Make your own bouquet

Making your own bridal bouquet is easy and fun! Because you are making it, you can customize it however you want. Contrary to popular belief, you can use fresh flowers in a DIY bouquet. Regardless if you use artificial flowers or real ones, you will have a beautiful bouquet that will be as unique and creative as you are.

Materials

First, you will need to decide whether or not you want a bouquet holder or if you want it hand-tied with ribbon or cloth. You can also get a bouquet holder or a tussy mussy. Be sure that if you get a tussy mussy that you line the inside of it with plastic or wax paper to prevent any accidental leakage if you are using fresh flowers.

Next, you will need floral wire if you're using real flowers. You will also need floral tape. Hot glue, or another type of craft glue, is very handly in artificial flower arrangements. Other good items to have on hand are a needle and thread, very thin metal craft wire, and hairspray or spray-on adhesive if you want a your flowers to be stiff. A sharp pair of scissors or a craft knife is a must.

Finally, you will need flowers. If you plan on using fresh flowers, it is essential that you order them in a timely fashion from an online source, florist, or other store that sells flowers. Even if you decide to purchase them fresh from a store that morning (like HelenAngel did), you will want to check with the person ordering the flowers to ensure that the flowers you want will be there. When choosing fresh flowers, keep in mind what flowers are native to your area and research whether or not your flowers are in season when you are getting married. Out-of-season flowers may be very expensive or nearly impossible to get. Always plan ahead and have a back-up plan if you are forced to substitute.

Creating Your Bouquet

Now that you have the materials, it's time to create your bouquet!

First, prepare your flowers. You will need to keep them refrigerated to keep them from spoiling. You will also need to cut them, even if just a little. Make sure that your cut is diagonal to the stem (so that the stem forms a kind of chisel point or a triangle shape). If the flower still has leaves, thorns or other things on it that are undesireable, make sure that you remove those. Also remove any dead or browned petals on the outside edge.

An example of a wired flower.

If the stems of the flowers are not solid, or if you want to them stay in a particular shape, then you will need to use the floral wire. If you are using a thick, straight wire then simply insert one end into the very base of the bloom- but just slightly. Keep the sides of the wire flush to the stem and wrap with floral tape. If the wire is thinner or in a roll, gently wrap the wire around the stem- making sure the wrap is not tight but is flush against the flower. Then wrap the stem with floral tape.

Using a Bouquet Holder

If you are using a styrofoam bouquet holder, make sure you also have some sort of adhesive to help keep the flowers in place. If you're using a tussy mussy, put a liner in it if it doesn't have one already. A little bit of plastic wrap or wax paper will work. You could also put a small styrofoam or wet foam insert inside the tussy mussy. However, you should still use a liner unless you are certain the tussy mussy cannot leak water.

If you plan on decorating the holder itself, make sure you do this before you add the flowers. Once the flowers are in it, it is very hard to add decoration to the holder itself.

Place the flowers as you wish for them to appear in the holder. If you're using styrofoam, you may want to apply an adhesive around the base when the flowers are set. (HelenAngel found that low-heat hot glue worked best on her bouquets). If you're using a tussy mussy, you may want to put a piece of wire across the top in an X formation through the bouquet to hold the flowers in place.

Hand-tied bouquets

Cut the flowers you want in the bunch part of the bouquet the length of your hand (otherwise it will stick out too far). You may need to use a practice flower to get the desired length. If you want a bouquet with some flowers in the center (or in a circular design), you may want to use the roll-up method. If you want some flowers to dangle off the bottom of the bouquet, these will need to have longer stems and be wired to help form them into the shape you desire.

The roll-up method consists of putting the flowers down in layers depending on where you want them. All the flowers you want on the outside go on the bottom layer. Place the layers on top of each other depending on where inside the bouquet you want them. Once you have the layers down, gently take one end and "roll it up" so that the two ends of the bottom layer should touch. The roll-up method is similar to that of rolling up a burrito- what was at the top will be in the center.

Secure the main bouquet with rubber bands- one at the blooms and one every inch to 2 inches down.

If you have flowers you want to dangle, first secure the main bouquet with rubber bands. Add the dangling stems. You'll notice they stick out in front of the bouquet at various lengths. Gently bend the flowers downward until they are in their desired position. Secure these stems to the main bouquet with wire or rubber bands.

Once you have all flowers in place, it's time to either tie it or wrap it. Some brides will simply wrap ribbon around the stems and be done with it. Others will use a wrap that they either made or bought. First, wrap the stems with floral tape to keep them secure and the bunch smooth. Then gently pull the wrap on, taking care to inch it up so the floral tape doesn't bunch.

The Finishing Touches

Some brides will want to tie a rosary, family heirloom, or other piece to the bouquet. Feel free to customize the bouquet a creation that is uniquely yours.

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