Trying to keep your wedding budget down, but don’t want to sacrifice the quality of your bouquets – why not make your own bridal bouquet? If you are a petite bride we suggest carrying a bridal bouquet of roses, lilies, carnations, or sweet peas. For a taller bride, though, try carrying long-stem roses, calla lilies, carnations, orchids, gladiolus, or hydrangeas. Hand-tied bouquets are elegant for any bride and it’s quite simple to learn how to tie a bridal bouquet.

Ready?

Step 1: Check your flower of choice for any bruised petals, thorns, or leaves. You have the option to strip away all the leaves if you prefer, or you can leave some on – this is up to your personal preference. To strip the leaves off, you can do so by cutting or pulling them by hand.

Step 2: Lay the flowers stem to stem and cut the ends with a sharp knife. You want to ensure that you evenly match the height of each flower and stem. For best results, use a ruler!

Step 3: It’s time to gather the flowers in your hands and stand them on your work area. Turn them to examine how they look as a group – now is the chance to make any changes. Make sure you check how the bouquet looks from all angles.

Step 4: Hold the bouquet in one hand and wrap a rubber band around the centre of the stems tightly to secure the entire grouping. There are two areas in which you can secure the bouquet, either in the middle of the stems or near the head of the flowers, right under the petal area (about 3 inches away from the bloom).

Step 5: Lay the bouquet on the work station in order to wrap ribbon around the area you have secured. Make sure you tie the ribbon firmly in place.

Step 6: Lastly, tie a bow in place at the front of the bouquet. Viola! You’ve created your own bridal bouquet.

Things You’ll Need to Make a Hand-Tied Bridal Bouquet:

• Fresh flowers with sturdy stems
• Sharp non-serrated knife
• Rubber band or pony tail holder
• Ribbon, lace, netting, or jeweled string

Tips & Warnings:

• Fresh flowers need to be kept in a cool place until the ceremony and photo sessions to ensure they do not begin to wilt.
• Be sure that the stems are securely tightened, if it’s not the bouquet can fall apart or the ribbon could slip off.