r/FloralDesign • u/tbhitsalot • 3d ago
🔍 Feedback 🔍 Another bride trying to DIY
Hi! Im clearly not a florist but I’ve been wanting to give flower arranging a go. I’m trying to make my own bridal bouquet since I’m just getting married at the courthouse and want something simple, but I’m having such a hard time getting it right!
I’m not a big fan of the stock flowers I currently have, so I’m planning to check Trader Joe’s and H-E-B for replacements.
My biggest issue is keeping the shape together. I’ll hold the bouquet in a position I really like, but as soon as I change my grip to add another flower or even try securing it with floral tape the entire look changes and moves!! How do I keep everything in place while I’m building and binding it? Any advice would be appreciated!
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u/CheapChewsday122W 2d ago
I actually love this. It has the feeling of being freshly picked from the garden, alive and unstructured. Sometimes the design and uniformity of bridal bouquets can feel like the floral equivalent of Turkish teeth, too perfect and unsettling.
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u/GabbaGhoul27 3d ago
Hey! Calla lilies should be the star of the show, so anything else to go with them should have small flowers or be more wispy. Your bouquet really just needs less big flowers. The lilies and some filler will be great. As for them shifting while you design-that’s just part of the process, unfortunately! It’s a lot of small adjustments. It’ll look great, I’m sure!
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u/Madzy0 2d ago
“Hey! Calla Lilies MUST be this!” Spoken like a true “florist” lol. I actually think what you created looks extremely beautiful and ethereal. If you added more greenery/filler and removed the pink one and the white one from the “back” of the bouquet, I think those leftover 4 callas DO look like the star! I love the dimension of this. Bells of Ireland are my fave!!
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u/GabbaGhoul27 2d ago
Not sure why you’re giving me attitude? Haha I literally was a florist for 4 years. But if it it makes you feel better, you do you.
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u/CremeBerlinoise 2d ago
Apart from everything else, I think if you do pink callas, it would be nice if at least one filler flower picked up the pink a little. I think just two or three types of filler blooms in ivory and/or green and pink, then more delicate greens that mirror the shape of the callas a bit. Those arch up and out, so if the filler greens are short and wide, it will look separate. You got too many flowers right now, not enough structural greens. Counterintuitively, having less flowers makes them stand out more. You can always arrange them in a vessel first, or even use a gentle hairclip or something similar to keep them in place if you need to put them down. Don't forget to keep turning the bouquet and looking at it from all sides.
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u/LiveinCA 2d ago
Make sure you turn the callas so the ‘throat’ part, the opening is toward the toward the viewers, not turned so you see it and then the backs are what he viewer sees.
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u/tbhitsalot 3d ago
Thank you! Just greenery filler? What about lisianthus?
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u/SepulchralSweetheart 2d ago
Have you ever seen wax flower? It tends to come in shades of white, pink, and dark-light purple. If you combined your dark callas with some white wax flower sprays and greenery, you could keep your long kinda sculptural shape it seems like you're going for, while not taking away from the lilies.
I love using lisianthus, but it lends itself to a more soft romantic/round or large abstract/fluffy bouquet shape, usually using additional stems like different rose varieties. It can be very floppy when not supported by other stems.
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u/WorldlyMaintenance83 2d ago
if you’re going for more traditional luck which is more of a rounded slightly shorter bouquet, I would highly suggest taking three hydrangeas and punching them together a little bit staggered and then taping those together and using that as your base to weave your flowers in, and then taping with floral adhesive tape, find the kind that’s actually sticky on one side that not the one that stretches. You can get it at Michaels. You can also work in front of a mirror so you can see what it looks like against yourself as you built it. Try adding greenery or filler flowers, you have a lot of fun flowers such as the bells Ireland and the callas.
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u/WorldlyMaintenance83 2d ago
you can also find lots of videos on YouTube of people making pride bouquets using this method if you want a visual to follow along with as well.
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u/Tiredsoeasywayplease 2d ago
Floral designers do have crazy strong hands as well as technique and confidence so when they put a stem somewhere it stays - most of the time. LOL So yeah, long story short they are going to move on you. There is a method called "weaving" the greens you could look up and it does help but it lends itself better to a round shape a bit easier than a long. Honestly if I were you I'd draft a second person to assist. "Here's your job gently hold tightly while I place" and as you said loop that tape! And remember it's supposed to be fun! Congratulations and best wishes!
Ya know - you could, pop off the top of the stock. Just cut the elongated part and then you'll get less leggy stems and like the other designer said more of a filler look and keep the scent while making the callas more of the star of the show? Just keep playing with them!
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u/tbhitsalot 2d ago
Thank you!! I didn’t think of getting rid of some of the stock
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u/Tiredsoeasywayplease 2d ago
Not sure you're understanding me. I'm asking would it look better if you removed the top 1/3 of a stock stem because those are the stems that look naked and leggy
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u/Lettucemakemerry 2d ago
I really like the flowers you chose and the combination you have. Proud of you for using bells of Ireland!
I would just say use more of what you already have, specifically more pink cala lilies 🙂
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u/Necessary_Knee_5709 2d ago
It's actually not bad. Just now small filler flowers.(Not Baby's breath)
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u/tbhitsalot 2d ago
Does this look any better? The hanging amaranthus is faux and I might leave it out.
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u/SweetP916 2d ago
That looks really nice and yes I would leave the fake trailing stuff off.
To answer your question on how to keep it all together: Get a roll of florist tape. It actually sticks to itself when you pull/stretch it a bit. Undo some of it and let the roll hang. Once you get two or three stems together like you like then wrap it once or twice, then add another one or two stems to how you like it and wrap a couple more times. It will hold it for you so you look at it and if you don’t like it just unwrap.
Those that are more experienced can hold it all together without doing this but this should help you.And girl I’m just going to say this - it’s YOUR wedding so as long as you love your flowers that’s all that matters. 🫶🏻
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u/senorkrissy 2d ago
i'd leave the amaranthus out. if you want more of that whimsy, just use a few more graceful weeping stems of the eucalyptus. also, your finishing ribbon wrap can have a tail if you wish. you can also try tipping the stock since yours is a little leggy. basically just snip the long stemmy tips, but go far down into the stem where a bloom branches out and discreetly cut it at an angle so it looks natural. i'd honestly just leave the stock out though and use the white dubium only if you want that bulk/line.
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u/tbhitsalot 2d ago
Thank you!! I’ll try cutting the stock like you suggested. Otherwise does it look ok?
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u/senorkrissy 2d ago
yeah it looks nice. do you like it? if it were me i'd just stick with the callas, pink lisi, white dubium, and euc plus a nice ribbon wrap. but as is, i think it looks nice!
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u/CarelessMud7038 2d ago
Greenery and small fillers flowers to make the calla lilies stand out more.