A big trend in wedding planning is “do-it-yourself”. From invitations to floral design, more and more couples are looking to DIY as a way to save money on wedding expenses.

Deciding to design your own wedding flowers is an admirable but often overwhelming prospect. Before you make the decision to undertake such a monumental task consider everything you will need to plan and orchestrate. I have compiled a list of steps that need to be taken when you are designing your own wedding flowers.

Select Your Flowers

Many different elements factor into your choice of flowers. Here are some items to consider when making your selections:

-the season in which your event is taking place

-the locale of your wedding and reception

-budget

-availability of the flower

-the hardiness of the flower

-the level of difficulty of working with the flower (some flowers are better left to the professionals)

Recruit A Lot of Willing Helpers

Flowers are perishable and many are very delicate so they will need to be prepared and arranged the last couple of days leading up to your wedding. The more floral designs you need the more help you will need to recruit.

Make A Design Recipe

Prepare a recipe for your arrangement. Here is a sample:

1- vase

pebbles for the bottom of the vase

3 stems of greenery

12 roses

3 gerbera daisies

3 tulips

Now multiply your recipe times the number of designs you are making.

Gather All of Your Tools and Supplies

Gather all of your tools in a central location. If you have 3 friends helping, be sure you have 3 sets of tools. To get you started here are some of the supplies and tools you will need:

Clippers, scissors, rose stripper, floral knife, floral tape, floral preservative, floral foam, corsage and boutonniere pins, ribbon, tall buckets (for flower storage), Ziploc bags (for boutonnieres and corsages storage), garbage bags, large trashcan, broom and dust pan.

Dedicate A Work and Storage Area

When you design your flowers you will need an area to work. The spot you choose should be equipped with ample table space, all your tools and flowers, have easy access to a water source, and should be covered to minimize dirt and stains. Also consider the issue of storing your finished designs. The designs will need to be kept in a cool and draft free area. If you are storing the finished corsages and boutonnieres in a refrigerator make sure they are well misted and sealed in Ziploc bags. Also confirm that the refrigerator is set at 40 degrees so there is no chance of freezing your flowers.

Trial Run

Plan to do at least one (preferably two) trial run. Purchase your flowers and design one sample centerpiece and a sample bouquet. Track how long it take you to design your samples, then multiply by how many you’ll need to make for your event. This will give you an idea of how much time you’ll need to dedicate to designing your flowers.

Day of the Event Set-Up

Assign two or more people to help with the delivery and set-up of your wedding flowers on the big day. They will need to deliver and distribute (include pinning of the boutonnieres and corsages) to the bridal party in time for the photography. The ceremony decor and reception decor will need to be set-up as well. Make sure there is a time-line so everyone knows where to be and when.

When the Party’s Over

Ask some helpers to gather any items you want to keep at the end of the ceremony and reception. Be sure you provide bins, boxes, or bags and wrapping materials along with instructions on what to save and what to throw away.

Image by: Andrea’s Images

A couple of good friends of mine are getting married soon. The groom is the guitar player in my Husband’s band, Desario.

I love this boutonniere for the shreddin’ Groom. In fact I love all the boutonnieres on Fritts Rosenow.

Now why didn’t I think of that?

The Echeverias plant is all the rage. Long lasting, easy to care for with a clean and modern sensibilty it is no wonder the Echeverias has captured so many hearts.

For this project I chose Design Master Color Tools to highlight and accent the natural beauty of the Echeverias plant, Perle Von Neurnberg.

Ingredients:

Design Master Color Tool- Raspberry
Design Master Color Tool- Lavender
Design Master Color Tool- Hyacinth
Design Master Color Tool- Violet
1- 6 inch Echeverias plant
1- 14 inch tall clear cylinder vase
White aquarium rock
Moss
40- 2 foot long curly willow tips
10- Silk or fresh white dendrobium orchids
Bind wire
Wood picks with wire
Cold glue
Sandwich bag

Steps:

1. Paint 10 curly willow stems Lavender
2. Paint 10 curly willow stems Hyacinth
3. Paint 10 curly willow stems Violet
4. Set painted curly willow stems aside
5. Pour the white aquarium rock out 2 inches deep on a newspaper covered flat surface.
Spray the top of the rock with Raspberry, allow to dry, stir the rocks and spread them out 2 inches thick once again. Repeat with each color until at least half the rocks are showing color.
6. Spray moss with Lavender color tool until mostly covered.
7. Remove Echeverias plant from pot. Knock off most of the dirt. Place the plants root system in a sandwich sized plastic bag. Secure the bag around the root ball with bind wire.
8. Gather the painted curly willow stems with the left over unpainted stems and form into a loose wreath shape. The size of the wreath should frame the outer most leaves of the Echeverias plant.
9. Fill the cylinder vase with painted rocks ¾ full.
10. Place Echeverias on top of the rocks in the cylinder vase and fill around the root ball with painted rocks until the root ball is no longer showing.
11. Frame the Echeverias with the curly willow wreath and secure into place using wood picks.
12. Lightly paint the centers of the white dendrobium blossoms with Raspberry Color tool.
13. Attach the painted dendrobium blossom to the curly willow wreath using cold glue.
14. Finish around the opening of the vase and under the Echeverias plant with the painted moss.

I have been having so much fun with the Nikon I bought last year. I have even been photographing friends and family’s children.

I love the ability to capture vignettes of world around me. When I am designing with flowers I am telling a story that I create. When I am photographing I am capturing the story as it unfolds.

This was the bridal bouquet I designed for Heather’s walk down the down the aisle in July of 2008.

This is Heather’s bouquet now- transformed into a keepsake by Paulette with Forget Me Nevers.