After packing up the centerpiece creations with my son (B) and his fiancee (S), I asked them how their florist research went, since I was looking forward to all that wonderfulness!
Learning that S hadn’t yet found time to talk to the florist, I reluctantly told her that with the wedding only twelve days away, it was probably too late.
With about six attendants each for the bride and groom, and S’s desire for a cascading bouquet, I feared that putting all her eggs into one basket with a floral shop might risk her having no flowers at all.
So….I suggested she go to Hobby Lobby with me, which has the best silk flower selection around, to select the flowers she’d like, just in case the floral shop option is indeed too late.
While she chose an array of reds, pinks, and blues along with some whites to balance everything out.
The next day she and my son came to the house, so we could review all the decisions made while in the store.
Also, I messaged her photos of my work in progress to keep her posted with all the updates and ask questions that arose.
A few times she drove all the way out to the house before she went to work to answer more questions.
PROCESS
Learning how to do bouquets, corsages, and boutonnieres from a family friend when my brother got married, I used the same techniques when my daughter got married.
I even bought gorgeous silk peonies last year for my own wedding, which was put on hold in lieu of an elopement due to our crazy world.
Although it’s relatively simple enough, creating these floral arrangements are time consuming, since they entail snipping off most of the stem, then wrapping a thinner floral wire to the flower, to slim down the final result for pinning and holding.
Since we have a large dining room table, I turned that into my worktable.
GROOM’S BOUTONNIERE
GROOMSMEN’S BOUTONNIERES
HELPERS’ BOUTONIERES
MOTHERS’ CORSAGES
BRIDESMAIDS’ BOUQUETS
Since S wanted the bouquets to look carefree, she didn’t want finished stems, but she did want this lacy trim around the stems.
Therefore, I ensured floral tape covered the ends so the wiring wouldn’t poke into anyone.
Two down, about four more to go…
Finally the box, which I used as a vase to safely hold the bouquets without them being squished, was full of all the completed bridesmaid’s bouquets.
Meanwhile I pulled one of my elopement date night dresses from my closet to use as a backdrop, since the color is nearly the same as the bridesmaids’ gowns.
BRIDAL BOUQUET
Now with only the bridal bouquet left, I attempted replicating some pictures S had sent for inspiration.
Setting the bouquet down to assess from all angles and afar helped me decide where to put the next bit of flora…
These next few photos show how the bouquet look from the top, which the bride and her father will see, while also catching a peak at the cage I used to hold everything together.
Finally, it seemed complete six days before the wedding, so I wrapped all the stems in floral tape…and messaged these photos to S.
The next morning S arrived at the house to hold the bouquet herself and assess if any changes needed to be made.
MORE AUDITIONS FOR THE CENTERPIECE
Since we had left over flowers from the arrangements, S auditioned each of them for the reception centerpieces to help her decide her favorite(s) as we set them in front of the bridal gown color of pink seen in my elopement dress…
PACKING
With those decisions made, I packed everything up to take to the venue.
Then I received a message from my daughter that she needed help with her bridesmaid gown!
Interestingly, I began my floral work with doing a bit of sewing on S’s wedding gown…and now that I’m finished with the floral project I’ll help my daughter with her gown. I hope!
