Behind the Scenes - Making a Burgundy and Blush Pink Bridal Bouquet

One of my favourite colour combinations at the moment is burgundy, blush pink, cream, deep greens, with a touch of soft lilac. As an opportunity to use these colours together, I made a bridal bouquet and here’s a behind the scenes look at the process I went through to create it.

The flowers I used: deep red roses, blush pink lisianthus, cream spray roses, forest green vibernum and pistach foliage, memory lane roses, claret spray carnations and soft lilac spray roses.

Once I’ve sourced all the flowers I’d like to use, I lay all the flowers and foliage out. It’s important to prepare all the stems before I begin putting the flowers together so I remove all the thorns, and also take off the leaves below the tie point of the bouquet. I’ve got a thorn removing contraption that’s saved my hands from sharp thorns on many occasions. Working with flowers, I’ve discovered that the most beautiful roses have the sharpest thorns! I love using foliage. In particular, roses have beautifully shaped leaves so I tend to keep lots of rose leaves on because they add depth and another colour dimension to the bouquet.

Now it’s the fun part and time to put all the flowers and foliage together. I begin by holding one main focal flower in my left hand, resting the stem between my thumb and forefinger. Thinking about texture, the shape I want to achieve and the colours that work well when side by side, I then build the bouquet up one stem at a time. To keep the flowers open and in a natural looking shape, it’s important to create a spiral shape with the bare stems.

Creating a spiral shape with the stems also makes life easier when I want to adjust flowers, move them slightly or pull them in or out of the bouquet. Once all the flowers and foliage I want to use are in the bouquet, I’ll go over to a mirror and look at the bouquet from a different perspective. I hold the bouquet in front of me in the way the bride would. This helps me decide if the balance and shape of the bouquet looks right. I pull flowers down into the bouquet to draw the eye in and I also extend some stems outwards so the bouquet has interesting lines and natural looking details. When I’m happy with the shape and design of the wedding bouquet, I cut a piece of twine and tie the stems tightly. I also wrap a piece of tape where the twine is tied so the stems are extra secure. Then it’s time to decoratively tie on the ribbon. I love to leave lots of the stems showing and have a trailing ribbon because it looks so timeless and romantic.

Guard petals are the name for petals round the outside of the flower that protect the inner petals from the weather and any knocks and nudges. To dress the bouquet, I take off the guard petals that look particularly rugged. I do like to keep some on because they tend to have a beautiful dark tone that the other petals on the flower don’t have. I also trim off any leaves that have been nibbled or torn to make sure the bouquet looks gorgeous from every angle.

All of these flowers and colours together create a romantic baroque look. I pulled the deep claret coloured roses into the foliage of the bouquet to add an extra touch of depth. Some of the lisianthus buds draw the eye out to the right while the soft pink lisianthus flowers add a scattering of light across the bouquet. I’m always a fan of a wild and natural bridal bouquet because it almost looks as though the flowers are growing naturally together the way they would in nature. I’m glad the belief that pink and red clash together has recently gone out the window, because in my opinion they’re the perfect harmonious match.

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