* DIY Wedding Bouquets *

My cousin/BFF is getting married in November and I am her maid of honor {sorry, MATRON of Honor}, obvs ;). After chatting on the phone last week simultaneously looking online at bridesmaid dresses, we set up an appointment to try a few on. And just to be sure the bridesmaid's dresses were consistent with the bride's, she tried on her dress too. And ya know what? It really helped because we fell in love with a dress online, and while it was very pretty and flattering, the design and drape of the dress just did not match the style of the bride's. I suggest any bride do the same if she has the opportunity to.




Her main color is a deep red and her gown {which she found and fell in love with at David's Bridal} is a really really pretty and very dramatic ivory satin. However, she wasn't quite sure what color flowers she wanted in her bouquet so I thought I'd make up a few mock bouquets so she could get a real feel of what it would look like as well as see what the bridesmaids should carry ...and it ended up being extremely helpful in her decision making.





And obviously, I documented it just in case you wanted to do the same. {I made my mom's bouquet back in May 2008 for her beach wedding ceremony but that was before I was posting diys here. You can click here to see the post though and the bouquet}





* Flowers of choice
* Waterproof Floral Tape {I used 1/4" tape} and White floral tape {I actually can't remember the exact term for the white tape} Found all items needed at local JoAnns Fabric
* Scissors
* Ribbon of choice & a lighter to singe the ends. I used 2-1/2" ivory satin but in the past I've used 1" satin ribbon. With smaller ribbon, you need more pins down the shaft ;)
* Floral Pins




* Remove leaves from stems. For this bouquet I used 2 Peonies, 12 white Roses & Queen Anne's Lace {or it may be Green Mist}



* Beginning with the flowers you wish to use in the center of your bouquet, and using your green/waterproof floral tape, bind them together.

* You will start center and work your way out.


 
* I've filled in the nooks and cranny's with Queen Ann's Lace {or maybe it's Green Mist ...I'm not sure} and taped it all together. Above is the side and top view of this step.


 
* Next I added two white roses in between each set of Queen Anne's Lace and taped it together. Above is the side and top view of this step.


 
* I then continued to add the green Queen Anne's Lace and white roses to fill in the rest of the open areas and also leveling down to create a round feel ...and taped together. I would have like 2 more sprigs of the Queen Anne's Lace to completely fill in the spaces along the bottom but I ran out. Again, side and top views for this step above.



* Using the white tape, wrap or "mummify" the the base, covering all the green tape and creating a bit of a thicker handle.




* Using your ribbon, begin at the center, wrapping up then all the way down. Use pins where necessary but in a pleasing manner. With smaller ribbon, you'll use them in a straight row down but with this large ribbon, I used a few at the top and then created a little design at the bottom to hold it in place.




* When pinning from the bottom, push in and UP ...and when pinning from the top, push in and DOWN to secure ribbon but also so your bride doesn't have bloody hands from pin pricks ;)



* Cut stems to desired length.



* Best to do it the same day to avoid wilting but they'll keep overnight if you refrigerate them.





A bouquet of solid red roses is easier because there is no variation. You go about it the same way but begin with 3 for your center and work out and grade down from there. I used the leaves from the Peonies at the bottom which I LOVED but since they had short stems, wilted and drooped by morning. I loved the dramatic yet wild effect the leaves gave it.

      





What's funny is that Kell had the exact same idea and brought her own little make-shift bouquets of fake tulips and roses ...bffs think alike.

Have Fun!

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