Fragrant Bridal Bouquet

Fragrance can be a very important element of floral design. When creating bridal bouquets fragrance can be essential. In this video how-to Leanne creates an elegant bridal bouquet in a straight handled bouquet holder using classic garden roses combined with fragrant gardenias and stephanotis. You will love the wealth of techniques shared in this demonstration. Enjoy!

Video Transcription 


Welcome to the Flower School.com video library. I'm Leanne Kesler, Director of the Floral Design Institute. Today, I'm here to share with you a fabulous, fragrant bridal bouquet. 


For preparing the flowers, I bring them in at least three days ahead of time. Got garden roses that have been opening out, getting beautiful, then from SMR, I got some gorgeous stephanotis. They're so fragrant, stunning, and then gardenias. Now the gardenias, I've already soaked and hydrated, and then I stored them in this airtight container so that they're ready to design with. For full care and handling, you'll find for garden roses, stephanotis, and gardenias on the website Flower School.com. 


To add a stem to each of the blooms, the stephanotis, pull off the green, and then using a commercial stephanotis stem, place it in from the bottom, pulling out the seed pod. Then taking the wet cotton swab, and inserting it right up in, twisting it slightly till it goes in tightly, and set it aside, ready for designing. For the gardenia, you want to remove the leaves and the sepal, and then using a 22 gauge, pierce through, bending it down. Then using a 26 gauge, clutch wrap snugly, then tape over so that it's got a perfect artificial stem. 


For the holder, I'm using this standard straight handle holder from the Oasis company, soaked with flower food so that it's ready to go. But, I wanted it to be covered. I don't want any of the white to show, so using beautiful leaves from dusty miller, and Super 77 spray glue, I just spray glue the back of the leaves, and then adhered them directly to the holder around the back and the handle. 


The luxurious garden roses, those go in first. Their stems are a little heavier, their heads bigger. That petal count, isn't that amazing? Giving it a cut, and then setting it into the cage, making sure it goes deeply so that it will drink. Some in the mid-level, some more towards the top, and then some tucked clear down to the bottom, and at a variety of levels so that some will be in a little further, and then some coming out further, so that you get some depth and dimension to the bouquet. 


With the beautiful base of roses, now it's easy to add in the gardenias. Now I took the leaves off, and you may have questioned, "But what about the support?" The support will come directly from the roses because the gardenia can just set right on top, tucked in, and then the roses are supporting the gardenias so that the petals don't reflex too far backward. Bringing some in to the sides and to the top and in the mid-section, and then I even like to overlap them just a little bit to get a little more fragrance right in the center. 


I wish you were here in the studio with me. It is so fragrant, oh my gosh. Thank you so much to SMR for these fabulous gardenias and the stephanotis. They're the last thing that put in with a fragrance, so I just tuck it in. Their stems are so delicate, it's very easy to slide them in between the different blooms. The stem is so sturdy, you don't have to worry about it moving around, and just again, dotting them around the bouquet for a little bit of beauty. 


To add a little color variation and some texture, hypericum berries are perfect. They just will add that touch of blush. I just cut them down, and again, feed them in right between the other blossoms, and it adds so much interest. 


Now you may be wondering, how well will this stay together? That's a lot of stems in a very small bit of foam. That's where, again, a professional tip, you need to know your mechanics. Everything's radiating into the binding point, so it's in there securely, but I want to do one more thing and spray it with FloraLock. This is a spray glue that will lock all those stems in place, basically creating a glue net over the foam to secure the stems so that they can't fall out. 


You don't spray it into the foam, you just nestle the straw down in between the blooms, and then over the top of the foam, then spray, then stop. Come over to another spot, nestle it in between, spray, and then another spot, nestle it in between and spray. In doing that just little bits at a time, the glue drips around and locks everything in place so you don't need to worry. 


What a fabulous, fragrant bouquet. It is just stunning. To keep it alive and fresh the longest, make sure you spray it down with Crowning Glory. You want to totally saturate the gardenias, stephanotis, roses, all of it. It locks the moisture in and helps protect them throughout the day. 


For more care and handling, you'll find it on the website, Flower Shcool.com. I've got a full video on each blossom, also creative inspiration. The website contains hundreds of floral design how-to videos, floral design classes, online floral classes and DIY Flowers. 


If you have questions, you can reach us through the website, or if it's easier, pick up the telephone, give me a call at 503-223-8089. I'd love to see what you create, take a picture. You can send it to my personal email, leanne@floraldesigninstitute.com, or better yet, post it on social media, #floraldesigninstitute and let us all see. Now it's your turn, have fun, and do something you love.

  • Fresh Flower Food Individual Pack 10 ounce tub
    Fresh Flower Food Individual Pack 10 ounce tub
  • Quick Dip Individual Pack One Pint
    Quick Dip Individual Pack One Pint
  • Crowning Glory Individual Pack 32 ounce spray bottle
    Crowning Glory Individual Pack 32 ounce spray bottle
  • FloraLock Stem Adhesive Individual Pack 4.5 Fl Oz
    FloraLock Stem Adhesive Individual Pack 4.5 Fl Oz
  • Straight Handle Large, White Pack of Three
    Straight Handle Large, White Pack of Three
  • Corsage Tape Pack of 2 Rolls Light Green
    Corsage Tape Pack of 2 Rolls Light Green
  • Green Florist Wire Pack of 25 22 Gauge (12 Inch)
    Green Florist Wire Pack of 25 22 Gauge (12 Inch)
  • Green Florist Wire Pack of 25 26 Gauge (12 Inch)
    Green Florist Wire Pack of 25 26 Gauge (12 Inch)