Weddingbee

On Friday, we had our day-after wedding shoot because we felt that our wedding photographer didn’t deliver. I went all out - I went to the hairdresser and I got my makeup done like we were getting married all over again.

I realized I needed a bouquet for the shoot, but didn’t feel like spending an arm and a leg for a fake wedding bouquet. Since I wanted to DIY my flowers for our wedding but didn’t have time, I decided to attempt my first DIY bouquet, and I was really happy with the results.

We had peonies for our wedding blooms, but that was out of the question for this DIY bouquet since they are no longer in season in July, so I opted for inexpensive off-white miniature carnations. They are full-bodied flowers so they look similar to peonies when you cluster them together.

Here are the steps to making your own bouquet:

Materials:

• Flowers of your choice (miniature carnations - $10)
• Floral tape ($1)
• Corsage pins ($1)
• Wide satin ribbon ($2.79)
• Scissors or Cutters

If you buy your flowers several days in advance, I would suggest putting them in a cool place. Since Mr. Flamingo LOVES the AC, our apartment was as cold as a freezer which was perfect for the flowers. If your fiance isn’t an AC fanatic, it’s best that you put the blooms in a fridge (preferably food free, otherwise your flowers will grab the smell of yesterday’s meal). I prepared my flowers the day before the shoot; that way, it was less work on the day of the shoot.

Step 1: Remove all thorns, leaves or bruised petals on each stem. If you have more than one bloom per stem, you can separate them (but make sure you have a long enough stem with a minimum of 5 inches).

Step 2: Make clusters of about 5 blooms and wrap the stems with the floral tape. Make sure you stretch the floral tape so that it sticks well. Leave at least 1.5 inches of the stems at the bottom floral tape free. That way you can put them back in water and your flowers won’t wilt.

Step 3: Once you’ve completed all of your clusters, start bunching them together to make one big cluster. Use floral tape to secure the clusters into one big handle. Again, leave a 1.5″-2″ free at the bottom.

Step 4: Cut all the stems to the same length, so the bottom is clean cut.

Step 5: Starting at the top, wrap your handle with satin ribbon, overlapping each turn. Once you’ve covered all the floral tape, take your corsage pins and poke them in at an angle (towards the floor). You can make any pattern you like, I simply went all the way down in a straight line.

Voila, your bouquet is done. Place it in water until the very last moment. You have a professional looking bouquet for the fraction of the cost. My bouquet cost me only $14.00 to make. Beats what a florist would charge, don’t you think?

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