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Choosing flowers for your big day is a pretty big deal for any bride. From the right type of flowers for the décor, to the actual bouquet, things to consider include the following:
- Your colour scheme
- Season and availability
- Whether or not you want to use a professional or go the DIY route (we recommend the former)
But for those who are really keen (and brave enough) to make their own arrangements, we get some advice from Jean Badenhorst, director of Aspen and Co, a company that specialises in wedding décor and floral arrangements.
Jean shows us how to prepare your floral bouquet and gives us some tips on what you should do when choosing your flowers.
Tip one:
Make sure the flowers you want are in season. Not only is it much cheaper, but in terms of availability, you’d also be saving costs as you won’t need to have your blooms imported. Remember you’re not only paying for the labour, but for delivery costs as well.
Tip two:
When choosing your colours, experiment a little and don’t just opt for singular colours. Choose flowers with different, but complementary shades (as seen in our video below) work well. Ombre flowers are a perfect option to make use of when you want to create a multi-coloured effect with a minimal amount of blooms.
How to make your bouquet:
Start by selecting the flowers and foliage that you want to use and separate them according to flower type.
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Prepping the shrubbery
Prune the foliage of excess leaves from the stem. Pruning shears will do the trick for greenery that needs more than a superficial trim, while you can use your hands to pluck stray and wayward leaves that look out of place.
How to gather your flowers
When it comes to arranging bouquets, Jean says it’s best to usually start with the greens. Once you’ve stripped the excess leaves, collect and gather the foliage. Twist and rotate your wrists while you’re arranging the bouquet so that the greenery forms a rounded shape.
Arranging the flowers
Choose the select flowers you’d like to use as your base colour. A few bridal sites suggest starting off with a strong primary colour, but if you’re mixing up your bouquet, like in the video example below, then starting with your ombre-shaded blooms work best (in this case, the Brandy and Cherry roses).
Intersperse your flowers with a primary and solid colour for an added striking effect and you’ll end up with a bouquet that’s fit for your bridal day.
Watch our video below for a demonstration on how to create a wedding bouquet:
For more information, visit Aspen and Co's website now.
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