DIY Flowers (Real)

kjan06

I have a friend who is willing to help me create my own bouquets, center-pieces, etc. from cut flowers. Has anyone every tried this before? I'm really excited about the idea! Was it stressful? We would put everything together the day before the wedding.

PattyandAlan

My girlfriend did this for her wedding, but we did them the morning of.  I ran down, picked up the flowers from the florist and we all got to work.  It worked out ok for her, but there were a bunch of us helping and she was working with mixed and didn't care if they were all identical.  If you are doing them the day before, I would say make sure you have enough refrigeration space to keep the flowers cool and therefore looking fresh!

kpkeaney

I'll be giving it a try this weekend. Wedding is on Sunday and I'll be making my bouquet and 12 centerpieces Saturday afternoon/night. I'm using all carnations, white and natural green, and some white mini's, so hopefully it won't be too difficult. 

OrtiqueWedding

i orignially wanted to do hydrangeas for my centerpiece but as soon as i found out i couldnt make them the day before (wouldnt be in refridgeration) because they would wilt, i quickly crossed that off my list. i am now doing roses, making all centerpieces bouts/corsages the day before so they will all be done for my friday evening wedding (will be sitting in venue hall in NO refridgeration) & will do fine as long as it not 100 degree weather.

Wiscisbliss

I did it! 

We ordered our flowers from fiftyflowers.com and flowersandfreshness.com

They arrived on Thursday.  I cut the stems underwater and then placed them into buckets of cool water and stored them in a cool dark place.  (Directions should be with the flowers)

On Friday we (mom, sister, and I) made the bouquets (wired roses together and wrapped it with a ribbon) and store d those with long stems in a bucket of water.  We cut the stems to the right length before leaving for the ceremony on Saturday. 
On Friday we also made the centerpieces (trimmed flowers to right length and dropped into vase).  They were delivered by my brothers to the reception hall on Saturday morning. 
On Friday was also made the corsages and bouts - I found this to be the most challenging.  We stored them in plastic baggies in a fridge w/o food in it (at the hotel) over night. 

It wasn't bad, but I suggest doing a trial run with some grocery store flowers before you comit.  I watched youtube videos to learn how to do most of the flowers. 

We will be doing it again for sister's wedding next September!

HTH!

graysquirrel

We also did. I ordered from Sams Club. The flowers arrived the Friday before our Sunday wedding. My mom and I cut the bottoms off of the stems, conditioned them in their cold basement till Sat night, and my girls and I made bouts, bouquets, and centerpieces. We had tons of fun and the flowers looked great! It was such a good feeling to carry the boquet that I made downt the aisle with me.

Definitely do as pp said and do trials and watch videos. I practiced with silk flowers before I attempted with the real. It takes some practice, but in the end you save SO MUCH money.

soozy87

I also did my own (real) flowers for our wedding. I had the help of 2 of my cousins and it took us the whole morning the day before the wedding. I ordered them from Sam's Club, they arrived on Thursday before the Saturday wedding. Everything came in great shape and was beautiful. Same with PP about conditioning the flowers on Thursday and Thursday night. The flowers turned out great and they were one of my favorite details of the day!

Catwoman708

Yes, it's certainly doable, I've done flowers for several weddings.  I buy them 2 days in advance, do most of the work/arranging the day before, and the final touches on the bride's bouquet the morning of.

But, I had a lot of prior floral experience, had all my own supplies, ample workspace, and a cool place to store them in water. 

It's also a little more time consuming than most people realize.  It's not "hard" but experience helps, so make sure you have plenty of reliable help (preferably at least one or two people that are not in the WP or will have time to devote most of the day to this), have the right tools/supplies, and practice in advance.

kjan06

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_flowers_diy-flowers-real?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:28Discussion:01e23738-e309-47ca-a3c3-79154d726293Post:2925fdcf-361c-45bb-96d7-50f176bbe3fa">Re: DIY Flowers (Real)</a>:
[QUOTE]My girlfriend did this for her wedding, but we did them the morning of.  I ran down, picked up the flowers from the florist and we all got to work.  It worked out ok for her, but there were a bunch of us helping and she was working with mixed and didn't care if they were all identical.  If you are doing them the day before, I would say make sure you have enough refrigeration space to keep the flowers cool and therefore looking fresh!
Posted by PattyandAlan[/QUOTE]

I'm trying to add some "country" flair to our wedding decore, so I am also going with the mixed look, which will cut out some time. The person who is helping me has a lot of experience with creating wedding bouquets for friends and family, so I am sure she has space :]

kjan06

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_flowers_diy-flowers-real?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:28Discussion:01e23738-e309-47ca-a3c3-79154d726293Post:b28c8ae4-f1be-49ad-9527-457dc7f5f182">Re: DIY Flowers (Real)</a>:
[QUOTE]I'll be giving it a try this weekend. Wedding is on Sunday and I'll be making my bouquet and 12 centerpieces Saturday afternoon/night. I'm using all carnations, white and natural green, and some white mini's, so hopefully it won't be too difficult. 
Posted by kpkeaney[/QUOTE]

I would love to see photos!

bunchesbob

As a floral designer, I'll tell you this.  You can make your bouquets days ahead, I have done them a week ahead, misted them and sealed them in plastic bags, and that was in the days when everything was wired and taped.  Today, if you make a hand tied bouquet, it's even easier.  Recut the stems, put the bouquet in warm water, mist the heads with cool water, put a plastic bag around the bouquet and put in cooler.  Someone mentioned hydrangeas, if you use them, cut as short as possible, put in very warm water mist the heads with cool water, if later on they go soft or droop, recut and put in hot water, they will come back, trust me.  Remember, roses have air pockets sometme, if they droop, recut put in hot water, they will come back.  Bunches Bob