First, the individual flowers:
Pincushion Protea are tropical plants typically shipped from South Africa; because of their long trip, they generally are a little more expensive, often 7 or 8 dollars per stem.
Scabiosa Pods can be used live or dried; they look the same either way! These are great flowers to put in bouquets that you want preserved, as they can keep their color and texture for years! These flowers are native to Europe and Asia, but have been cultivated to work in American gardens and greenhouses, too. They usually run about 2-3 dollars per stem.
Green Trick Dianthus is so fun-I think they look like the trees from Dr. Seuss books! These plants are also American-grown, cutting costs nicely; usually they go for about 2 dollars each.
Asparagus Fern makes a lovely filler green for bouquets. The stems are huge and give bouquets and arrangements an organic, natural look. I especially love asparagus ferns for cascade bouquets, but it works for the circle bouquet pictured above as well. This filler usually sells at about 3 dollars per stem.
Hypericum Berries come in red and green, and are perfect for fall and winter bouquets. They're an inexpensive fill for arrangements, usually costing less than 2 dollars per stem.
Bear Grass is plain on its own, but as you can see in the bouquet above, it can be twisted and looped to provide some really cool texture to a bouquet. Bear Grass is about 10 cents a piece.
The Design Process
Bridal bouquets are not simply a bunch of flowers thrown together and wrapped with a ribbon. A lot of planning and thought goes into crafting them, and they usually take at least an hour to construct. That's right...one bouquet takes at least an hour. Bouquets are constructed in a special holder that has floral foam caged inside of it; the foam stays wet for hours and keeps your flowers fresh. This is what's under your beautiful bouquet!
Bouquet holders have to soak overnight to fully absorb all the water they can. For designing purposes, they're placed in a weighted vase so the florist can turn it and get the full 360 degree design. Flowers are cut short and placed carefully into the foam; once the flower is in, it cannot be taken out, as placing and replacing flowers in floral foam causes it to deteriorate. Once all of the flowers are in, they're sprayed at the foam level with a special waterproof adhesive to provide extra security.
Next, the long, cut stems are gathered, rubber-banded, slid over the white handle of the holder, glued firmly in place, and then cut off evenly at the bottom. After that, ribbon is wrapped tightly around the stems, tied and glued. The bouquet is complete! It is then placed in a larger weighted vase and stored in a cooler until wedding time.
Of course, the bridal bouquet is not the only piece of floral decor for most weddings. The same process has to be repeated for each bridesmaid bouquet. Then corsages and boutonnieres are constructed (smaller pieces, but no less labor intensive, in fact, most florists find corsages and boutonnieres more difficult than bigger bouquets). After these arrangements are complete, all arrangements and centerpieces for the reception have to be constructed.
Typically, designing all of these floral pieces for a wedding consumes two full work days; sometimes they even require overtime work for the florist and his/her staff. Labor costs for weddings are typically an additional 35-45% of the cost of flowers. Why? Floral design is skilled labor; compare it to a haircut or an oil change: you could do it yourself, but if you have no skills or training, it won't be what you want. I would estimate the cost of the bouquet above at around $150. Worth it? That's for you to decide. I'd say yes!
I hope this post has provided some insight as to what goes in to a bridal bouquet, and even a little of what goes in to the flowers for the whole day. Maybe sometime we can tackle a reception centerpiece in the same manner! As always, please feel free to leave comments or questions below!
Til next time,
Gracie K.
