How to Create a Hand-Tied Wedding Bouquet

Gina B. Kellogg — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 03:00:44 +0000

A DIY Technique for the Bride on a Budget

Budgets are tight these days. As a result, most brides are being forced to get creative for their weddings to make every dollar they spend work as hard as possible. One way you can save some cash is to choose flowers for your bouquet—and all the other blooms for your bridal party— that are in season. Seasonal flowers are plentiful, which brings down the costs.

A hand-tied bouquet is easy for any bride to create herself.

Just as important for your budget is to work with your florist and let him or her know exactly what you can afford. Your florist can then guide you in choosing optimal bloom and designs that fulfill the look you desire within your price range.

Yet some brides are in such a budget bind that no matter how they work the numbers, they simply can’t afford the services of a florist. If that’s the case with you, don’t give up hope. You can still have a lovely bouquet to carry down the aisle. And you’ll have the added satisfaction that you created it yourself.

Make Your Own Bridal Bouquet

The easiest bouquet for a novice floral arranger to create is what florists call a hand-tied design. The easiest hand-tied bouquet—and one of the most stylish and prettiest—consists of one type and color of flower. Carnations and roses, among many other types of flowers, are a great choice for hand-tied designs for three reasons:

1. They are plentiful year-round, which typically means they are very affordable.

2. They are easy to work with because of their straight stems and minimal foliage.

3. They allow you to create a sophisticated, monochromatic look.

To create your bouquet, first strip any foliage off all the stems. Next, grasp three stems in one hand. Hold the blooms just beneath their heads keeping the heads close together. Then, add individual stems around those in the middle, turning the bouquet as you place each stem to fill in holes and start to enlarge the overall bouquet. Place each “level” of flowers slightly lower than the original three so that you create a “mounded” effect. Continue adding stems until you have reached the size you prefer.

A monochromatic bouquet of pink carnations offers a vintage, retro feel to a bridal bouquet. (Photo courtesy of Zoe Rowlands, The Flower Company)

If some flower heads are too low, slightly loosen your grip on the bouquet so you can gently lift that head to the height you need.

Once your bouquet is complete, use floral tape (available from crafts/hobby stores, or simply use a long twist-tie or rubber band) to wrap around the stems to hold them in place. Place the tape as close as you can to the heads of the bouquet to keep them bunched closely together. Wrap more floral tape about 2 to 4 inches above where you intend to cut the stems.

Trim off all the stems to equal length using a pair of very sharp scissors or a knife. (Dull scissors will smash the stems, rather than slicing through them, which will inhibit water uptake.)

Next, take a length of ribbon to match or contrast with your flower color and being to wrap the ribbon around the stems to cover the rubber bands/twist ties. Once you have completely covered the stems, use decorative pushpins to hold the ribbon in place.

To maintain the bouquet’s freshness until your ceremony, fill a container with water to a level that allows you to place the bouquet into the container so the stems are submerged but your ribbon stays dry. Add flower food/preservative to ensure the longevity of your blossoms.

Once the ceremony is over, you can place your bouquet back into its container and use it to dress up a table at the reception.

You can find great how-to videos all over the web, simply go to www.YouTube.com and search. One that is particularly well-done is available from Lilly of the Valley Florist in La Quinta, California, U.S.A.

If you are adventurous and want to try something that is more complicated, check out this video for a new website being launched by BloomTube:

One other reference: For creative brides who want to push their bouquet-making skills to the next level, you can find inspiration for some gorgeous, well-crafted bouquets by well-known floral designer Rene Van Rem. His book, “Rene’s Bouquets: A Guide to Euro-Style Hand-Tied Bouquets” is available from a variety of online booksellers—including www.Amazon.com.

Written by

Gina B. Kellogg

PS: If you enjoyed this article, help spread the word by clicking the “Like”, “Tweet”, “+1” buttons or sharing it using the share icons below. Want to read more articles like this? Then Subscribe to our Updates, and get our articles directly to your inbox or RSS reader.

Related posts:

Wedding Flowers: Gerbera Daisy – The New Rose

inMotion Flowers — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 04:40:09 +0000

Out with the old, in with the new!

We’ve had so many enquiries for weddings in the last few months; April and May must be the months to get married… but we’ve noticed a trend lately and have crowned the Gerbera, Gerbera Daisy or Barberton Daisy, The New Rose!

Orange Gerbera Daisy Centrepiece

Why you might ask? Here are a few reasons from our brides to be; “Simple is key…cheap…something modern…not too busy”, “budgetary constraints…saving for own home or honey moon”, “my colour scheme is bright orange, yellow and pink…I don’t want roses please”

This simple yet elegant flower is versatile, long lasting and modern. And the good news for a lot of brides on a tight budget is that they are a more affordable choice for wedding flowers than white roses or lilies.

You will find this family of the sunflower in all the colours of the rainbow and like the sunflower; Gerbera Daisies symbolize happiness, joy, beauty and wonder.

You can create the most beautiful Centerpieces using Gerberas. They are modern, colourful, affordable, long lasting and best of all you don’t need to use roses…
-

Combine bright orange and yellow with royal blue and rich purple for your medieval wedding, or add a touch of bright pink for an elegant wedding or garden wedding.

Or for your fairytale wedding use white gerberas which symbolize innocence, purity and love with a touch of baby pink or pale yellow.

Elegant White Gerbera Centrepiece

Colourful Gerbera Arrangements

A bunch of gerberas with a few roses and greenery, or even on their own tied with organza ribbon, maybe add a sparkle or a little bling with a gemstone pin in the centre, and you have a gorgeous bridal bouquet.

Orange Gerbera Brides Bouquet

White Gerbera Brides Bouquet

Since Gerberas come in different sizes; large, medium and small, they can easily be used as button holes, pomanders (ball of flowers) for flower girls, brides maids, pews and at the back of your chairs or on a napkin ring at the reception.

If you are on a really tight budget, DIY Weddings Magazine have a great article on how to create your own Gerbera Daisy Centerpiece, or read our wedding flower guide if you need help planning your wedding flowers.

There you have it girls, just because you want simple wedding flowers or you have a tight budget, doesn’t mean you have to have something less WOW than more expensive wedding flowers!

BTW: If you are looking for a wedding florist in Durban, South Africa, please feel free to get in touch with us.