How to Create Your Own Wedding Bouquets and Centerpieces

Flowers are a beautiful accent in any wedding, but the cost can really cut down on the kind and amount of flowers a couple can feasibly afford. By buying flowers direct from a grower and assembling them with the help of a few volunteers, wedding flowers can be relatively inexpensive, personalized, and absolutely gorgeous.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• 20-25 stems per bridal bouquet
• 18-24 stems per table arrangement or bridesmaid's bouquet
• approximately 12 stems per bouquet designated for a mom, junior bridesmaid, or flower girl.
• bucket
• ribbon (in wedding colors)
• paper towels
• floral tape
• stem strippers
• centerpiece vases

1. The first thing you need to do is determine how many flowers you will need. Write a list of everyone involved in your wedding, including the groom, groomsmen, parents and grandparents (if you plan to make corsages and boutonniere, as well). Your list should include: the bride, maid of honor, bridesmaids, any junior bridesmaids or flower girls, the groom, best man, groomsmen, parents, and grandparents, the number of centerpieces you will need, and any extra flowers needed (for the cake or any other detail you want to cover.)
2. The second thing you need to do is decide what kind of flowers each arrangement will be made up of and how BIG you want it to be. The numbers listed in the "Things you'll need" category are those required for an average-sized bouquet. If you want huge, go huge. If you want small and simple, that is up to you, as well.
   
   *A GREAT website for wholesale roses is www.freshroses.com. Enter the site, click on "Wedding and Event flowers," scroll to the bottom, and click on the month that the wedding will be held in. Once you do that, you will be able to see what flowers are available in your chosen month and how much they will cost. You can also order a wedding test bunch in order to determine which roses you might want (if that is the flower you choose), wedding packages, and most of your supplies at this site.
3. Use a stem stripper to remove excess leaves and thorns, and pull off any damaged or unattractive outer petals with your hands.
4. Fill the bucket with cool (not cold!)water. Cut the stems of the flowers approximately two inches from the bottom under running water. Immediately return flowers to the bucket.
5. To begin constructing the bouquet, assemble five flowers together (one in the middle, and four surrounding it). Continue adding flowers around the center until the desired shape and size is reached. (You may need to play with the bouquet a little bit in order to achieve the desired shape.)
6. Using the floral tape, securely wrap stems in a spot where they naturally come together (probably right around where you are holding them). Wrap the stems several times tightly enough that they will remain in the desired shape. (The floral tape will stick to itself.)
7. Trim the ends to the desired length.
   
   If you want the flowers to open up further, return the flowers to the bucket and allow to open up over night. (I put my flowers in a cool, dark room in the basement, and they opened up nicely.)
   
   If you do not want them to open up further, wrap with ribbon if the arrangement is meant to be a bouquet and not a centerpiece (tie at the top, and wrap by moving down the stems, and tie a bow near the bottom), and store the bouquet in the refrigerator until it can be transported to the ceremony or reception location.
   
   If you do want them to open further, leave in the bucket (or centerpiece vases) and wrap just after removing.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep the stems long while you work with them and trim them to a shorter length when you've finished putting together the desired bouquet.
• Order more flowers than you think you'll need in order to account for mistakes or the desire for a larger bouquet.
• Putting together your own arrangements requires several hours. Try to recruit several people that you think would be most helpful to you during this project, order some pizza, and make a party of it!