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DIYing your bouquet

I decided early on while trying to cut costs to minimize the flowers. I’m kind of minimalist anyway, and Garrett definitely is, so I decided no big floral arrangements (they don’t really stick out to me as a photographer at weddings anyway, maybe because at churches I’m used to seeing floral arrangements every week and except for pew markers, it’s easy to ignore), and that I could probably get away with ordering some flowers in bulk and doing it myself. I don’t claim to be a floral arranger or have any training as such, or knowledge. Which is why I am using one kind of flower for everything. And I really like the look of bouquets with one color or one kind of flower. You might not. And I’ve seen gorgeous mixed bouquets too. It’s a priority thing. I like flowers but I’m vain and want to be the centerpiece at my wedding. I’m kidding, mostly. Okay, I don’t think it’s vanity, I just want the wedding to be about me and Garrett with some simple accessories, like our attendants, our bouquets & bouts, and hopefully a candy buffet at some point. (by the way, I need your ideas for bright yellow candies. So far I know I want lemonheads and sugared lemon jellies.)

So, here are my previous trials of making bouquets. It’s pretty fun and if I had a good reason I’d do it more often. The first bouquet was from roses my mom sent, the second from whole foods, I think $8 for 10 tulips? I’ll be using yellow ranunculus for the big day.

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If you are interested in making your own I’d recommend looking at this weddingbee post (includes link to a video). It was really easy, even for someone as impatient as me. As far as reception centerpieces, they’ll be the same flower in teapots. Which reminds me that I need to order said teapots. Time really gets away from me. 4 months to go? Really?

I LOVE the second bouquet, as you might be able to tell from the extensive photo shoot it got.

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So, all you really need are floral tape, floral shears, pins, and ribbon (I purchased all of them at a hobby lobby, or you could go to Michael’s or the like). The video mentions using floral spray and I haven’t purchased any of that but I guess I should for the big day. Basically you remove any leaves or thorns, clump 3 together, wrap them with the tape, add more, wrap, repeat. Then wrap the ribbon around, pinning as you go. The ribbon is the most trying part, but it’s not bad. Then trim the stems so that they are even. Even if you don’t want to DIY your flowers, making bouquets is fun, so maybe make one for your bridal portraits?

[If you are from the south, you know about bridal portraits, if you aren’t, you might think bridal portraits are crazy. Parents tend to want a framed canvas of their daughter in their gown to put in their house, but also to display at the reception or to put in the paper right after the wedding. So, bridal portraits occur well before the wedding. And, if you don’t have much time for pictures on the big day, they can save time. Also a good use for your hair and makeup trial.]