How Long Should They Be?

[mitch]

I'm going to start making my own Wedding Bouquet but i'm a bit worried about how long to have the stems of the Flowers.

All my Flowers are Silk Roses in Red and Ivory.
I have a Bouquet Holder. A White handle with a round oasis held in a kind of plastic cage.

I plan on something similar to the picture below but obviously my Flowers are smaller buds.
I don't want to put the flowers in and find they are too long and have to take them out again (Ruining the oasis) Or cut them too short and find i end up with a teeny-weeny bundle of Flowers.

Any advice on how to make a start on this will be gladly recieved.

I'm more nervous about making this bouquet than the actual Wedding LOL.

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/mitchymoomoo/wedding/rosesnfeathers.jpg

[Kfancii]

Mitch,

They will need to be various lengths to get the look of the bouquet in your picture. When I make a cascade bouquet like yours, for the cascade I always wire and tape my flowers, much like I was making a corsage, then take the extra wire stem and hook it around the plastic bouquet holder so that the cascade doesn't fall out. Using an oasis holder for silk flowers without a pick machine, the flower stems don't have anything to catch on to, so if you have an opportunity to buy a hand held pick machine I would. This is what I am talking about:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Hand-Held-Steel-Pick-Machine-Floral-Stemmer-WITH-PICKS_W0QQitemZ260233319937QQcmdZViewItem?_trksid= p3286.m20.l1116

I realize that this auction is in the US and you are not, but perhaps you could find something similar in the UK. This machine crimps steel picks on the end of the stem that has a jagged edge on them, keeping the flowers stuck in the foam much more securely.

Now, back to the original question- for your center flowers, I would cut them to stick out no more than 4 inches, so cut at 4.5 inches so that you have a half inch to stick into the foam. Then, build your bouquet out from the center and adjust the length accordingly so that you get a nice shape to the bouquet.

Let me know if that doesn't make sense and I will try to explain better.

ETA - if you do purchase a pick machine, be VERY careful with the picks as they are extremely sharp and will cut you very easily.

[mitch]

Kelly you're a Gem and if you was nearer i'd hug you. :hug:

Your post made perfect sense. I was worried about leaving them too long, putting them in the Oasis then having to take them out again to shorten making a right pigs ear of it.

OK, i'm calm about attempting this now. The Flowers themselves don't need to be wired and taped, they are already on sturdy wired stems that just need cutting to length.

Now i can start this with eyes wide open instead of getting into a bit of a tizzy wondering where to begin.

Thanks again. *Air-kisses*

[Kfancii]

Kelly you're a Gem and if you was nearer i'd hug you. :hug:

OK, i'm calm about attempting this now. The Flowers themselves don't need to be wired and taped, they are already on sturdy wired stems that just need cutting to length.

Thanks again. *Air-kisses*

I'm glad I was able to help. :D I understand that your flowers are on sturdy wired stems, but you might consider taking the flowers that you are using for the cascade part off of those stems and wiring them much like you would for a corsage. The reason I suggest this is that the long stems hanging down tend to be heavy and pull out of the foam easily. When I wired the part that hangs down, I leave enough of the wire on them as a tail to lace through the plastic part of the bouquet holder. Then I know those flowers are not going to fall out as the bride walks down the aisle. The rest of the flowers should be just fine on the wire stems that they come on.

[mitch]

Good thinking Batgirl. What would i do without you?

Oh yeah, i'd have a half empty bouquet by the time i got to the Front of the Registry Office. :rofl:

[mitch]

Here's a picture of the Bouquet Holder. I think the "cage" is slightly different to how i read yours to be.

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/mitchymoomoo/wedding/bouquetholder.jpg

[Kfancii]

Here's a picture of the Bouquet Holder. I think the "cage" is slightly different to how i read yours to be.

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/mitchymoomoo/wedding/bouquetholder.jpg

Those are a little different than what I have used here. Is the Oasis the dry foam or is that the wet foam? If it is the wet foam, try to find yourself some with the dry because the wet will not hold up near as well for you.

http://www.marlowfloral.com/ProductImages/supplies/0716_3.jpg (http://www.monstermarketplace.com/storeReferral.asp?StoreID=570&ProductID=471&productName=0716++Standard+Holder+With+Oasis+Flora l+Foam++%2A%2APrice+Per+Dozen%2A%2A&pageType=6&virtualUrl=%7E%2Findex%2Easp%3FPageAction%3DVIEWPR OD%26ProdID%3D471)

These are the ones that I have used before, but they have the white hard styrofoam in them instead of the regular wet foam.

[mitch]

That pic was only a guide and not my actual holder. But i asked the seller what i would need for Silk Flowers and she suggested Dry. So that's what i bought.

[Aleta]

Just wanted to say, this is going to be a gorgeous bouquet!

[mitch]

Just wanted to say, this is going to be a gorgeous bouquet!

Oh i dunno about that :bbeek:

I Made it up last night and it looks NOTHING like the Picture.

FH reckons it looks BETTER than the Picture and said he was well impressed with my take on it.

Shhh but i think he got a bit emotional when he saw the Flowers.
But don't tell him i told you. :winktongue:

I've just got a few finishing touches to do to give it a bit of "Length". Then i'll get a Picture on here.

I've decided to shorten the actual Flower part from the Cascade. And add some Long Grass instead of Flowers at the bottom.
Because i've now got a Red Wedding Dress that shimmers. Instead of my Original Black Wedding Dress which was a Matt Material. I've decided to show a bit more Dress instead.

I started it at Stupid O'Clock last Night and kept holding it infront of a Mirror and moving stuff about. I started to get a bit annoyed in the end.
But when i got up this morning and took One Look. I thought it's not so bad.

[Aleta]

I can't wait to see a picture of your bouquet! I saw the picture of your red dress and the bouquet is going to look great with it.

[mitch]

I can't wait to see a picture of your bouquet! I saw the picture of your red dress and the bouquet is going to look great with it.

Here it is Aleta against my Red Dress.
I'm still not sure about it. I think it's a bit Big but FH loves it as it is.

I have put a post up under DIY Bouquet "Finally Made It"

I did say it ended up NOTHING like the Original :rofl:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/mitchymoomoo/wedding/DSC03741.jpg

[Aleta]

It's beautiful! *sigh* Makes me wish I had gone with those colors now. I absolutely love it!