3 Spectacular DIY Wedding Bouquet Ideas
Season: spring, summer
Consider the charming nosegay, a small bouquet that, in earlier times, often delivered a message. Called "tussie-mussies" during the reign of Queen Victoria, these bouquets spoke the language of flowers: red roses symbolized romantic love and passion, pink roses implied a lesser affection, and yellow roses stood for friendship. Blue hyacinths meant constancy; purple asked for forgiveness. Bells of Ireland conveyed “good luck.” You can make such small bouquets as graduation or get-well gifts, or for mothers of the bride and groom simply because they are so charming.
What You'll Need:
- Rubber bands
-15 floral stem wires, 20 gauge
- Floral tape
- 1 yard each ribbon in shades similar to the flowers, 1/2 inch wide
- Straight corsage pins
- stapler and staples
- 15 soft peach ranunculus
- 15 pink ranunculus
- 15 copper ranunculus
- 15 phalaenopsis orchid stems, in shades similar to the ranunculus
ALTERNATE FLOWERS Replace the ranunculus with roses or tulips; use iris instead of the orchids.
1. Build each bouquet from the inside out, starting with fifteen tightly gathered ranunculus. Trim and secure with a rubber band.
2. Each orchid has a “nose,” or small stamen, that emerges from the flower. Pinch this off so the flower is entirely flat.
3. To extend the length of the orchid stems, poke a floral stem wire through the base of each orchid. Bend the wire in half so the ends meet, then wrap them, top to bottom, in floral tape.
4. Add five orchids to each bouquet so they surround the core of ranunculus and form the base of each bouquet. Secure them with a rubber band.
5. Finish the bouquets with floral tape, ribbon, and a bow as instructed in sidebar.
6. Finish the bouquet with floral tape, ribbon, and a bow.
How to Wrap with a Ribbon and Add a Bow
Wrap your bouquet in ribbons that are as beautiful as your flowers, and finish by adding a bow made out of loosely looped ribbon. This technique is much less fussy than a standard bow, and it couldn’t be easier.
1. Wrap the stems of your bouquet in floral tape, leaving the bottom 2 inches of the stems uncovered.
2. Wind ribbon around the stems to hide the floral tape, starting at the bottom and working your way up to the flowers. Anchor the end of the ribbon with a straight corsage pin.
3. Select 2 yards of a ribbon that complements the color of the flowers.Make several loose loops, stapling the loops at their center. Cut a V into the ends of the ribbon.
4. Pin or wire the bow to the top of the stems. Feel free to add more ribbon and even combine multiple colors.
5. Place the entire bouquet in a container with 2 inches of water. It can be kept in water and refrigerated for 24 hours.
6. Remove the bouquet from the water right before the event, and trim off the bottom 2 inches of stems.
Reprinted with permission from The Flower Workshop, by Ariella Chezar with Julie Michaels,copyright © 2016, published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.Photographs copyright © 2016 by Erin Kunkel
Consider the charming nosegay, a small bouquet that, in earlier times, often delivered a message. Called "tussie-mussies" during the reign of Queen Victoria, these bouquets spoke the language of flowers: red roses symbolized romantic love and passion, pink roses implied a lesser affection, and yellow roses stood for friendship. Blue hyacinths meant constancy; purple asked for forgiveness. Bells of Ireland conveyed “good luck.” You can make such small bouquets as graduation or get-well gifts, or for mothers of the bride and groom simply because they are so charming.
What You'll Need:
- Rubber bands
-15 floral stem wires, 20 gauge
- Floral tape
- 1 yard each ribbon in shades similar to the flowers, 1/2 inch wide
- Straight corsage pins
- stapler and staples
- 15 soft peach ranunculus
- 15 pink ranunculus
- 15 copper ranunculus
- 15 phalaenopsis orchid stems, in shades similar to the ranunculus
ALTERNATE FLOWERS Replace the ranunculus with roses or tulips; use iris instead of the orchids.
1. Build each bouquet from the inside out, starting with fifteen tightly gathered ranunculus. Trim and secure with a rubber band.
2. Each orchid has a “nose,” or small stamen, that emerges from the flower. Pinch this off so the flower is entirely flat.
3. To extend the length of the orchid stems, poke a floral stem wire through the base of each orchid. Bend the wire in half so the ends meet, then wrap them, top to bottom, in floral tape.
4. Add five orchids to each bouquet so they surround the core of ranunculus and form the base of each bouquet. Secure them with a rubber band.
5. Finish the bouquets with floral tape, ribbon, and a bow as instructed in sidebar.
6. Finish the bouquet with floral tape, ribbon, and a bow.
How to Wrap with a Ribbon and Add a Bow
Wrap your bouquet in ribbons that are as beautiful as your flowers, and finish by adding a bow made out of loosely looped ribbon. This technique is much less fussy than a standard bow, and it couldn’t be easier.
1. Wrap the stems of your bouquet in floral tape, leaving the bottom 2 inches of the stems uncovered.
2. Wind ribbon around the stems to hide the floral tape, starting at the bottom and working your way up to the flowers. Anchor the end of the ribbon with a straight corsage pin.
3. Select 2 yards of a ribbon that complements the color of the flowers.Make several loose loops, stapling the loops at their center. Cut a V into the ends of the ribbon.
4. Pin or wire the bow to the top of the stems. Feel free to add more ribbon and even combine multiple colors.
5. Place the entire bouquet in a container with 2 inches of water. It can be kept in water and refrigerated for 24 hours.
6. Remove the bouquet from the water right before the event, and trim off the bottom 2 inches of stems.
Reprinted with permission from The Flower Workshop, by Ariella Chezar with Julie Michaels,copyright © 2016, published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.Photographs copyright © 2016 by Erin Kunkel
