How many of us have dreamed of a wedding with thousands of beautiful flowers, but are also faced with the realities of a budget? You can still achieve your dream without breaking the bank. All you need is a little imagination and preparation. Do it yourself wedding bouquets and centerpieces are easier than ever with the easy access to fresh cut flowers from farm direct wholesalers.
Working with fresh cut flowers does require some preparation. Receive your flowers in a cool location not exposed to direct sunlight, and have plenty of buckets with cool water available. We recommend the common, 5 gallon painter's buckets that are available at any hardware store. Spritzing your flowers often will keep them fresh and easier to work with than a droopy bloom.
Don't try to accomplish everything on your own! Most likely, you are already managing all of the event's details, so recruit a family member and friend to help you. Plan on completing bouquets and centerpieces the day before your wedding, so you are not working until the last minute.
The degree of difficulty involved in making a wedding bouquet can mean all of the difference between a do it yourself project or something better left for floral arrangment professionals. We recommend keeping things simple for first time bouquet designers. The ideas below are elegant, beautiful and easy to arrange.
Nosegay Wedding Bouquets
Nosegays are in style and easy to make!
Groom the flowers by removing any thorns, extra leaves or outer petals. Wrap thinner stems with a little wire for support.
Trim the stems to the correct length, roughly between 8 and 10 inches.
Place the flowers in your hand, forming a dome shape and wrap all of the stems together with wire.
Wrap the stems and wire with ribbon and tie it all off with a bow.
For a variety of nosegay designs, experiment with color, or with one or more flower types, perhaps adding freesia to your rose bouquet. Also experiment with size. Twenty five roses make a generous bridal bouquet, but consider fewer stems for your bride's maids.
Presentation Wedding Bouquets
Presentation bouquets were all the rage in the 1920's, and their understated elegance is roaring back into wedding events.
Arrange your flowers in order of height, according to the longest stem, creating an arrow shape.
Gather the flowers in your hand, maintaining the arrow shape, and tie all of the flowers together with a ribbon just below the base of the flower heads.
It only takes a few minutes, and you have created a traditional, beautiful and romantic bouquet!
Single Stem Wedding Bouquets
Single stem bouquets are all that you need if your desire is the elegance of simplicity. Consider carrying a single stem down the aisle, perhaps adorned with a grosgrain ribbon bow. Larger flowers make a bigger impact, so experiment with the dramatic colors of of an Oriental lily or flowers with similar characteristics.
Wedding Centerpieces
Centerpieces are easy if you keep two things in mind:
Never construct your centerpiece taller than 12 inches. You don't want your guests having to stand up at the tables to talk to each other over the height of the arrangements.
Always order a box of flowers to experiment with your design before your event. You need to know in advance if your design works!
Table Bridal Bouquets
Table bouquets are a simple design of three different flowers mixed together in a low vase with several sprigs of greenery.
Trim one flower to test its height against the vase, then cut the others.
Keep in mind that you will probably want some variation in length for your arrangements.
Or try this variation for a quick and simple solution for your table arrangements. Choose three different flowers and three low vases. Trim the flowers for appropriate height if necessary and simply place a handful of each flower into each different vase. Next, place three vases on each table with a lovely assortment of complimentary colors and styles that will accent your event's theme.
Floating Floral Arrangements
Floating flowers make dramatic centerpieces, especially when lit by tea lights. They are easy to create and add a unique touch to your table design. Picture hot pink gerbera daisies floating in a clear bowl or exotic lilies and candles in a shallow bamboo basin.
Simply choose a flower with a large bloom, like Gerberas or Oriental Lilies.
Cut them short, leaving only about 1 inch of the stems to serve as an anchor, and float your blooms in bowls of water.
Because most decorative bowls can hold about 5 flowers, floating centerpieces are as inexpensive as they are beautiful.
