The 10 Things You Need For Creating Your Own Wedding Flowers

After you’ve made the decision to make your own wedding flowers, you need to gather specific tools and materials to be able to do a proper job. For the actual arranging itself you will need the following items:

1. Cellophane - This is used to line flower/bouquet boxes that are not water proof. It can also be crumpled and placed into containers as a flower or foliage support. This works very well in see-through containers.

2. Chicken wire - This is used to hold floral foam in place in containers. This is usually done for larger arrangements. Chicken wire can also be crumpled and placed inside containers to use as a flower/foliage support. (Not recommended for see-through containers).

3. Floral foam - This needs to be cut to fit the container and then placed into the container. Tape it securely to the container if needed. Fill the container with water so the floral foam will absorb the water. Once the floral foam is thoroughly wet, you can begin inserting flowers and foliage.

4. Florist’s scissors - These are special because they have a serrated edge. This helps when cutting stems and even wire.

5. Spray bottle - You use this to gently mist (not soak) the flowers and foliage after they have been arranged.

6. Florist’s tape - There are 2 kinds of tape -

a. rubber coated tape that is used to cover wires and secure them to the flowers and stems

b. sticky florist’s tape is sticky on one side and is used for anchoring the floral foam to its container

7. Knives – 1 long and 1 short. Use a long one to cut floral foam and use a short knife to scrape stems.

8. Pruning shears - Use these to cut thick, woody stems.

9. Ribbon - You need ribbon for covering up wires on bouquets, posies, corsages and boutonnieres. You can also use it as decoration in long tails or bows or in loops for garlands, swags or pomanders.

10. Wire - This is necessary for lengthening, strengthening and positioning your flowers and foliage. There are a lot of different gauges of wire, but there are 4 main sizes that are commonly used -

a. 20 gauge (0.90 mm) for wiring heavy flowers such as lilies

b. 22 gauge (0.71 mm) for wiring medium strength flowers like roses and peonies

c. 28 gauge (0.38 mm) for wiring more delicate flowers such as violets

d. 30 gauge (0.32 mm) for wiring very delicate flowers like lily-of-the-valley

Be sure to have all of the above items collected and in one place before you being to make your own wedding flowers. Because putting wedding flowers together is such a big job, you want to be prepared for it ahead of time. You will need all your time for arranging. Gather your materials about 2 months before your wedding day to make your job that much easier.