Romantic Wedding Bouquet

Video Transcription

 At Floral Design Institute we teach the wedding bouquet using so many different techniques. One of the most popular, the spiral. Today, let me share that with you. Let's get started. 

The neutral palette is so fabulous for wedding work. The Juliet garden rose, one of the all-time favorites. Then pairing it with the soft blush carnation, light pink lisianthus, some Queen Anne's lace for a little bit of a rough texture, then beautiful butterfly ranunculus in that soft buttery yellow. Then cottage yarrow, again in the peachy hue to add that rustic look. So going with very luxurious to very casual and blending it together. 

To prepare I've removed the leaves and the thorns, laid everything out staged ready to go. So that way all I have to do is gather things in my hand and I don't have to work quite so hard on the preparation. Now, the carnations give a wonderful base, adding depth, letting the roses come out above. I start just by gathering some materials in my hand, pretty much straight up and down, different levels. Thinking about how they'll fit together, maybe some buds. Then once I have that base begun, I start angling. You see how I put that one in there at a bit of an angle? That way I can turn it and get a very graceful finished look, bringing in a bit of the yarrow. Again, different levels, angling, turning. Choosing the flowers for where their faces fall. This one, taking the bud off. I'm going to save that, use it separately. Bringing in the bloom, turning, coming back with another rose. Making sure that I keep the roses centered so that the value is there. Butterfly ranunculus, they're so delicate. Turning. Maybe another carnation, little bit more yarrow. If you're working at home designing in front of a mirror, you can watch where you're placing the stems and make sure that you're keeping it balanced and symmetrical so you don't have to fuss with it when you're done. 

As I'm working, I'm starting to spread out to the side a little bit giving it more of an oblong feel, but still following that same spiral technique so that if I angle it here, the stem comes back across. Then turning, tucking in more of the butterfly ranunculus. Leaving it a little taller, maybe a little more yarrow. Turning it and coming in from the opposite side. Again, a little bit longer. That bud that I saved, tucking it out, letting it be graceful. Maybe a couple more of the lisianthus. Maybe a little more of the butterfly ranunculus and turning it. Queen Anne's lace, watching where my blooms are so that I can feed it right in. Thinking about my placement, making sure that I've got a nice movement. If the center drops, you can pull it up a little bit, but you don't want it too tall because you don't want it to hide the person who gets to carry the beautiful bouquet. Then turning and thinking about how you want to balance it out. Enough things to cover the base, keeping the base clean and tidy, and the stems just spiraling around. 

As I finish, I can even break stems down a little smaller, letting them come lower to carry the color downward. Taking a few more of the graceful butterfly ranunculus. Breaking it down a little bit, letting it come out to the side and then thinking about the buds. Can actually weave it in, letting it come a little bit over the top for some lightness in the center. Second one. Again, just weaving it down through. Letting it float over the top. Then giving everything a gentle tug to get it exactly where I want it. Thinking about how the stems fit together in my hand. Maybe another Queen Anne's lace. Following the same angle, allowing it set in. Maybe the last rose coming over to the side and then again, checking it in the mirror. Making sure it's beautiful and everything's balanced the way you want. 

To add slight contrast and to finish it off a little bit of silver dollar eucalyptus just spiraled across the base. Letting it follow the same draping that you've already created with your flowers and turning. Finding the perfect pieces for draping. A little longer there and turning it back to the front. Smaller piece tucked in, then just using a bit of bind wire, tie it off, lashing above your hand snugly. Then the trend today is to go ahead and cut the stems just a little more than a hand length. So they're going to be quite short. Just trimming them all down. 

The recipe, I started with the Juliet roses, seven of them to be precise. Then seven of the carnations, seven butterfly ranunculus and seven of the pink lisianthus. So I worked in sevens for a while and then I switched. Five Queen Anne's lace, five of the cottage yarrow and then just a bit of the silver dollar eucalyptus. Once it's tied off with the bind wire, you can go back and cover your mechanics with any of your favorite ribbons or yarns. Your choice. 

The hand tied wedding bouquet continues to be a favorite. The neutral palette, still going strong. You can do it round or you can do it oval. The choice is yours. You'll find more demonstrations, more inspiration on the website, Flower School .com. If you have questions you can reach us through there, but now it's your turn. You need to practice the hand tying. Get confident that you can do it anytime, anywhere with any flowers. Once you master the technique, you'll discover it's so fun. So gather your blooms, create a way, be sure to take a picture and post it on social media. Hashtag Floral Design Institute so that we all can see what you do as you do something you love.