How to make a carnation and freesia bouquet for your bridesmaid.

1. Select appropriate materials, including tying ribbon and satin ribbon for finishing, Pearl or diamante pins.

2. Start your bouquet by arranging freesia for the focal part of your bouquet.

3. Add carnations in groups of 3 to form clusters.

4. Continue to add groups of freesia and carnations to create a dome of flowers.

5. Your freesia and carnations should be arranged to create a balanced dome shape of flowers.

6. Once your bouquet is complete finish by tying poly ribbon tightly to secure your bouquet.

7. using Satin ribbon start at the top and wrap down wards and then again going back to the top of your handle and finish with either a diamante or pearl pin.

8. finish your bouquet by cutting the stems of your bouquet approximately 1inch below the ribbon

Derry/Londonderry

Today's blog is slightly different, I wanted to post a recognition to my hometown of Derry/Londonderry for becoming the

UK's first ever City of Culture for 2013.

I've taken some pictures of Derry with a floral twist!!

The first picture is of the

historic Guildhall taken

from the Derry walls.

This image is taken through the gate

looking along the Derry walls

This last picture is of the bridge over the River Foyle that flows through Derry

The Church.....

When I was asked to decorate the church for the bishops golden jubilee it was nice to get such full scope of the church.

I decided to go along the colour theme of the yellows, oranges and gold’s using flowers such as the calla lilies, eremurs, roses and gerbera.

To lighten the designs I added flowers such as the delphinium, anthuriums, dendrobium orchids in whites and creams to contrast with the darker colours.

Continental designs in this church left it open so the detail on the alter was still visable and became part of the designs.

A 15ft pedestal design was created on one side to create great height and was also very showy.

Orchids for Weddings...

There are different types of orchids, Phalaenopsis which gives you long flowing and cascading bouquets which works well with wedding dresses made from fabrics which have movement and full skirts

Also used with straight dress and fishtail style dresses they create movement to the straight skirts. They come in a variety of colours from a brilliant white to a very fuchsia pink , they can be as soft and romantic or as bold and demanding attention depending on the style of bouquet.

They also make for very attractive table arrangements look well cascading from clear glass containers.

Another orchid is the cymbidium which is great for more structured bridal designs and work well with very modern dress shapes, heavy fabrics and dresses with a lot of detail.

They can also be dismantled and there petals rearranged to create a very modern design similar to the Carmen rose.

These orchids are very good at lasting out of water and a great choice for button holes and corsages.

Flowers In Memory Of.......

For one of the most difficult times for loved ones flowers can express a thousand words.

To have a designer piece of floristry always ask to see your florists own portfolio of work so you can see their work and what they can offer that bit more special than having the standard designs and flowers.

I have made 3 very different styles of floral tributes to show just some of the designs you could have put together using unusual flowers such as the protea and grouping it with other blooms like the “Mango” calla lily and campanula.

In keeping with the traditional circular shape you can always use grouped flowers to give more detail to your floral tribute by linking groups together with stems such as the calla lily and grasses including bear grass and lily grass as well as the dendrobium orchids.

How to: Sunflower Bridal Bouquet

For this simple bouquet you will need sun flowers approx 9, asparagus fern, florists ribbon /cord for tying, oasis tape, satin ribbon and pearl pins to finish.

Step 1: start by arranging the sun flowers in a spiral.
Step 2: continue to add sunflowers to form a dome style bouquet as in picture.



Step 3: add asparagus fern to form a trail.
Step 4: arrange asparagus fern to soften the edge of the bouquet.

Step 5: create trails for the front of the bouquet with the asparagus fern.
Step 6: to balance the bouquet arrange asparagus fern to the back of the bouquet keeping it quite close to the sunflower heads.

Step 7: using the florists ribbon/cord tightly tie the stems of the bouquet very close to the sun flower heads.
Step 8: to secure the stems and prepare for the ribbon use florists tape to strengthen the handle.




Step 9: tightly wrap the flower stems with satin ribbon and hold in place by inserting pearl headed pins.
Step 10: cut stems to the desired length, usually about 1inch past the ribbon.

The finished bridal bouquet of sun flowers can be made the day prior to your wedding and kept in a vase of water until your wedding. When needed remove from the water and dry of stems to prevent staining on your dress.

Button Holes and Corsages

For every wedding button holes and corsages play a prominent part indicating every member of the immediate bridal party.

For the gents including the groom, best man, grooms man and fathers of the bride and groom. When choosing button holes, these normally mirror the bridal bouquets which in photos, team together and look very nice in photos.

For the mothers of the bride and groom Corsages are worn, these will match the outfit worn by the mother. The corsages can be worn on the lapel or also be made so to be attached to either a handbag or wrist, the fabric of which the outfit is made will dictate the method in which they can be worn.

There is many flowers that are suitable for the purpose of buttonholes and corsages , however there are also those flowers that are much too delicate to withstand being out of water for a long period of time.

When deciding on flowers to use remember that you can always incorporate colours by adding crystal, bead or feather detail to enhance your mother of the bride/groom outfit.
Good choice flowers to use include roses, gerbera, orchids and calla lilies etc. Other plant material such as hypericum berries,and limonium etc can be added with decorative wire, pearls and crystal beads to create design and give a more luxurious appearance.