Creating A Bridal Bouquet: A Step-By-Step Guide For Beginners

Making your own bridal bouquet is a great way to save money and add a personal touch to your wedding. It can be a fun and creative process that allows you to express yourself and make your wedding journey more meaningful. With the right tools and techniques, you can create a stunning bouquet that will impress your guests as you walk down the aisle. This paragraph aims to introduce the topic of how to make a wedding bridal bouquet and highlights the benefits of creating your own bridal bouquet. By following the steps outlined in this text, you will be able to design a beautiful arrangement that complements your wedding theme and personal style.

Choosing flowers and colours

The flowers and colours you choose for your bridal bouquet are crucial to achieving the look you want for your wedding. Traditionally, bridal bouquets feature white flowers with splashes of pink or other pastel colours. However, you should feel free to choose colours and flowers that match your preferences and wedding theme. If you have a coloured theme, a bouquet is a great way to ensure this theme is coherent throughout the day.

When choosing your flowers, it is important to consider the style of your wedding dress and your colour palette. You may want to use complementary colours to create a subtle, balanced effect, or you might prefer to integrate contrasting colours for added drama.

The type of flowers you choose will depend on the season of your wedding. For example, daffodils, peonies, lilacs, and tulips bloom in the spring, while chrysanthemums and dahlias are best in autumn. You should also consider the temperature, as this will determine how fast your flowers open. If you are using tropical blooms during a dry spell, for example, you will need to research how to keep them vibrant.

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. This will make your bouquet neater and more comfortable to carry.

Preparing flowers and foliage

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. This will make the bouquet more comfortable to carry.

Gently remove each leaf carefully by hand. You don't want to damage the stem. Do this to all of your flowers before moving on to the next step. It will save time later and mean that you can get rid of all the mess before you start building your bouquet.

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. This will ensure they stay fresh and hydrated.

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.

Picking a focal flower

When choosing a focal flower, it is important to consider the style of your wedding dress and the colour palette of the wedding. If you are aiming for a classic, tight bouquet, you should opt for complementary colours and stick to one to three varieties of florals. On the other hand, if you want something more whimsical, like a garden-inspired cascading arrangement, you can opt for contrasting colours and a greater variety of flowers and greenery.

Some popular focal flower options include peonies, roses, and lilies. However, you can choose any flower that you want, whether it is in season or not. If you are on a tight budget, it is best to choose flowers that are in season, as they will be less expensive. For example, daffodils, peonies, lilacs, and tulips are in season during spring, while chrysanthemums and dahlias are best for fall weddings.

Once you have chosen your focal flower, you can begin to build the shape and framework of your bouquet by adding in larger flowers and then filling in with smaller flowers and greenery.

Adding flowers and filler flowers

Now that you have chosen your focal flower and built the base of your bouquet, it's time to add in the rest of your flowers.

First, decide on the types of blooms you want to incorporate. If you have a coloured theme at your wedding, you may want to choose flowers that match this. Traditionally, most flowers in a bridal bouquet are white, with some pastel colours like pink. However, you should choose colours and flowers that match your preferences.

When adding in your flowers, rotate the bouquet a quarter-turn to the right each time you add a new flower, positioning the bouquet ready for the next flower to be added diagonally and angled leftward. You can add flowers like lisianthus to bring a hint of colour to your bouquet.

Once you have the bulk of your bouquet ready, you can add in some filler flowers, usually the smaller, green flowers that give a natural look to the bouquet. Ensure that you put all of the filler flowers in at the same angle to keep your bouquet symmetrical.

You can also add in some ornamental pieces from your floral box set, placing them near your focal-point flowers to take your bouquet design to the next level.

Tying and trimming the stems

Now that you’re happy with your bouquet’s design, it’s time to tie and trim the stems.

First, take a piece of wire and tie it around the stems to secure them together. Then, cut off any excess wire with wire cutters. You can also use a rubber band to secure the stems, and then floral tape to hide the rubber band.

Some of your floral stems will be longer than others, so use your wire cutters to trim the stems so that they are all uniform in length. Make sure you leave the stems long enough to hold the bouquet comfortably. You can measure two hand lengths from the string and add an additional 3 centimetres of wiggle room.

Be careful not to wrap the floral tape all the way to the bottom of the stems. Instead, wrap just over the size of one hand to keep the bouquet’s natural look.

Finally, add a ribbon to your bouquet. Place the shiny side of the ribbon facing the stems so that the matte side is visible. Then, put one end over the top of your flowers and wrap the rest around the stems, leaving approximately 40 centimetres spare at the end to tie a knot and add a bow.

Frequently asked questions