Hand Tied Wedding Bouquet

A wedding bouquet fashioned using the classic hand-tied spiral technique results in a lovely design. In this Flower School How-To Video Leanne carefully demonstrates the spiral technique as she creates an exquisite design using flowers from GardenRosesDirect.com and Florabundance.com. Enjoy!

Video Transcription 


Welcome to the Flower School .com video library. I'm Leanne Kesler, Director of the Floral Design Institute. And today, I'm here to share with you a hand-tied wedding bouquet, focused on the complex hues that are so popular right now. It's sure to be a favorite. 


It was so fun shopping for these flowers. I just went online, sitting at home, drinking a glass of wine, and pouring through the website, figuring out what was perfect. I started with GardenRosesDirect.com. They have a brand-new site and it's so easy to navigate. I sorted by color and I was looking for what was interesting, and I started with the Golden Mustard garden rose, and then brightened it with the Princess Maya, together exquisite. Then I went to Florabundance.com and looked for related flowers. The peach hyacinth, oh so fragrant. It's grand. Strawflower. Aren't these so beautiful? The hellebores. Agonis for a little dark brown, and one of my favorites, the butterfly ranunculus, for a very soft and delicate touch. 


The mechanics, a classic spiral. No armature, no foliage nest, just wonderful flowers. Starting with a cluster in your hand, maybe a Golden Mustard, a Princess Maya, and one of the hyacinths, tucking it in so the fragrance will just be right in the bouquet. Once you have it in your hand, the trick is that everything goes in in the same direction. It's very easy. It's also very hard. It takes some practice, but key is you always place it with the head facing out and the stem towards my body. And then I turn it, spiraling, bringing in another stem, facing out towards my body, and turn. 


As I work, I prepared all the flowers ahead of time so that all of the foliage has been broken off. It's just the stem and the bloom, which makes it easier. If you had to stop and strip leaves, it would be more complicated. Then you just keep turning. You can group colors if you'd like, get a little more drama. Adjust their heights. Turning, making sure that you use a little bit of everything so that you've got it balanced out. Hellebore, maybe put two in here. Find another smaller stem, so it's a little fuller right there. Bringing in some of the agonis to get some soft draping. You can see, I can add more stems. I don't have to turn it every single time. Then turning, another rose, letting it be a little higher. Then turning and, every time, just thinking about angling that stem. Even the foliage, the agonis, head outward, stem towards my body. Turn it, coming back with the butterfly ranunculus. They're so soft and drapey. Tucking it in, and letting it come outward, and then turning again. If it slides down too low, just reach in, give it a tug, and you can pull it up a little higher. Giving it a tug, then turning, letting it drape outward. And as you work, think about your balance, think about your color, and adjust the stems to get exactly what you desire. 


As you're working, it can help to stand and look in the mirror as you're looking because, if you look in the mirror, you'll see, if I turn this, I need a little more of the agonis on this side to finish that off. Tucking that in and thinking about where I might want another of the strawflower, and then turning. Bit more of the hellebore. And maybe another rose and, of course, another butterfly ranunculus. There's always room for just a little bit more, but you want to think about where you're placing things. Turn it in your hand to get the heads going right where you want them to be, and then spin the bouquet, tuck in, and add the last blooms. 


As I finish, some last bits of the agonis, creating a collar. These stronger stems help support the others. And then it also adds just that little more depth of color. Again, turning it, spinning it as you work around, making sure that it's balanced. And then using bind wire, pull off a segment, give it a cut. And then just holding it under your finger, upside down, wrap snugly two to three times around and then secure it so that everything stays in place. 


The recipe, I worked in sixes today. I started at GardenRosesDirect.com with six of the Princess Maya and six of the Golden Mustard. Then, popped over to Florabundance.com, six of the hellebores, six of the strawflower, six of the butterfly ranunculus, the agonis. And you can see, tucked together makes a wonderful spiral wedding bouquet. 


The question I hear so often is, "How did you finish off the back?" I did go ahead and finish it so you could see. I took twine and wrapped, almost like a ribbon, but giving it that very rustic look. And then, all the stems, clean and tidy, spiraling around. The mechanics are always so important. 


You'll find more information, inspiration and education on the website at Flower School .com. If you have questions, you can reach us there or pick up the telephone and give us a call at (503)223-8089. Now it's your turn. What are you going to create using fabulous flowers? Be sure to take a picture, post it on social media and hashtag Floral Design institute. That way we all can see what you do as you do something you love.

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    Crowning Glory Individual Pack 32 ounce spray bottle
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