How to make your own wedding boutonniere.  Start with choosing a flower.  Roses are very popular but you can use just about any flower you like.  Next, you need to choose some type of filler to place with the flower.  You can use leaves, grouping of leaves, herbs, eucalyptus or maybe some baby’s breath.  You are also going to need something to bind everything together.  Floral tape works great for this.

First, take your flower and cut the stem to about two inches – just an estimate.  It can be shorter or longer if you choose.  Just make sure it is long enough so you have something to fasten the boutonniere to the lapel.  You do not need to select only one flower.  Many boutonnieres are made with two or more flowers also.  It just depends on what you prefer.  Next, place the filler (greenery or otherwise) behind the flower.  You can also place some of the fill to the side if you like.  Take the floral tape, start at the base of the flower and wrap tightly around the flower and filler.  Be sure to wrap tightly so that the boutonniere will stay together.  Floral tape comes in several colors.  Select which ever one suits you best.

After the boutonniere is fastened, you can add embellishments to it.  These include ribbons or possibly jewels.  Make sure you get a boutonniere pin to fasten it securely to the lapel.

Think about the season, or theme of the wedding when you are choosing the flowers and fillers for your boutonniere.  If you are having a fall wedding, think about incorporating the shades and symbols of autumn into your boutonniere.  Think about orange, red/rust and yellow flowers.  Or how about groupings of acorns or tiny pre-wired pine cone flowers.  Ferns work well as a filler and so do brightly colored ribbons.  Do not forget about the ends of wheat stalks as fillers also.

Having a Christmas wedding?  How about a deep red rose surrounded by some pine greenery with a shimmery Christmas style ribbon.  Or think outside the box with tiny pine cones bundled with cedar sprigs tied with a plaid Christmas ribbon.  Holly with holly berries look great together also.  If you are going for a winter wonderland theme but not strictly Christmas, try Edelweiss flowers and frog berries over dusty-miller leaves finished with a rich white ribbon.  This has a very wintery look while being very sophisticated.

Keep in mind, boutonnieres do not have have to be made of just real flowers and fillers.  If you are looking to save some money, try using artificial flowers, flowers made of ribbons or felt, etc.  Use your imagination when putting your boutonniere together.  But, keep in mind what the rest of the flowers in the wedding are going to be.  You want to keep a consistent theme with the floral arrangements.

Wedding flowers play an imperative part in wedding decorations and create a beautiful and fragrant environment at the time of wedding. Generally, flowers for decoration are picked to matching the flowers of bouquet that the bride carries while walking the aisle. However, one can select  flowers suiting the theme of the wedding or according to one’s personal taste. There is no hard and fast rule of picking flowers, but still one should consider the theme or bride’s bouquet to create symmetry and attractive look of the venue.

While choosing the flowers, keep your personal choices in your mind. If you do not have much information about flowers and decorations then talk to your florist. He may be able to lend you some good ideas about how to combine flowers  in order to make a perfect bunch of flowers for every corner. Ask your florist to show you some samples or pictures so you can see a practical example what he wants to explain. This is how you will get the idea about what kind of flower will be apt for your wedding as per your decoration and budget.

It would be good to talk to florist in advance before you stick to a specific kind of flower for your wedding. Flowers are seasonal and if you are demanding flowers that are not readily available in the season you may still be able to get those flowers but it going to cot you more. If you really need a particular flower which is hard to find,  consult your florist to suggest an alternative  flower in order to create the same style and feel that you wanted for your wedding. However, there are some popular flowers such as roses, lilies, and orchids, that can be found all-year round. One way to compromise for both style and cost is to  select at least two types of seasonal flowers and add in your special order flowers to save on costs.

If you are going for a theme wedding then half of your toil of searching for flowers is reduced. Nowadays, many couples are opting for theme weddings and decorate the venue with the flowers that complement that theme.  For instance, if the beach wedding is your theme, then go for the flowers like orchids, bird of paradise, roses, blue muscari, lavender rose, blue hydrangea, and palm branches. These flowers are ideal due to their capability of staying fresh for longer periods of time in hot and tropical environments.

You can also select flowers and ribbons matching to the color of the bridesmaid’s dresses. This will create a symmetrical and appealing look of the venue. However, at times the venue is decorated according to bride’s bouquet. One can also keep bridesmaids bouquets of the same flowers as the bride’s. Do not get carried away with the flower decorations as other things are also important in the wedding. Before settling for a particular type of flower, look at your budget. It will be extremely helpful for you and your florist if you plan the decorations according to the budget. This helps you both in selecting the suitable decoration to get the best value for your money.

Wedding bouquets can be considered as one of the accessories that go with the wedding gown of the bride. Insignificant of the other floral arrangements at the wedding venue, the shape, size, color and design of the wedding bouquet has to be personally selected by the bride. The wedding bouquet also forms a part of one of the wedding traditions according to which the bride has to throw the bouquet behind her back towards the bachelorettes present at the wedding and whoever of them succeeds to catch, she is said to be the earliest bride in line.

These bouquets can be formal, semiformal, or casual. Mostly, the choice of a wedding bouquet is done according to the color, length and texture of the wedding gown of the bride. However, it can also be selected keeping in mind the theme and decorations of the wedding ceremony. A good rule to follow while picking the bouquet according to the dress is to match it according to the length and flair of the gown. Fuller and long stemmed bouquets look good with elaborated gowns where as, little informal or short wedding dresses match better with smaller and more casual bouquets.

Basically there are four main types of bouquets namely cascade, nosegay, arm sheaf, and flower bracelet. These bouquets differ from each other based on their floral arrangements. The cascade bouquet, popularly called waterfall bouquet, tends to provide a cascading effect in bride’s hand. These bouquets are not perfectly tied up and rather have trails of flowers flowing out from different sides with a rounded bunch of flowers at the top. Such bouquets mostly contain colored flowers like Calla Lilies, Lisianthus, blooms of Roses and Orchids.

Other popular type of bouquet is the nosegay. Nosegay bouquet contains a sparse packing of flowers, where the main significance is on the top arrangement of the bouquet that is the flower petals and the lower part or the stem is generally kept covered through color paper or ribbon. Most popular flowers in this category are Roses, Lilies, Irises, and Tulips.

Arm Sheaf is the third popular category of wedding bouquets. As suggested by its name, this kind of bouquet is rested on one of your arms rather than being held by both the hands. Such bouquets have long stems and are long and versatile. The flowers in such bouquets are compiled with complimentary leaves and other decorative items. Most popular flowers in arm sheaf category are long-stemmed Roses, Delphiniums, Calla Lilies, and Gladiolus.

Another popular type of wedding bouquet includes flower bracelet. More than being a bouquet, it is a bracelet for brides made of flowers, as suggested by its name. These are made through small groupings of colorful flowers and are a good option to pair with short and casual wedding gowns.

Some other common categories of wedding bouquets are fan bouquets, Biedermeier Bouquet, Head Wreath, Basket Bouquets, Pomander Bouquet, etc. Whatever the type of bouquet is, the important thing is to keep a personal touch in it through your favorite colors and flowers.

This article has been written by an expert associated with WeddingMuseum.com, a company providing wedding planning ideas for today’s brides and grooms.

Choosing the right flowers is a central part of your wedding planning. Are you going to carry a graceful cascade or is a small nosegay more your style? What varieties of flowers do you want and what colors do they come in? Will your pale pink peonies work with your gown and your wedding party’s attire? Then you have the pew decorations and the reception venue to think about. All this is difficult enough without the complication of a limited budget.

Don’t worry. Being on a budget does not mean that you have to settle for second best. By making a few economical decisions, you can still get the wedding that you dreamed of.

1. Find a creative friend

Talk to your friends. Maybe one of them has a secret talent and is secretly itching to get hold of some ribbon and floral tape. Perhaps you could explore the internet yourself and try out some of the many DIY bouquet projects; just make sure you learn how to properly place and bind a bouquet to ensure it stays together during the ceremony. Roses are especially useful to the novice floral designer – they can survive more manhandling than other, more delicate flowers.

2. Scale down

Be realistic and cut down on any superfluous flowers. Only decorate the front few pews during the service, reuse the altar pieces on the buffet table and use the aisle flowers as centrepieces at the reception. This may take a little more organization but you will really cut down on flower wastage.

3. The beauty of silk

You don’t even have to have real flowers. Using silk flowers is an affordable alternative, since you can reuse the same bouquet you carried down the aisle as a centrepiece at the bridal table. You can even use it in the wedding photographs taken prior to the big day.

4. Tell your designer

If you want to hire a floral designer but have little money to play with, be sure to tell them straight away. If your designer knows you are on a tight budget they are less likely to try and tempt you into paying an extra $1,000 for those specially imported orchids.

Whether you are going it alone or hiring a designer, there are ways in which you can further reduce your outlay:

• Substitute expensive flowers for similar looking alternatives. For example, Dutch orange tulips can provide the vibrancy of mango calla lilies at seventy per cent of the cost.
• Use cheaper wraps and fillers. Fern provides an attractive yet cost-effective filler, while imported ribbon and silk wires can be replaced by locally sourced alternatives.
• Avoid composite bouquets. The time involved in arranging and gluing petals and buds into a man-made bloom costs money. If you are on a shoestring, simple is better.
• Use flowers that are in season: they will cost less.
• Research the different varieties of your chosen breed. Roses and orchids, for example, come in a wide range of varieties, some more expensive than others.

5. Style is priceless

The following tips cost absolutely nothing but are often neglected. Take stock of these and you will more than make up for what you lack in funding.

• Be sensitive to your reception venue. Don’t block gorgeous window views with huge centerpieces.
• Communicate with your floral designer and be flexible. Having a general theme and colour scheme is better than having a rigid set of prescriptions. You may already have an idea of what you want but a quality floral designer will have experience and good judgement and will tie in your flowers with your gown, your style and preferences and the location of the wedding. For example, they may suggest using accent colours to liven up a monotonous colour scheme.

Plan your flowers early. Not only does this give you more time to try things out, but flower orders can take up to six weeks to travel from the farm to your home.

Hoping these tips will help make your special day a forever memorable one!

About the Author:

Romona Weston lives in Southeastern Pennsylvania in the beautiful Amish countryside of Lancaster County.  She loves to hike, write and organize and has home-schooled for over 20 years. She is a Web Publisher who writes about various subjects. She writes about every sort of Kitchen Islands Carts and rolling kitchen carts. As a researcher rather than a seller, she presents an unbiased view of products. Explore her reviews at www.kitchencarts360.com.  If you are a retailer or manufacturer and would like her to review your product, you can contact her via her website.

A Groom’s Boutonniere — From Classic Styles to Modern Trends

Nothing completes a groom’s outfit quite like a stunning boutonniere on the lapel of his tuxedo jacket. It brings a touch of style and a pop of color to his attire. For the most part, boutonnieres are reserved for weddings, proms and special occasions. They can also be worn at weddings by the best man, the groomsmen, the ring bearers and the couple’s respective fathers.

Boutonniere comes from the French word for buttonhole. In the olden days, gentlemen used to wear a single flower — usually a carnation — in the buttonhole on their lapels on a regular basis. Nowadays, most buttonholes are stitched close; so boutonnieres must be pinned to the lapel instead.

While single flower boutonnieres are still in style, the types of flowers used to create these little masterpieces has grown by leaps and bounds. Long gone is the idea that only carnations and roses are the only suitable choices for a wedding. You can now find a huge selection of flowers, from orchids to hydrangeas to lily of the valley arrangements, and so much more.

Keep in mind that a specific boutonniere style can be selected for various reasons: the type of wedding, the theme, the location, the groom‘s personality, the groom’s attire, the floral selection or the wedding color palette.

Floral boutonnieres are usually created by your florist and he/she can easily help you select a style that suits your wedding. If your budget is tight, you can find a lot of how-to articles and step-by-step videos on how to create one yourself online.

On a side note, there’s a new and fun trend for boutonnieres that steers away from flowers towards non-traditional elements like feathers, fabrics, ribbons, buttons, paper, miniature toys and trinkets. A new crop of boutonniere designers is starting to emerge — selling their handmade products on websites like Etsy.com. We found one particular designer, Fritts Rosenow, that created some fabulously quirky ones. Here’s a picture of some of his designs. http://bit.ly/do6wtw

In the end, it’s a good idea to make your groom’s boutonniere stand out from the rest of the wedding party’s boutonnieres. You wouldn’t want to carry the exact same bouquet as your bridesmaids. For that simple reason, it would probably be nice for your groom’s boutonniere to reflect his own style and be uniquely his. After all, it’s his big day too!

About the Author: Nadine Elliott, freelance writer for WeddingMuseum.com.

What do flowers Symbolize?

Every bride wants to have beautiful flowers for her wedding day. But before you choose what you want, you may want to know what each flower symbolizes. Below is a list of the more popular wedding flowers and what each symbolizes.

About the Author

Matt Campbell is the owner and webmaster of WeddingMuseum.com, an online wedding planning resource.  WeddingMuseum.com features free wedding websites, wedding planning ideas and tools, local vendor listings, wedding song lists and wedding store.

Fresh Leis Symbolism And Uses In A Hawaiian Theme Wedding

In the Hawaiian Islands leis are given as a symbol of love, respect and appreciation. There is no wrong way to incorporate leis in a wedding. Leis can be exchanged between the wedding couple to symbolize their love and commitment to one another. A lei presentation can also be incorporated between the wedding couple and their family to symbolize the joining of not only the couple but the families as well.

The most common incorporation of leis into a wedding is between the wedding couple. Wedding couples often have the wedding officiate hold and bless the leis at the start of the ceremony then the couple adorns each other in a lei as a symbol of their love and commitment to one another. At some Hawaiian weddings the parents of the groom adorn the bride with a lei and the parents of the bride adorn the groom with a lei as a symbol of welcoming them into the family. For couples getting married who already have children a nice way to include the children in the marriage ceremony is to incorporate the wedding couple adorning the children leis to symbolize their love for the children and them uniting as one family.

Leis can also be worn by special family members and the wedding party rather than having them wear corsages and boutonnieres. At some weddings the bride and groom also provide the minister a lei to wear either because the minister is either a close friend, or because they want the minister to be wearing a lei for their photos.

Some brides and grooms also elect to adorn all wedding guests with fresh flower, silk flower, or shell leis to add a full island flair and as a keepsake from the wedding. Having everyone in leis makes for excellent photos and people really seem to get into the aloha spirit and hang loose when they are wearing a lei! If you cannot afford leis for everyone, get as many as you can that will fit into your budget. At your reception reward those who are the first to get on the dance floor with a lei.

About the Author: Kim Crinella resides on the island of Oahu in the state of Hawaii. She is the owner of internet company A Friend in the Islands at alohafriends.com. Her website offers a lot of free resources for creating a Hawaii Theme Wedding anywhere including decorating suggestions, vow suggestions, lei exchange suggestions, sand ceremony suggestions, popular luau recipes, first name translations into Hawaiian, and fun Hawaii theme game suggestions. Her web site offers fresh leis from Hawaii that can be shipped anywhere in the USA and Kim has personally assisted thousands of happy wedding couples around the USA bring a bit of Hawaii to their special day.