Choosing Wedding Flowers
(and making a Rose Bouquet!)

Choosing wedding flowers is both an art and a science.....and often involves applying for a mortgage to pay for them! Fay Chamoun,from Australia, helps us with both the choosing of the correct wedding florals and giving us the complete directions for constructing our own Rose Bouquet....a rather nice one at that! Selecting your perfect wedding flowers takes time and research. Hopefully we have started you on the right track.

www.rose-works.com, helping you get the most from your roses and wedding flowers.

What follows are two articles on wedding flowers by a visiting Author from a floral art school in Australia.

Wedding Flowers - Choosing Flowers For Your Wedding Day
By Fay Chamoun

A wedding is one of the most important occasions in a person's life.

A wedding would just not be the same without flowers.

Every bride wants her wedding to be memorable.

The flowers provide the finishing touch to this very special day.

The flowers can be simple or elaborate depending on the type of wedding that is being planned.

Individuality

The flowers for a wedding should have a look of individuality. They should look as if they have all been specially created for the bride.

What will suit one bride will not automatically suit another. The style of dress, the height of the girl, the overall theme of the wedding should all have a bearing on the choice of the flowers.

Bridal Bouquets

There are various styles of bouquets. These include round, trailer, sheaf, crescent, line and cascade bouquets.

Round bouquets made of roses are a popular choice for many brides.

Large trailing bouquets particularly suit romantic style wedding gowns.

An elegant line bouquet of lilies would be a good choice for a slim fitting gown.

A modern style bouquet made of exotic flowers and tropical foliage will suit the contemporary bride.

The brides flowers should be the largest most spectacular bouquet in the wedding party - after all it is her special day!

White is still traditionally the most popular colour for the brides bouquet but many different colours are used in weddings today for the bride and bridesmaids from soft pastels such as pale pink through to rich vibrant colours such as hot pink, burgundy and violet.

Pearls and crystals can be incorporated into bouquets for a touch of added glamour.

For a delicate touch sheer organza ribbon can be used to create ribbon bows and long streamers.

Wide satin ribbon will give a rich luxurious look.

Bridesmaids Flowers

The bridesmaids flowers can be a smaller version of the brides flowers or a different shape.

If the bride is carrying a trailer bouquet the bridesmaids could carry round bouquets.

The bouquets can be the same colour as the brides bouquet or a different colour.

For something different the bridesmaids could carry elegant evening bags filled with flowers. The bag would need to be lined with a piece of plastic to prevent staining the inside of the bag. A piece of soaked florist foam can be placed in the bag and the flowers and foliage arranged in the foam to extend gracefully from the top of the bag.

Flower Girl

A flower girl could carry a small basket of flowers to match the bridesmaids flowers. the basket can be sprayed white or a pastel shade. Another alternative is to attach a spray of flowers to a piece of ribbon and tie it around the flower girls wrist, tying the ribbon ends in a bow with long ends. This is particularly suitable for a very young flower girl who may find a basket awkward to carry.

Buttonholes

The bridegroom and groomsmen wear a buttonhole which often consists of a single flower such as a rose or a carnation or another flower the same type as used in the brides bouquet.

Corsages

The mothers of the bride and groom wear corsages. Often grandmothers and special aunts also wear corsages. It is helpful to know the colour of their dresses so colours will not clash. White or cream is always a safe choice.

Flowers really do provide the finishing touch to a wedding! By choosing flowers in a style and colour to complement your wedding theme it will give you wonderful memories to treasure for a lifetime.

Fay Chamoun(c) Copyright 2004. All rights reserved.

About The Author

Fay Chamoun is the principal of Floral Art School of Australia and International Floral Design School. For details of home study floral design and flower arranging courses which includes how to create many bridal designs please visit http://www.floral-art-school.com.au

wedding flowers~~~~wedding flowers~~~~wedding flowers~~~~wedding flowers

How to Make a Hand Tied Wedding Bouquet
By Fay Chamoun

This type of bouquet is made by holding the flower and foliage stems in one hand and adding the other stems around in a spiral fashion, criss crossing the stems at the one point,and binding them in position with string A ribbon bow with long tails completes the bouquet.

Choose suitable materials - you will need flowers with fairly long stems such as roses, irises, carnations, alstroemeria, freesias, Singapore orchids and lisianthus. Suitable foliage is camellia leaves, eucalyptus gum, box, ivy, nandina and leather fern. A mixed bouquet looks best using three to four varieties of flowers plus foliage.

Cut the ends of the stems on a slant and give flowers a long drink. Remove thorns and strip off the lower foliage from the bottom half of the stems. Lay the flowers out on the table. Start off with the largest flower to form the centre. Hold the stem between the thumb and first finger on the left hand about 15-20cm (6-8")from the base of the flower head. With the right hand add about 4- 6 clusters of foliage evenly around just below the flower heads to help fill in, criss crossing the stems on an angle and turning the bouquet around as you work. Secure the stems in position by placing the end of a piece of string and winding it around a couple of times. Do not cut the string.

Holding the bouquet in the same way as before with the thumb facing towards you place 5-6 of the same type of flowers evenly around turning the bouquet around clockwise. Secure all the stems in place with a couple of twists of string in the same place as before. Continue adding flowers for the next round extending these flowers out slightly further. Keep the bouquet a gentle rounded shape across the top like an upside down saucer, criss cross all the stems and give the bouquet a quarter turn clockwise after adding a few stems. Secure stems in position with string in the same place as before when necessary.

Continue adding flowers and foliage stems turning the bouquet around clockwise until the bouquet is the desired size. I have added wired camellia leaves around the edges, but you could use pieces of foliage having the tips extend out about 5-7.5cm(2-3")past the edges of the flowers. Secure all the stems together with string winding it firmly around several times in the same place as before, cut the string and tuck the end in.

Cut the ends off the flower and foliage stems so they are about 6-8"(15-20cm)long and all the same level. Spray lightly with water. Finish off the bouquet by tying a piece of wide ribbon around the bouquet to cover the string and tie the ribbon in a shoe lace bow with long tails.

Copyright Fay Chamoun © 2005 all rights reserved
Floral art School of Australia and International Floral Design School Floral Design home study courses
http://www.floral-art-school.com.au

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