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DIY: Sweet flowergirl nosegay!

One of the most important parts of planning my wedding has been the floral design, for several reasons…. most importantly, flowers are one of the biggest uplifters of my soul. If I’m feeling like bringing some light into my day, I will cut some flowers from my garden and put them on my kitchen counter–and just looking at them makes my heart a bit warmer. In this way, bringing a lot of beautiful flowers into my wedding was a priority for me. Not only will they help calm and soothe my soul, I hope they will bring some cheer to my guests and wedding party as well.

With that in mind, I set about designing the bouquets for my flowergirls, who are a bit older at 9 and 10. I didn’t want them to feel like they had the “baby jobs”…I wanted them to feel included and grown up, which is why I designed a mini bouquet for them to carry. Here is what I came up with:

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The entire bouquet took about 10 minutes and is small enough for little hands to hold! I used some lace remnants to wrap the bottom to give them a better grip, and floral pins to secure it. This particular bouquet contained the following:
-1 stem white hydrangea
-1 stem green hydrangea
-1 stem purple anemone
-1 stem white freesia
-2 stems purple matsumoto
-1 branch curly willow
-several wax flower stems
-1 stem white rose

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Total cost was about $12-15, depending on what flowers you pick.

Step one:
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Hold one flower in your left hand (if right handed) between your thumb and forefinger.

Step two:
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Insert the second flower stem at a 45 degree angle to the first.

Step three:
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After you insert the third flower at a 45 degree angle, slightly twist the bouquet clockwise after inserting each subsequent flower. This will create a “rounded” and fuller look for the bouquet.

Step four:
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Wrap base of stem tightly with floral tape. If you’re not used to working with it, be aware that you have to pull it tightly for it to be sticky. Wrap several times until bouquet feels tightly and firmly held together.

Step five:
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Try to keep giant cat from stealing your flowers.

Step six:
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Wrap base of bouquet with your choice of fabric…again, I used some lace remnants, but you could use linen for a sweet rustic look or satin for a more formal affair.

Step seven: Cut stems to the same length, as desired. I chose to cut these fairly short because anything too long will be awkward for little girls to carry.

Step eight:
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Secure wrap. There are several ways to do this, but for this project I recommend using as few pins as possible to keep little fingers from getting pricked! You could even tie the wrap in a knot if you don’t want to use pins.  Be sure that, if you choose to insert pins, that you angle them downward so as to keep the pins from sticking out from the other side of the bouquet. Another option is to use a pretty vintage brooch, as I used here:

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I hope you enjoyed this DIY project! If you have any feedback or other tips for readers, feel free to add them. Do be sure to keep the bouquets in a glass of water until immediately before the ceremony to keep them looking fresh!

In the meanwhile, I hope you all have a beautiful day…it’s springtime!

-B