). Then I stuck a pearl tipped corsage pin in each one.
Overall I was very pleased with my research, I have recorded the flowers and assembly times for each piece. This will help me better budget my time and money when making my own florals.
What I learned:
- The boutonierres wilted first, so we will make them last.
- The bouquets need lots of water, and in an effort not to soak the ribbon handles those will need to be made the day of our wedding.
- The centerpieces lasted for a few days, so they could definitely be made before hand, maybe the day before.
Anyone else DIYing the flowers for their big day? Any tips you learned along the way?
