Making a Bridal Bouquet

Create a Wedding Bouquet from Your Love Notes

Confused by all of the choices there are for a bridal bouquet? I have tried hard to make each wedding I ever designed (34 years designing) special and unique to each bride.

If you are not sure what type of bouquet to carry or trying to save some on cost, take all of the cards and love letters and notes that you saved from your groom and tie them together. Have some one make a fabric "envelope" to match your colors. Slide in all of the cards and letters, use a button to close it off. Have the florist make a larger "corsage" with trailing ribbons and attach it to the top of the "envelope" with corsage pins. This will truly give you a bouquet unique to you alone as no one else has the cards and love notes as you do from your beloved.

This is sentimental and very elegant, all the while being very cost effective as well! Say nothing to your groom until you are at the altar or after the ceremony. Tell him that you carried these items with you as they mean more than any bridal bouquet ever would AND you get to keep them as well, secure in their special "envelope"! You may even choose to have the envelope embroidered with your names, initials, a sentiment, your wedding date etc.

Best of luck on your wedding day.

Source: It was my idea, you have to be creative when dealing with brides that all want a wedding unique to themselves.

By Beau D from Vancouver, WA

Hand Tied Bridal Bouquet

This is a hand tied bridal bouquet I made. Being a certified wedding planner, I keep my business "all inclusive"! I sometimes am the florist too!

By DesignedByJulie from Mt. Pleasant, NC

Frugal Wedding Flowers

Here is an alternative to florist prices for flowers. While I don't have a photo I am sure you will get the idea! My son is getting married in April and the wedding is on the cheap. What I did for bouquets is the following: took a toilet paper roll and inserted Styrofoam to fit snugly. Then I inserted silk flowers on stems into the Styrofoam, arranged as needed, as well as, then inserted Baby's Breath and greenery under the flowers.

Then I wrapped the toilet paper roll with color coordinated ribbon (including the underside), pinned the end of the ribbon with pearl headed straight pins directly through the toilet paper roll into the Styrofoam. Viola! Instant bouquet! This takes about 15 minutes per bouquet and looks like a designer bouquet for pennies!

Use Wildflowers in Bridal Bouquets

Is there a local wildflower you can add to your wedding flowers? At my wedding back East, we gathered wild Queen Anne's Lace, which was lovely with the roses we bought for small nosegays on the tables (and less than the baby's breath they sold.) I have discovered that on the West Coast, they sell Queen Anne's Lace and Goldenrod! Go figure.

Making a Silk Bridal Bouquet

Thank goodness the days of HUGE Bridal bouquets has passed! Small, round bouquets with stems showing are being used more often in Weddings. Your local florist would be glad to bunch up a cluster of roses and tie with ribbon but believe me you'd pay dearly! And within a couple of days there is nothing left but photos of your flowers. By making a silk bouquet you have it for years to come, to keep with all your other wedding momentoes.

To make a bouquet you will need:

• A Wilton bouquet holder (less than $3 at Walmart)
• 10-12 silk roses
• wire cutters
• A roll of green floral tape
• Ribbon you choose to tie on and make ribbon loops (optional--for added color).
• Stiff wire

Instructions:

The bouquet holder is a small circle of styrofoam incaged in a plastic holder with an attached handle.

In choosing roses, to make them more realistic looking, remove the end of the flower (I think it's called the calyx) and remove extra petals which make it look fully bloomed, leaving the last row and middle of the flower. This will make a small but more realistic looking rose. When buying roses, choose a more CLOTH feeling rose.

To form the bouquet, clip stems down to 5-6" long and beginning in the center insert a rose. Following the circle pattern fill your holder with closely fit roses, using the leaves as well for greenery. Make small loops of ribbon and attach to stiff wire, and wrap tightly with floral tape, inserting them into the cluster of flowers. To have stems showing at the bottom cut the end of the stem to your desired length and holding them around the handle, wrap tightly with floral tape at the top (so as not to show) and leave the rest of the stem showing.

Tie on ribbon and wire onto the top of the handle also wrapping with floral tape to cover the wire. This makes a beautiful rose cluster bouquet your Bride will be proud to carry. Many people at my Daughter's wedding were surprised to find out that hers was not real--but silk flowers and she proudly displays them in her Curio cabinet, still as pretty as the day she used them.

By Sharon Shearer from Ravenna, KY