Posted on

DIY Floral Arrangements for Your Wedding

Arranging artificial flowers vest decoration at home, Young woman florist work making organizing diy artificial flower, craft and hand made concept.

With the availability of quality wholesale flowers from Cascade, having fresh blooms for creating DIY wedding flowers is a dream come true for budget-friendly and cost-conscious brides. Doing it by yourself can be overwhelming, which is why we are providing you with essential tips for DIY wedding flowers.

Modern table's centerpiece for summer wedding. A lot of greenery being composed into stunning arrangement. Step by step, tutorial.

6 Tips for DIY Wedding Floral Arrangements

Choosing Your Flowers

  1. While modern shipping allows for access to almost any flower at any time of year, it is easier and more cost-effective to choose flowers that are in season. Seasonal flowers will be more readily available, affordable,  and replaced easier if anything should occur to your bouquets right before the wedding. Fresh, seasonal blooms T also stay healthier for a longer period of time, looking more beautiful and appealing during the wedding.
  2. It is also important to understand the limitations of the flowers you choose. Some blooms may wilt quicker than others, and other blooms may need more water or sunlight than others. By understanding what each flower needs, you can care for them properly to keep them bright and blooming. Having this knowledge can help you select hardy flower varieties that will maintain the look you want.
  3. Our final tip for deciding which blooms to choose is to keep it to only a few varieties. All of your arrangements can be created with just three flowers –  a primary bloom, a secondary bloom that complements it, and a tertiary bloom that helps fill out the bouquet. These three flowers can be used across all of your arrangements, changing their positions and filling them in with greenery to create different variations.  

Florist at work. Woman making bouquet of pink roses

Preparing for Assembly

  1. Assembling bouquets, boutonnieres, and centerpieces requires more tools than just flowers and vases. Making sure you have all the required tools and materials when the flowers arrive is crucial. To hold flowers in place and arrange them, floral tape, floral wire, floral foam, and twine are helpful to have on hand. For decorations and embellishments to make your flowers pop,  use ribbons, lace, or twine. To keep the flowers fresh, have a spray bottle of water nearby so you can periodically mist your floral arrangements.
  2. It r helps to make a plan for your fresh flowers ahead of time, so you know how many you will need for your wedding. Count the number of bouquets, centerpieces, and boutonnieres you plan to have and then how many flowers will be in each one. This will help you determine the number of individual flowers and greenery you will need so you aren’t left with too many or too few.
  3. Making a gorgeous wedding bouquet and centerpieces is not as easy as many think and often takes time and practice. Online tutorials are a great place for tips and advice on how to best prepare your flowers. Pick a tutorial that shows an arrangement like the ones you want to use and practice with your tools before getting started. It is important to remember that complex or time-consuming arrangements can lead to anxiety or frustration and simple arrangements often look just as beautiful and a lot easier to prepare.

Florist at work: How to make modern table's centerpiece for summer wedding. A lot of greenery being composed into stunning arrangement. Step by step, tutorial.

Cascade floral offers all the flowers you need for DIY arrangements that best fit your budget. Check out our selection today or contact us directly so we can help you make your wedding day special and memorable. 

Posted on

How to Make a Boutonniere in 5 Easy Steps

For those who like to take on DIY projects, or if you’re looking for a way to save money on your wedding, then you may want to consider making your own boutonnieres and corsages. It’s not that hard and you’ll have a completely unique design all your own being worn by the bridal party and getting captured in pictures. Just follow the below simple instructions and let your creativity take over. 

Top view of wedding boutonniere for the groom and bridesmaids on wooden background, free space. Wedding details outdoor with copy space. Wedding morning preparation

How to Make a Boutonniere

Before purchasing materials, decide just how many boutonnieres you will be making. The guide on who wears them is pretty flexible and up to the bride and groom, ultimately. Just having the groom wear a boutonniere is acceptable, or one for every groomsman or all the important males in the wedding, from dads to ringbearers. If you’ll be making a lot of them, you can save upwards of $20 per boutonniere! Here’s how: 

Choose the best blooms for boutonnieres

Hearty flowers that can hold up without a water source are best for boutonnieres. You’ll also want to select flowers and colors that will blend in with the overall floral design of the wedding. Blooms such as Spray Roses, Pansies, Ranunculus, Tulips, Mums, Calla Lilies, Billy Balls, and Carnations are all good options. Greenery and smaller accompanying flower choices include Baby’s Breath, Ivy, Eucalyptus, Heather, Italian Ruscus, Queen Anne’s Lace, or Wax Flowers. 

Materials Needed for Making a Boutonniere

Once you’ve selected your preferred blooms, there are a few more items needed to pull everything together: floral scissors or stem cutters, pins, floral tape, and ribbon (optional). The floral tape is a must-have as it is used to wrap around the flower stems sealing them which helps prevent wilting. If you want the floral tape covered up, adding a ribbon is a great way to hide it. 

Make a Boutonniere in 5 Easy Steps

Close up of florist's table as she is working on a groom's wedding boutonniere

1. Gather your flowers and greenery. Decide on 1 or 2 statement blooms, 2-3 smaller accent blooms, and greenery.

Process of making a boutonniere for the groom from cream and pink roses, ruskus leaves and pink gypsophila, top view

2. Cut all the stems to your desired length for the boutonniere. (A stem length of 2-3 inches is ideal for working with). Make sure stems are clean and any leaves from the lower parts have been removed. 

Close up of hands of female caucasian florist as she is working on a groom's wedding boutonniere of white and pink roses

3. Create your arrangement. Start with the statement bloom and add additional accents and greenery behind it. Play around with the arrangement, put an accent flower in front, for example, until you like what you see. 

Florist at work: How to make a wrist corsage. Step by step, tutorial.

4. Once you’ve settled on your design, wrap all the stems tightly with the floral tape. Neatly trim the stems of your boutonniere to the one-inch mark. If desired, wrap a ribbon around the floral tape starting at the bottom and continuing until the base of the flowers. Tie a knot and secure with a pin. 

boutonniere with white rose

5. Use the pins to affix to the boutonniere to the lapel of the wearer’s jacket, step back and admire your work!

When to Make Your Boutonniere

If you have time in the morning of the ceremony, that’s the best time to make your boutonnieres, just store them in a cool, dry place. Do not put them in the fridge. If you need to make them the night before, leave the stems exposed and place the boutonniere in a shallow cup of water. Leave in a cool, dry place overnight avoiding the fridge. 

 

Posted on

Beloved Baby’s Breath Is Making a Comeback

Baby’s Breath is a popular, yet frequently overlooked, that is frequently found in wedding florals. Often used as a filler flower, it’s starting to finally get the attention it deserves — Baby’s Breath’s time to shine is happening now.  This inexpensive, dainty, and lovely bloom is perfect for weddings and shows its style in many non-wedding floral arrangements, too. One of our favorites here at Cascade Floral Wholesale, read more to discover why this tiny bloom is becoming a big deal in modern floral arrangements. 

Baby's breath (gypsophila paniculata)

Often used to fill in the gaps and create more volume in bouquets consisting of mostly larger blooms, Baby’s Breath became tired and overlooked because it was used so frequently in these limited capacities. Florists today, though, are using this very versatile flower in a whole new way creating amazing works of floral design by enhancing the cluster of tiny delicate blooms like we’ve never seen before. 

Small baby's-breath flowers (gypsophila) on a soft lilac color background

What Is Baby’s Breath?

Baby’s Breath is a short-stemmed plant that has tiny clusters of white, or pale pink, blooms and is native to North America. It’s a member of the Gypsophila genus which has around 35 different plants. It grows in abundance making it quite affordable and also has a sweet, light fragrance. 

Bouquet of the beautiful gypsophila

What Is the Symbolism of Baby’s Breath?

Baby’s Breath has long been used as a symbol of purity, innocence, hope, and new beginnings. For these reasons, it has been traditionally used in wedding bouquets and baby showers. In many cultures, Baby’s Breath is given to new mothers for good luck, which is how this flower got its name. Baby’s Breath blooms have also been traditionally used to symbolize devotion to a relationship, whether it’s with your partner, family, or friends. 

The symbolism of different-colored Baby’s Breath is white for spirituality, innocence, and purity; blue for honesty and respect, pink for gentleness and youth; orange for happiness and joy; red for love and romance; and purple for beauty and nobility. 

Baby's Breath colorful flowers box. Gift flowers box. Woman holding a flower box with gypsophila.

New Ways Baby’s Breath Is Being Used

A staple in most bridal bouquets and other wedding florals, Baby’s Breath is being utilized in much more creative ways today and putting a spotlight on these refreshingly delicate, pure, sweet blooms. Here are a few design trends with Baby’s Breath we’re seeing now. 

  • Bunches of only Baby’s Breath placed in simple glass jars as table decor.
  • A bundle of Baby’s Breath wrapped up for a charming and minimalist wedding bouquet. 
  • Sprinkled throughout the hair of brides, bridesmaids, and flower girls.
  • Baby’s Breath blooms are perfect for adding to a boutonnière and a corsage.

Beautiful blooming pink roses and baby's breath decorate the arch for the wedding ceremony. Luxury holiday decorations. Holiday traditions. Plastic chairs. Outdoors in the summer.

  • Tied to wedding chairs or placed in pots to line the wedding aisle. 
  • Suspended from the ceiling or woven into a flower arch.
  • Baby’s Breath is perfect for adding charm and whimsy to a wedding cake.
  • Baby’s Breath used in large quantities to decorate a long table or cascade down a staircase. The immense number of tiny blooms provides a shimmery and fluffy effect that is super cool. 
  • Arranged as a flower backdrop in a variety of colors to create a striking display. 

Flower girl at wedding with bow and baby's breath hair wreath in her hair

Next time you are ready to create your own floral design, take another look at Baby’s Breath and let your imagination go wild – this is one versatile bloom up for the task! 

For all your floral needs, contact Cascade Floral Wholesale for the best quality florals.