How to Make a Wedding Bouquet

Organize your own wedding party with beautiful flower bouquets to make your big day more creative and meaningful. You will be able to choose the type of flowers and decorations of your choice. You can invite your bridesmaids to come and have them make their own hand-made bouquets.

Table of Contents

Imagine Bouquets

Choose the main color. White or beige florals are the traditional colors, but it’s best to choose colors that compliment your wedding dress. An elaborate wedding dress should be the center of attention, so go for a monochromatic or minimally colored bouquet. A simple wedding dress needs a more sophisticated, colorful bouquet and more accessories. ^{[1] X Research Source}

To make a simple bouquet, choose a flower color that matches the wedding dress. Avoid using identical colors, and the bouquet should have several highlights. When there are too many similar colors, everything will look very blurred and difficult to image.
A bouquet of flowers of similar colors will look very eye-catching. Traditional wedding bouquets will include white, cream, peach and pale pink colors.
Complementary colors will make the bouquet more beautiful. Try shades of yellow, blue and orange, or red and green. If you don’t like your bouquet to stand out too much, use light and pale tones.

Choose the main flower. That type of flower must have a long, stiff stem to help the bouquet stand without breaking. If possible, choose seasonal flowers when you hold your wedding. Out-of-season flowers can be more expensive and need to be ordered in advance. In an emergency situation, it will be difficult to find replacement flowers. Choose from one to three favorite flowers at a reasonable price, or you can check out the following suggestions:

Regular roses (do not use cluster roses ^{[2] X Research source} )
Peonies (ask the florist for details on the variety as many types of double peonies have weak stems ^{[3] X Research Source} )
Hydrangea
Magnolia
Double dahlia (single dahlia are prone to wing loss ^{[4] X Research source} )
auspicious flowers
Cymbidium
Safflower (or small multicolored safflower)
Lilies

Select additional flowers (optional). A varied bouquet looks great too, and will be less stressful for those who are inexperienced with bouquets. However, for an artistic boost, add in smaller flowers. You can choose any kind of flower. If you don’t know what flowers to choose, consult a florist or online store for samples.

Popular complementary flowers include the primrose, climbing rose, and freesia.
“Accompanied flowers” are clusters of small flowers, buds or clusters of small fruits. Try willow, baby or eucalyptus.

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Decide on the size. The size of the bouquet should be appropriate for your body type and the location of the wedding. Large bouquets are suitable for churches and beaches, while small bouquets are suitable for more cozy venues. One secret that you should know by heart: the bouquet should not be larger than the bride’s waist. You should also remember that holding a large bouquet of flowers is also very tiring.

The diameter of the bridal bouquet is usually between 20 cm and 33 cm.
Buy more flowers than you need. The number of flowers depends on the type of flowers you need. 15 to 30 cotton is enough but you should order more for backup. You can change your mind or come up with a new idea while the bouquet is in progress.

Prune flower stalks under water. Dip the flower stalk in a bucket of water or a tub of water. Cut the flower stalk at a 45º angle and 2.5–5 cm long from the end. This will help the flower absorb water without creating air bubbles in the stem. ^{[5] X Research Source} Keep the flowers in a bucket or basin of cool water until you are ready to bouquet.

Let the flower stalks be a little long for ease of handling. You can still trim it down when you’re done with the bouquet.

Making a Round Bouquet

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Choose a flower to make. Normally, you should choose 12 roses.

Remove all thorns and leaves. Use pruning shears to do this, or pluck by hand if there are no thorns on the stem.

Discard crushed or wilted flowers.

Use the largest flowers as the center. Choose the 4 largest main flowers. Arrange the flowers evenly across the branches.

Hold at the intersection of flower branches, just below the calyx. If you hold it lower, the flowers won’t fit together.

Add the main flower spikes one by one. Add only one spike at a time, starting to add steadily from the center. Holding the flowers together, cross the branches so that the flowers can form a dome.

When crossing the flowers, rotate your hands so that the flowers are arranged in a spiral.
A small bouquet may require only one layer of flowers around the center, especially when the flowers are large and have many layers of petals.

The more flowers you add, the bigger your bouquet will be. If you are adding other flowers, place them in the empty spaces between the flowers. Place them at the edge of the bouquet so that they are facing out. You should arrange so that two flower stems of the same type are not close to each other. When you’re done, you’ll have a tightly folded round bouquet with a large flower in the center.

You can also make a Biedermeier-style bouquet. This floral arrangement consists of concentric wreaths, each with a striking color.

Prune off flower stems to make bouquets easier. Cut the flowers equally with specialized pruning shears. For the time being, let them be 25 cm long, which you can trim after you’re done. ^{[6] X Research Source}

Complete the bouquet. Feel free to trim and shape the bouquet. Adjust the length and make sure the bouquet looks balanced and rounded. If you find space, add a few extra flower stalks.

If you have bouquet decorations, add them in between the flowers. Just three or four items are enough to catch the eye, but you can use more if you like.
You can use additional flowers and leaves. To make the border of the bouquet more beautiful, arrange them alternately with the flowers on the outermost.

Secure the bouquet with ribbon or a brush. Tie it in place at a distance of 2.5 cm or closer to the flowers to make the flowers cluster together. Wrap the ribbon a few times around the flower stem and gradually wrap it down from 7.5 to 10cm. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

You can use large elastic bands, unless you are using soft flowers like tulips or hyacinths. ^{[8] X Research Source} Wrap a rubber band around two flower spikes on one side of the bouquet and tie tightly to secure. Wrap the rubber band around the bouquet a few times, leaving no single flower. Once cut, pull out the elastic band and attach two more flower stems to the other side. Tie another rubber band near the top of the flower spike and another 10cm below it.

Tie the ribbon into a bow or wrap it around the stem of the bouquet. Choose a ribbon in a color that matches the bride’s dress or the color of the bouquet. Cut a piece of ribbon 3 times the length of the flower spike.

To wrap around the stem of the bouquet, wrap the entire length and secure the two ends of the ribbon with special tape. Fixed with staples. ^{[9] X Research Source}
To tie a bow, cut a piece of ribbon and tie a bow around the bouquet. Remove any exposed pieces of adhesive tape, ribbons or elastic bands.
For extra sparkle, add pearls to the bouquet.

Prune the flower stalks again. This type of bouquet needs to be held in the front, so the stem of the bouquet should be short to avoid rubbing against the wedding dress. Around 15–17.5 cm is reasonable. Pat the stem of the bouquet dry with a paper towel before delivering it to the bride.

Keep the bouquet fresh. Place the bouquet in the water in a cool place until the wedding ceremony takes place. You can buy medicine to keep flowers fresh longer at florists. Always arrange flowers in the water whenever possible.

If no room is cool enough, put the flowers in the refrigerator with a temperature higher than 2ºC. Remove the fruit from the refrigerator. Ripe fruit will produce gas that makes flowers fade faster. ^{[10] X Research Source}
Spraying a little hair glue on the flowers will also help the flowers last longer. Hang the bouquet upside down for a few minutes to allow the hair glue to dry before putting it back in the vase. ^{[11] X Research Source}

Making Natural Bouquets

Choose the flowers you need. Traditional combinations will include white rose, lily and a bit of green leaves (eucalyptus, fern, tea leaves, foxtail, yarrow)

Be aware of the possibility of flower/plant allergies when choosing a combination of flowers.

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Gather all the necessary materials before starting.

You will need pruning shears, regular scissors, tape or elastic bands, scissors, and white ribbon.

Wash flowers and leaves to make bouquets. Use scissors to remove leaves and thorns on the flower stem. Remove the outermost petals or wilted and damaged parts of the stem.

If you like bouquets with lots of green, keep the top leaves.
Throw away the pistils, as they will turn brown and stain the wedding dress.
Trim the leaves to keep the flower stems neat.

Create a bouquet with your non-dominant hand. If you are right-handed, you will use your left hand to hold the bouquet, and put each flower in it with your right hand. The position of the flower depends on the natural shape of the flower spike.

Rotate the bouquet while adding flower stems one by one. Add the flower spike to the open palm, crossing the flower spike to create a twist.

Adjust the flower when rotated. Do not place flowers at the wrong angle or facing too far from the center. Add flowers and leaves to make the bouquet even and beautiful.

Cut the stem of the flower about 15 cm. This will make it easier for you to bouquet.

Fix the shape of the bouquet. Wrap the bouquet with string or rubber bands.

Wrap the stem of the bouquet with ribbon and trim off the excess string or elastic after you have wrapped the ribbon twice. Use 3 to 6 meters of ribbon, depending on the size of the bouquet. Knot or bow for the ribbon.

Cut off the excess stems and place the bouquet in water to keep the flowers fresh. Cut the flower stems evenly about 3cm from the edge of the ribbon.

Other Bouquet Styles

Things you need

15–30 sturdy flower stems
10+ additional flowers (optional)
Bouquet decorations (optional)
Trimming scissors
Shove
Elastic band (two strings per bundle) or special adhesive tape.
Tissue
Wide ribbons
Long pin for decoration

Advice

Make the bouquet in front of a mirror to clearly see the shape of the bouquet.
If you’re using fresh roses, soak the stems in hot water for a few minutes to get them to bloom. Do not leave it for too long, or the flowers will wither.
Make your own bouquet with flowers from the garden.
You can add decorations to the bouquet. If you want the bouquet to be more eye-catching without being bulky, buy decorations. Often these will be long silver pins, pearls, or brooches, which you will attach to your bouquet.

Warning

Bouquets that are too large or have heavy and sharp ornaments will not be used for bouquet throwing. Let’s make another, smaller bouquet for this piece.

Steps