Let’s face it, wedding flowers are expensive. It’s hard to spend lots of money on a bouquet that will only be used for one day! Have you considered a DIY bridal bouquet, instead? Not only will you save some cash, but you can combine all of your favorite flowers—in-season or not! Many brides think that fake flowers look, well, cheap. But that’s simply not the case! Meghan, one of our brides-to-be, revealed her DIY flowers and we couldn’t resist showing them off. Follow her process on how to make your own bouquet, and you’ll see the beauty potential.

How to Make a Wedding Bouquet:

Supplies you will need:

• Flowers
• Wire cutter (the cutter on your needle nose pliers will work)
• Glue gun
• Flower wire
• Flower tape
• Ribbon or other accent trim to cover the stems

Ivory garden rose, Irish moss stem, and peach ranunculus

Step One: Pick your flowers and colors.

Go to your local craft store, like Jo-Ann Fabrics, and start picking your favorite flowers. Choose a variety of sizes and textures to give your DIY bridal bouquet more interest, and to help you fill in any spaces. When it comes to color, that’s up to you! Meghan started with her favorite flowers and chose a few more based off her wedding colors. In the end she chose ivory garden roses, ivory magnolias, blush peonies, salmon cabbage roses, peach ranunculus, and white anemones. She filled in the gaps with one red cabbage rose, one burgundy magnolia, burgundy ranunculus, lambs ear, Irish moss stems, and ivory skimmia. See why making your own bouquet pays off? If she would have asked for the combo at the florist, it would have cost hundreds!

Step Two: Prep your flowers.

Some of your faux flowers will require lengthening. To do this, separate each flower stem and use your wire cutter to trim off any leaves. Then take your floral wire and bend it to make one side 3” long. Place the longer side of your wire along the stem and hook its end around the stem. Wrap the 3” side around the combined stem and wire, and secure tightly. Finally, cover the wire-wrapped stem with floral tape so the wire is no longer visible. This step allows you to easily hold your flowers in place while you work with the bouquet and will help secure them later on.

Salmon cabbage rose, blush peony, and red cabbage rose

Step Three: Building your base.

Choose 3-6 flowers to start the base of your bouquet. Meghan started with a variety of her favorites, but found it easier to start with the large flowers and fill in with her smaller buds.

Step Four: Expanding your bouquet.

Continue building your bouquet by adding flowers around the base. The easiest technique is to add a flower, then turn the bouquet to add another, continuing until your large flowers are gone.

Lambs ear, burgundy rununculus, and mauve skimmia

Step Five: Filling in the gaps.

Begin filling in the gaps with your smaller flowers. Place them anywhere you can see the center of the bouquet, or where you want to add a pop of color. Once you’re happy with the flower combination, you can add a bit of greenery. Start around the base to hide your stem, and work some in near the middle of the bouquet for balance. This step is all about personal preference. Step five is the final step before you secure the bouquet, so make sure you’re happy with the design before you move on to step six.

Step Six: Wrapping the stems.

To secure your flowers, first take your floral wire and wrap it tightly near the top of the stems (but not too close since you’ll be adding ribbon later). Do the same a couple of inches below the first wire. Lastly wrap the stems with floral tape from just above the first wire to just below the second wire.

Step Seven: The finishing touches to your DIY bridal bouquet.

The final step is as detailed as you want it to be and! Starting at the bottom of the stems just below the floral tape, take your ribbon or trim (Meghan used 2”-wide salmon ribbon) and begin wrapping it up and around the stem until you’ve covered all of the tape. When you are happy with the placement of the ribbon, hot blue both ends in place, keeping the edges folded under so they are hidden. If you want, you can also add an accent ribbon (Meghan used ¾”-wide metallic copper decorative ribbon, but you could use lace, burlap, or something similar). Wrap your accent ribbon around the middle stems, leaving about ¾” of the base ribbon exposed on the top and bottom. Secure with hot glue and you’re done!

Step Eight: How to make a wedding bouquet unique.

Many brides use bouquet accessories to make their bridal flowers unique. You could add brooches, pins, or a locket that has a special meaning to you. Some brides choose to wrap their bouquets with a piece of their mother or grandmother’s dress—the perfect ‘something old.’ Use large stick pins, hot glue, or thread to secure these items, and your DIY bridal bouquet is unique and complete.

Will you make your own bouquet? What other DIY wedding projects are you working on?