Hi Globetrotters,
How is it going?
I had my photoshoot yesterday for my “wedding.” I put quotes, because I had to first postpone my wedding and then ended up canceling it.
I won’t pretend. I was very disappointed and sad, even though people were making feel guilty for feeling that way. That’s how I feel.
I worked hard for that wedding and I didn’t get those same memories with my family and friends. However, with the canceled wedding, Mr. Lumberjack and I tried to keep what we could to have our traditional wedding.
One of the things I wanted in my hands was a bouquet. Now, I went searching last year for one. Some were plain ugly or some were so expensive. I don’t how.
Therefore, I went ahead and decided to make my own. I went to Trader Joe’s to look for some fresh flowers. I really like peonies, but I probably just missed it because I couldn’t find any there.
But just like with traveling, if you are flexible with the type of flowers, things will be more convenient and cheaper for you. I knew exactly the colors I wanted and I chose flowers that gave me variety. Some luscious, full flowers and some tall ones.
In the end, I went with mums, roses, Eucalyptus, carnations and Juniper flowers. All of this cost me $30, which is way better than the $175 bouquet I found online.
You will need the following:
- Your choice of flowers
- Flower tape
- Short pins
- Satin ribbon
- Garden shears
Ultimately, it is simple. Start by prepping your flowers. You want to strip the bottom leaves (the part that doesn’t show). Then place the flowers in a vase filled with water.
You start with a few in your hands and you keep building around it. Keep looking at the bouquet in front of a mirror to see if the arrangement looks good.
Once you are happy with the arrangement, tape the bouquet with flower tape. Make sure to tape it 2-2.5 inches from the nape of the bouquet, where the bouquet starts fanning out. You will want to wind the tape about 3 in.
Then, take your Satin ribbon and measure around the flower tape. Cut the ribbon and start wrapping it. Once you’ve reached the end of the ribbon, fold 1 cm back so the fray edges don’t show.
Take your short pins and stab them straight into the end of the ribbon. I used 5 only for design purposes. You can use two if you only want to secure the ribbon.
Snip the uneven stems about 1.5 in from the bottom of the tape. Some stems are extremely hard, so the garden sheers will come in handy here. If you are unsure where to snip, you can always start with less and adjust as you see fit.
I took the extra flowers and made a boutinere for Mr. Lumberjack. For boutineres, I find the simpler the better.
If you made the bouquet and boutinere the night before like I did. I actually left the stems a little longer than I wanted. That way, when I placed the fresh flowers in water, the ribbon wouldn’t touch the water and soak it up.
The day of the photos, I took my garden sheers and snipped to the correct length, which only took 5 minutes.
Wallah! I found the snipping vvvveeerrryyy therapeutic. Something about that sound de-stresses me. I want this to be a regular, organic business. I started an Instagram page: youngandwildflowershop for Chicago bouquets and boutineres. Hit me up if you want me to do some flower arrangements for you.
Ciao,
Amy
amy 
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