Tips from an industry professional for doing it yourself, a guide to selecting and styling your own wedding flowers.
So you're thinking of going it alone, embracing your inner creative and getting up close and personal with a set of secateurs (you're going to need them) - Never fear here are some pearls of wisdom from inside the wedding florist industry.
“Invest in your tools, you do not want to be cutting through woody stems and stripping vicious thorns from endless beautiful, roses with your kitchen scissors!”
A good set of secateurs, a knife or stem stripper are probably a must. Check out Niwaki or Felco if you haven't already.
Keep it simple
If you're tackling your wedding flowers with a small tribe of supporters and are relative 'newbies' to the world of floral design, sticking to a well thought through and pared back colour palette can help you create a professional and considered theme.
It's easy to get carried away by the sheer amount of colour choice and flower variety on offer at the wholesaler, flower market or even a willing neighbour's cut flower patch. Choice is a wonderful thing but getting home and finding you have fifty different varieties of flowers without any particularly cohesive theme could send you spiraling into panic mode with days to go before you say 'I do'.
Stick to a handful of flower varieties and buy lots of what you truly adore! Stick to shades of the some colour, or a palette of three, and gentle variations on those.
Uncontrived, relaxed elegance is often the aim with DIY flowers. Let the blooms do the talking. Find vessels and containers you love, fill them in a nonchalant way with a mixture of your favourite flowers and foliage and try to let them take the lead. You do not need to snip each stem down to the same height and force them to sit upright in a vase, let them have a wiggle and sit slightly askew, it adds to the charm!
What you do need to do
Conditioning! There is to my mind nothing more unsightly than seeing unstripped leaves lurking beneath the water line or wilted flowers with stems sealed over making them thirsty. Always take off the lower foliage and cut your stems cleanly at an angle to allow them to take up water. It's good practice to allow your flowers a long, deep drink for at least a few hours before you begin arranging. Remember to remove any bruised or unsightly bits before your flowers of choice take pride of place in their arrangement.
If you'd like to learn more about DIY wedding flowers or master the art of Bridal flowers under the watchful eye of a professional, check out our 'Bridal Flowers Masterclass'.