Ultra Violet Bridal Bouquet

Floral designers across the country are celebrating the Pantone Color of the Year. Ultra Violet is a wonderful complement for flowers and is a perfect palette for weddings of all seasons. In this video clip Leanne demonstrates the techniques used in creating a beautiful hand-tied bridal bouquet using tints, tones and shades of Ultra Violet. Enjoy!

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 bridal bouquet, inspired by the Pantone Color of the Year, ultraviolet. It's so fabulous, super flower friendly, works well in tints, tones, and shades. The variations of ultraviolet are fabulous. 


The flower-friendly color is going to be a favorite of brides and florists alike. All those blush weddings that we've been doing for years may be replaced by the ultraviolet wedding. To do this one I started with the Blueberry rose. It's a complex color, a bit of a tone of that ultraviolet hue, then added spray roses, Eryngium, China Aster, Tulips, and then the blue-gray of Silver Dollar eucalyptus. That palette is sure to be gorgeous. 


I have already prepped all my materials, removing thorns, leaves, anything that's broken or damaged, so that as I begin the bouquet I can just gather my flowers in my hand, clustering them, remembering that tulips are going to grow, so letting them be tucked in maybe a little lower than normal, adding a little bit of the foliage, the Eryngium, and then as I continue, adding each flower at an angle, so the head goes to the side, then turning it, picking through the colors and the varieties so that I get a little bit of everything scattered throughout, turning, and with everything prepared ahead of time makes it so easy. You can just pull it from the vase, tuck it into your hand, add another stem, turn it, add more flowers, and I don't have to worry about thorns, or leaves, or damaged petals at all. 


The colors blend so nicely. You can just bring the flowers in, turn, double check to see which flowers are where, balancing out your color. China Asters over here, bringing out the deep, deep purple, continuing it, and always turning so that the head goes to one side, stems to the opposite, bringing in some leaves. Silver Dollar Eucalyptus is just wonderful, turning. I'm getting close to the tulips. I'm going to group those, keeping the tulips together, add a little more glamour and drama to their placement, then coming back with another rose, and turning, and as I work check for symmetry. I'm getting a little flatter on this side, so bringing in some of the Eryngium to add fullness, another rose, and then checking again for symmetry throughout. 


As you work you want to think about two things, one the price of the bouquet, how many flowers can you use, and two, the size requirements. Does the bride want a small, a modest bouquet, or something a little more luxurious. Today the larger bouquets seem to be growing in popularity, so going ahead and adding a few more flowers, getting it even fuller, and as I do so double-checking that textures and colors are consistent throughout. Maybe another aster, and then turning it, and then it's a good idea to stop and look in a mirror, double check that all your placement is correct and that you like your color pattern. 


To finish, adding any last stems, maybe bringing some of the soft lavender over, and then going back with a ring of foliage, the Silver Dollar Eucalyptus, just framing the outer edges, giving it a little softness so it's not quite as stiff of a round, gives it a more contemporary look, brings in that fabulous foliage, and then once again take a look in the mirror to make sure it's balanced. 


To secure the bouquet, a tie of raffia just tucking it above your hand and wrapping two to three times, nice and secure, then setting it down and knotting. Be sure you pull tautly. Then, a hand-tied bouquet you can do a day or two in advance. Just leave the stems a little longer than you're going to want them, but cut them down, and then you can set them in a vase of water, put them in your flower cooler and they're good for several days. 


The day of the wedding, take the bouquet, cut the stems down to about two hand lengths then just set it back in the vase to hold, so it gives you something to hang onto while you are getting your ribbons ready. Then, I'm using a variety of ribbons, number 9 sheer, number 3 double-sided satin, and number 1-1/2, all in varying hues of that ultraviolet tied together. That just goes, wraps around. Go around several times so it completely conceals the raffia. You don't want that to show at all, coming back, and then when it's nicely covered, knot it underneath. 


Starting with the 2018 Pantone Color of the Year, ultraviolet, and then adding tints, tones, and shades. As you gather flowers think about their form, their texture, how they relate to each other, and then create a way. It's surely going to be one of the favorite bouquets of the season. Purple, ultraviolet, whatever you want to call it, you're going to find this is fabulous for spring, summer, fall, and winter, and I think many of your brides are going to be asking for it, if not by the ultraviolet name by lavender, violet, aubergine, eggplant, so start practicing your purple words, because that's going to be a big part of your vocabulary. 


For more creative inspiration check out our website, Flower School.com. 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 there, or pick up the telephone and give us a call at 503-223-8089. Of course, you're always welcome to send a photo to my email. It's leanne@floraldesigninstitute.com, but better yet, post it on Social Media, tag #FloralDesignInstitute, and let us all see what you create. Have fun and do something you love.

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