Logistically, there is a lot of planning, preparing, creating, delivering and setting up to do when arranging wedding flowers. Unless the bride is experienced and can budget her time properly, the floral décor should be delegated to a professional or experienced family member who is willing to effectively execute the job. Otherwise, your wedding day could turn into a nightmare. Peace of mind is more important than being knee deep in flowers and running low on time.
Designing flowers is time consuming and labor intensive. Proper work space is required and refrigeration is mandatory in hot weather. Timing is of the essence. Conditioning and designing flowers starts two to three days before the wedding. Roses and peonies need to be fully open on the wedding day. If your timing is off, the flowers may not be open enough or may be too old by the wedding day. Depending on the temperature, roses can open quickly, or during winter months, take 2 to 3 days to open. Also, different rose varieties open quicker than others.
In order to achieve the results that are needed for a wedding, it pays to hire a professional or an entrusted friend who has creative flair and is knowledgeable about cut flowers for the florist trade. For instance, if you’re considering sweet peas in you’re bouquet, they won’t make it down the aisle; without water, they wilt quickly. Gardenias are fickle as well; if handled too much, the white petals brown easily. They have about a one day vase life, but will hold in a cooler for days.
For the bride who has a friend or family member creating the floral decor, here are some suggestions that will help in achieving a unified look on your wedding day. The right container has to be chosen in scale with the size of the reception tables. Generally a vase should be one-half the height of your finished bouquet for the centerpiece. Glass vases allow the interesting spiral shape of the stems to show through. Place your bouquet in a clean container and add "flower food" to reduce bacteria and extend the life of your flowers.
Select containers with dimensions complementing your flowers. Consider sticking to minimal color variation, although with practice, unexpected combinations can create refreshing effects. Add textural differences to the bouquet with varying shapes of flowers, such as berries, grasses and curly willow. All work well with soft-petal blooms.
When making a bouquet, hold it in your weaker hand to allow spiraling with the favored hand. Upon completion of the hand-tied bouquet, it should be able to stand on its spiraled stems without tipping over. If it doesn’t remain upright, the flowers aren't gathered correctly. Without a lot of practice, it can be a bit of a challenge. For the bridal bouquet, an easier option is making the bouquet with a bouquet holder. The handle is either plastic or metal and at the top is a round piece of floral foam. Start by covering the foam with foliage Try using two or three varieties of foliage to create varying shades of green and texture. Fill in with your choice of flowers.
Most importantly, the bouquet’s size should be created with the bride’s physique in mind. A large, round bouquet can overwhelm a petite bride and a small bouquet doesn’t do justice for a taller bride. If making a hand-tied, secure the bouquet with floral tape, wrap with ribbon, stud with pearl pins or rhinestones, and voila, you have your first bouquet completed. Lastly, spray and place in water, and don’t forget to dry the stems off before walking down the aisle.
