One of the final projects I am working on before we leave for our destination wedding is making the bouquets and boutonnieres for the wedding party. I chose to make my own for a couple of reasons: 1) It saved quite a bit of money to make my own rather than pay for them all to be made by the resort florist, 2) It allows me to make them just how I want and 3) We will be using them at the tables for décor to also save money from having centerpieces made by the resort. After the ceremony, we will put the bouquets in an empty vase at each table. Also, since I’m using fake flowers, I can reuse them at our reception in Omaha.
Here are a couple of tips for making your own bouquets and boutonnieres:
- Use pictures as your inspiration, but don’t try to recreate something in a picture. The flowers you can use will be greatly based on availability so you may not be able to totally recreate something you find online. But having several pictures can be good inspiration.
- Mix unexpected colors. One thing I have learned is that bouquets and boutonnieres should be a representation of your overall theme, including venue, colors, and style - but they don’t have to match the colors perfectly. This is your chance to incorporate some colors that you couldn’t have used for attire or other décor.
- Read tutorials. There are some crucial steps that I didn’t think of. For example, you should use floral tape before wrapping with ribbon - it will help hold it all together. You don’t want your floral pieces falling apart upon arrival, especially since you have to pack them.
- Consider making extra. I might make one extra boutonniere and one extra bouquet just in case one breaks or comes apart while traveling.
- Consider your own bouquet and how it will coordinate with the bridesmaids'. My bouquet and the groom’s boutonniere is being made at the resort because it was included in our package. I am sending the resort florist a picture for inspiration so my bouquet will coordinate with the bouquets that I am making.
Making floral pieces is not for everyone, but I think anyone can do it! It’s a fun, small project that you could invite your bridesmaids over to work on over a glass of wine - sounds like a great way to de-stress before the big day!
images via Pinterest
