Back in college, my best friend, Abby, and I went to the Carrboro Farmers Market (within walking distance of UNC Chapel Hill). While walking by the fresh cut flowers she had the brilliant idea, “Wouldn’t it be fun for the bride and bridesmaids to pick out flowers from a farmers market and you just use whatever they have that day?” And it was then that my dream was born.
Now, I eloped and didn’t have bridesmaids, and had no close access to a farmers market with a large selection of flowers. I did, however, live about 20 minutes from a Trader Joe’s.
The Prep
I did a lot of research before trying to tackle a wedding bouquet. I started out with my favorite wedding planner, Jamie Wolfer, and took her quiz about DIYing your florals. Once I officially decided I wanted to attempt it (who am I kidding, no one could have persuaded me away from DIY), I found tutorials from florists on YouTube. These 3 were my favorites and fit best with the kind of bouquet I wanted.
How to Make a Bo-Ho Wedding Bouquet Using a Floral Egg by Flower Joos
How to Make a Wedding Bouquet (Garden Style) by Passifloral Studio
From there, I sourced materials.
Vase
Scissors/ Pruning Shears
Rubber bands (varied sizes)
Ribbon
The Practice
See the process for my practice bouquet here.
I went in not caring too much about the colors, I just wanted to get an idea of how many flowers it would take to cover the floral egg and give the look I wanted.
For this bouquet I used:
White hydrangeas
Pink carnations
Purple Stock
Chamomile
St. John’s Wort
No greenery because I knew I didn’t want eucalyptus and that’s all they had.
What I learned:
I liked how filling the hydrangeas were.
I would need more florals + greenery for the wedding day bouquet.
I loved how the little chamomile flowers gave the whimsical boho look that I wanted
The Real Deal
I’ve heard that, if you are getting a large order, you can note your preference for flowers and colors to Trader Joe’s. (Has anyone had success doing this?) Since I was just doing my own bouquet and my fiance’s boutonniere I just had to cross my fingers they had the types and colors I wanted the day before my wedding.
For this bouquet I used:
White hydrangeas
Light pink carnations
Light pink spray roses
Pink veronica
Unicorn baby’s breath
Ruscus greenery
I decided to buy and prep my flowers two days before my wedding. I picked out my flowers (they were so kind and gave me a wine box to stand them up in for travel), stored them in the fridge, and returned to them later that day. We had a couple of casualties. My mini daisies turned brown, my greenery looked like wilted lettuce, and my veronica flopped. I had heard over and over that you had to keep flowers cool enough but I think I overdid it- they would have been fine out in my apartment. I ditched the daisies and decided the veronica was fine, but the wilted lettuce had to go. The next day (thank goodness it wasn’t the wedding day) I went back to Trader Joe’s and found some ruscus greenery that I absolutely loved- it was meant to be!
That night I prepped the flowers by laying them out and removing their leaves, and arranged the bouquet (See below for more detailed instructions). I made sure to save a few flowers for the boutonniere. I left them outside the fridge this time in a vase with water.
The day of the wedding I made the boutonniere and removed any wilted petals. On the way to the venue one of the vases spilled a bit on my Dad but all was well. On site, I tied my ribbons so they wouldn’t get wet or messed up. I loved everything about my bouquet- wilted veronicas and all.
See more of the process and the final result here.
Lauren Day Photography
Basic Instructions
Research and get inspiration
Gather materials (see above) including flowers
Lay out and untangle stems
Prune leaves of flowers
Begin by making a tri-group of flowers through the floral egg (easy to hold on to). I like to rubber band these three.
Add flowers, making sure to cover all bits of the floral egg. Look in mirror to see what it looks like from the front. Rubber band as you go for stability. Prune stems as you go.
Add greenery.
Prune stems to desired length making sure they will still reach water in vase.
Cover rubber bands with floral tape.
Secure with boutonniere pin
Place in water until the event
Add decorative details like ribbons
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