Creating Your Dream Wedding Bouquet: A Step-By-Step Guide

Creating your own wedding bouquet is a great way to save money and add a personal touch to your special day. It can be a fun activity to do with family and friends, and you can customise your bouquet to match your wedding theme and personal aesthetic. The process is quite simple and only requires some basic materials, such as flowers, floral tape, ribbon, and scissors. You can source flowers from local farms, grocery stores, or flower markets, and it's important to consider the style of your wedding dress and colour palette when choosing your blooms. By making your own bouquet, you can express your creativity and make your wedding journey even more meaningful.

Choosing your flowers

Firstly, consider the season and colour scheme of your wedding. If you have a coloured theme, a bouquet is a great way to match this theme and ensure it is coherent throughout your big day. For example, if you're having a fall wedding, you could add fall florals to your bouquet to give it a more autumnal vibe.

Next, decide on the style of your bouquet. Are you going for a classic, tight bouquet or something more whimsical, such as a cascading arrangement? The style you opt for will dictate how you approach your flowers. For a modern and simple design, consider using fewer varieties of flowers and very little to no greenery. For a more garden-style bouquet, you can use more varieties of flowers and greenery, creating a more natural and full look.

When choosing your flowers, it's also important to consider the style of your wedding dress. Do you want your bouquet to be complementary or contrasting? Complementary colours will bring subtle balance to your décor, while contrasting colours will add drama.

If you're unsure about which flowers to choose, it can be helpful to have a picture in front of you for inspiration or to seek advice from a florist. You can also consider looking at what's blooming in someone's garden, at local farms, or at the grocery store.

Once you've decided on your flowers, it's time to source them. You can buy them in bulk from stores or online, or pick them up from your local grocery store or flower market. Try to pick your flowers based on the timing of your wedding and whether they are in season. For example, daffodils, peonies, lilacs, and tulips bloom in the spring, while chrysanthemums and dahlias are best for fall weddings.

With these tips in mind, you'll be well on your way to choosing the perfect flowers for your DIY wedding bouquet!

Preparing your flowers

Before you start constructing your bouquet, make sure the flower stems and greenery are prepped and ready. Remove all the leaves from your floral stems and the bottom halves of your greenery stems. If you're using roses, remove all guard petals from your roses. These will be the dull/brown petals on the outer rim that florists will ship flowers with to prevent damage during travel.

Now, snip the bottom of each stem at a 45-degree angle and keep them in a bucket of water as you assemble your bouquet. If you're using a lot of flowers, it might be helpful to put them in a large vase or a few buckets of water to help them open and bloom.

Be sure to consider your current climate and the flowers' natural habitats. If temperatures are soaring or you're using tropical blooms during a dry spell, research the best way to keep them vibrant until (and through!) your big day.

If you're using flowers that are cut when they're in a tight bud, such as freesias or lilies, buy them up to a week before your wedding so they have time to open. The temperature for the time of year will also determine how fast they open.

Sourcing your flowers

You can buy flowers in bulk from a wholesaler, or from a local grocery store or flower market. If you have access to someone's garden, you could also use what's blooming there.

Picking a focal flower

Firstly, consider the style of your wedding dress and your colour palette. Do you want complementary or contrasting colours? Do you want a classic, tight bouquet or something more whimsical? The style you opt for will dictate how you approach your flowers. For a modern and simple design, choose one to three varieties of florals, with very little to no greenery. For a garden-style bouquet, opt for five to seven varieties of florals and greenery, with different textures and gestures.

Once you have decided on the style, you can start to think about the types of flowers you want to use. If you have access to a garden, you could use what's in bloom, or you could look at local farms, grocery stores or flower markets to source the varieties you want.

When you have chosen your focal flower, hold it with your fingers near the blossom end. Then, add the next flower at an angle facing towards the left, but at the same height as the focal flower. Continue to add flowers, rotating the bouquet rightward a quarter turn each time. You can then add filler flowers (usually small, green flowers) to give a natural look to the bouquet.

Adding flowers and foliage

If you don't like the way you placed a certain flower, you can always remove it and try it in a different spot. Keep going until you've added all your flowers to the bouquet.

Pull certain flowers forward to create depth and dimension. This will help your bouquet look even more natural and full. Try to pull your focal-point flowers forward to emphasise them more.

When you're happy with your bouquet, it's time to tidy up the stems. Tie a piece of wire around your stems to secure them, then trim the excess away with wire cutters. Some of your floral stems will be longer than others, so use your cutters to trim your stems so that they are all uniform in length. Make sure you leave the stems long enough to hold your bouquet comfortably during your wedding, but not too long so that they interfere with your wedding dress.

Storing the flowers

Before the Wedding

It is recommended to time the delivery of your flowers to arrive one or two days before the wedding. This allows you to prepare the bouquet and gives the flowers time to open and bloom. When your flowers arrive, gently unwrap the packaging and inspect the bouquet for any damages or wilting blooms. If any issues are found, contact the supplier immediately.

To store your flowers, prepare containers with about 4 inches of clean, cool water. Trim the stems of your flowers at an angle, approximately 1 to 2 inches from the bottom, using sharp floral shears. Place the freshly cut stems in the water to hydrate for at least 6 to 8 hours. Keep the flowers in a cool and shaded area, avoiding direct sunlight and extreme temperatures, to maintain their freshness.

During the Wedding

Before the ceremony, check the water level of your bouquet and top it up if needed. Ensure the stems remain submerged while the bouquet is not in use. After the ceremony, return the bouquet to the water while you are busy with photos or other activities.

After the Wedding

If you wish to preserve your bouquet as a keepsake, there are several methods you can choose from, including pressing, air-drying, silica gel, resin, wax, glycerin, freeze-drying, and painting. For detailed instructions on each method, please refer to the previous answer.

To keep your bouquet fresh until you decide on a preservation method, continue to store it in water in a cool, dark place, away from direct sunlight.

Frequently asked questions