Do it Yourself Wedding Flower Arrangements & Bouquets

Create simple or elaborate floral arrangements. There is no right or wrong.

Flowers can easily become one of the most expensive parts of your wedding, particularly if the flowers you want are out of season. Making the fresh flower arrangements and bouquets yourself may save on labor costs but need to be completed no earlier than two days before the wedding. However, silk flowers offer you the option of preparing months in advance. Whatever type of flowers you choose, the do it yourself bride can create her own visually interesting wedding flower arrangements and bouquets.

Things You'll Need

• Flowers, fresh or silk
• Floral foam block
• Vase
• Glass or natural stones
• Paper bag
• Bucket
• Ribbon
• Paint and brush
• Stickers
• Florist tape
• Jeweled pins
• Hot glue gun
• Rhinestones

Instructions

Flower Arrangements

1. Choose your flowers. Mixed flower arrangements possess visual interest but single flower or single color arrangements have a greater impact. Fresh flowers picked from a friend's or family member's garden add fresh fragrance to the reception, but season and availability limit your choice. You do not have to use the same flowers for the reception as you do for the wedding ceremony.

2. Buy floral foam blocks. Shapes include square, rectangular, spheres, half spheres and cones. The foams provide a stable base for the floral arrangement. Insert the stems of the flowers into the foam. For a floral arrangement without a container, cut the stems of the flowers to 3-inches and press the flowers until the base of the flower touches the foam. Cover the entire foam block except for the base.

3. Pick a container that expresses your theme and creates a unique appearance. Accentuate glass vases with colored stones. Use paper bags for an inexpensive pop of color. Silver buckets add shine and create a garden-like atmosphere. Affix or paint numbers on the flower containers to double as table markers. Wrap ribbons around plain containers to add color and softness. Hand-paint or purchase stickers of the bride and grooms monogram.

4. Be creative. Use twigs and fern leaves to add height and width. Nestle birds, fairies or photos of the bride and groom among the flowers as a surprise for the guests. Add fall leaves, berries or snowflakes to create seasonally appropriate arrangements.

Bouquets

1. Choose your flowers as you did in Step 1 above.

2. Lay out the flowers you want to use for the bouquets and play with them. Use a vase to hold the flowers. Think about how you would like the bouquet to appear. Start with the flower you would like in the center and work outward. Tall or long flowers like calla lilies, lily-of-the-valley, or lilacs should be at the outer, top edge of the bouquet.

3. Wrap the collective stem of the bouquet with florist tape. Start near the base of the flowers and work downwards. This will bind the bouquet and make the stems easier to decorate. If you use fresh flowers, you can leave the steams bar for a natural look. Fake flower stems appear dull and are not always green.

4. Wrap the stems with ribbon, lace, fabric or tulle. Coordinate the ribbon color with the dress color of the bridesmaid dresses or wrap in cream or white for a clean look.

5. Embellish the stems with pearl or gemstone-topped pins or glue on rhinestones. Tie a single ribbon at the base of the flowers and let the ends hang or create a bow.

References

• Martha Stewart Weddings: Good Things: Wedding Decorations
• Martha Stewart Weddings: Alter and Aisle Decorations