CASCADING BRIDAL BOUQUET

This is an example to a cascade bouquet. I arranged it also on a bridal bouquet holder. The cascading portions of the bouquet may be short and simple or long, full and flowing. I had to make artificial stems for the cascading flowers for this bouquet to make them longer. Usually, very fragrant flowers such as gardenias, orchids and stephanotis are preferred for this kind of bouquet. White roses are also very common. But any kind of flowers can be used.

ROUND BRIDAL BOUQUET

There are three basic bridal bouquet styles.
1. Round
2. Cascade
3. Hand-tied
The round shaped bouquet is arranged with multiple types of flowers with less greenery. It is usually arranged on a bridal bouquet holder.
The cascade bouquet looks more like a waterfall with some flowers flowing downwards. It features a dominant desecending line movement. It is very popular among the brides because it is classic and formal.
The hand-tied bouquet is the most natural looking bouquet with its garden-picked appearance. It is a casual gathering of blossoms tied together with ribbon or string and the stems are visible.
The size of your body, style of your wedding gown are important considerations to choose the right wedding bouquet style.

There are so many other types of bridal bouquets other than these basic styles. I will write about them in later posts and I will try to include pictures for each type.
This wedding bouquet I made is a round shaped bouquet with so many different kinds of flowers. The stephanotis with corsage pin attached in the middle makes the bouquet extra special and also very fragrant.

FLOWERS FOR A FRIEND

My dear friend Shannon asked me to make some flowers for her mom last week. She wanted one with fresh flowers and one with permanent flowers. These are what I came up with. I really enjoyed making the arrangements. I am hoping that her mom liked them too.

CORSAGES AND BOUTONNIERES

Corsages and boutonnieres are very easy to make and they are perfect for special occasions like weddings, proms or other formal gatherings. They add an elegant touch to any formal outfit. To make the corsages or boutonnieres first pick a favorite medium sized flower like roses or carnations. Get some greenery and some filler flowers like baby's breath or statice and use them as the background for your main flower. Cut your flower's stem approximately 3 inches long. Create a bed with your greenery and your filler flowers and top them with your main flower. Greenery should not be much longer than your main flower and should just be visible from sides. When you think they look good just wrap all the stems together with floral tape to secure everything altogether. Tie a little bow at the bottom if you like. 1/4 inch ribbons are the best for corsages and boutonnieres. Because they don't have a water source your corsages won't last more than a day. Keep them cool and moist until ready to use. This is the very basic technique to make them but there are several other techniques. I will add some of the pictures of the corsages, boutonnieres and a couple of wristlets that I made. Some of these require some wiring or glueing. I will write about these techniques in my later posts. Meanwhile please enjoy the pictures.

FANTASY FLOWER

Picture from: http://treschicbride.blogspot.com/2008/07/composite-rose.html

I learned the technique to make a composite flower at the floral design class I took a couple years ago. In the class we made a bridal bouquet out of several fresh roses. I never thought of making it with another flower until I have seen this composite magnolia in the Florists' Review Magazine and it was called "Fantasy Flower" there. I have made it with two big permanent magnolia stems. It turned into an oversized magnolia blossom that you cannot see in nature.

Composite flowers are assembled by using several stems of the same flower. A composite bouquet is made of petals wired or glued together to form a single large bloom. They can be made with roses, magnolias, lilies or any other large petaled flower. They are also called duchess bouquet. The first picture is the composite magnolia I've made. Second picture is a duchess rose bouquet made out of three dozens of fresh roses.

VERTICAL DESIGN

This design is my husband's favorite. He finds it really elegant. Vertical designs are best used on corners or small spaces where they can soften angles. They are suitable for everyday use and also for formal gatherings. They can be one-sided or all around but my design here is one-sided. For this design pick lots of tall flowers and greens to create the tall vertical outline. My focal point here is gerbera daisies. I also used roses, liatris, carnations, alstromeria and gladiolus. The greens are eucalyptus, myrtle, steele grass and aussie greens. Heather and misty were my fillers.

To make this design first secure pre-soaked foam in a tall vase with floral tape. Cut the stems of the tallest flowers or leaves to reach 1.5 to 2 times the height of the vase. Place the focal flowers vertically within the diameter of the vase. Fill in the empty areas as needed with filler flowers. Make sure all the flowers radiate from the center. If your design is one-sided fill the back nicely with greens and some filler flowers so the back looks nice too. And when you are done, just sit back and enjoy your design.

MY LITTLE TREE

I made this arrangement two years ago and I think this one is a classic. It took me more than an hour to make it but I am sure a more experienced floral designer could make it in a much shorter time.

For this design I used one bunch of oregonia but boxwood is perfect too, roses, carnations, button poms, gypsophilia, some pine cones and some branches. You can use any kind of container that can carry the heavy arrangement. I soaked the floral foam an inserted in the container. For this design you need a whole block of foam because you want it to extend from the rim of the container to be able to create the cone shape. I first use all my oregonia to cover the foam trying to make sure I am creating a nice cone shaped outline. And then I use all my flowers spreading them evenly throughout the design. It is not very hard but might be a little challenging for a beginner. If you want to make this arrangement but have questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

PREMIUM POINSETTIA

I love winter flowers and poinsettias are absolutely gorgeous. The only problem is that they are usually sold in ugly, green plastic pots and they don't look very attractive. I got this idea from the Florist's Review Magazine and it is very easy to do. It is a dressed-up version of the poinsettias and they are beautiful. I just add some winter greens, some cones, some artichokes or maybe ornaments instead, and some branches. You can spray paint all the accessories to have gold accents or use them with their natural colors. And I put the plant in a decorative pot cover that I like. It'd be a wonderful decor or a gift for a holiday party host. Please let me know how it turned out if you try making them and even send me a picture of your design. Have fun.

WHY FLOWERS?

I love flowers and I love designing them. But because I am not doing floral designing professionally, I can't really share my designs with many people. That's the main reason why I wanted to have this blog; To share my knowledge on flowers and to share my designs with other flower lovers.
I was thinking why flowers never perish as gifts? Since the first human being they held a special place among other gifts and they are never out of fashion. According to some surveys, flowers, clothing and jewelry are the most popular gifts exchanged in America. Flowers top the lists of both men and women as the best "I love you" gift. As for love interests, according to the research, more than 25 percent of Americans say the gift they would most like to receive from an admirer is flowers or houseplants - followed by jewelry, clothing and perfume or cologne. While most Americans enjoy receiving gifts on traditional holidays, "no special occasion" tops the list with nearly one-third of respondents citing it as their favorite time to receive a gift of flowers. Flowers also lead the bunch as the gift most given to express everyday sentiments. (Survey by the SAF, 2003).
I did a little research and I've actually found a scientific research on flowers and their effects on emotions. Below is the abstract of the research and if you are interested in reading the whole article click here.
An Environmental Approach to Positive Emotion: Flowers
Abstract: For more than 5000 years, people have cultivated flowers although there is no known reward for this costly behavior. In three different studies we show that flowers are a powerful positive emotion "inducer". In Study 1, flowers, upon presentation to women, always elicited the Duchenne or true smile. Women who received flowers reported more positive moods 3 days later. In Study 2, a flower given to men or women in an elevator elicited more positive social behavior than other stimuli. In Study 3, flowers presented to elderly participants (55+ age) elicited positive mood reports and improved episodic memory. Flowers have immediate and long-term effects on emotional reactions, mood, social behaviors and even memory for both males and females. There is little existing theory in any discipline that explains these findings. We suggest that cultivated flowers are rewarding because they have evolved to rapidly induce positive emotion in humans, just as other plants have evolved to induce varying behavioral responses in a wide variety of species leading to the dispersal or propagation of the plants.


Article taken from:
Evolutionary Psychology – ISSN 1474-7049 – Volume 3. 2005.
http://www.epjournal.net/filestore/ep03104132.pdf