DIY Wedding flowers with victory blooms

A few weeks ago Megan from Victory Blooms came over to my house to share her process in creating a bridal bouquet (you can see my bouquets here!). I thought a step-by-step tutorial would be helpful for brides-to-be on a budget or anyone that is curious about what goes into creating a gorgeous bouquet. Megan keeps things effortlessly gorgeous with this loose, hand tied bouquet.For this arrangement you will need:- japanese ranunculus- garden roses- micro spray rose- hellebore- peony buds- queen ann’s lace- rice flower- passifloraStep one: prep your flowers. You will want to remove almost all of the leaves leaving only pretty ones at the top of a few of the stems. You will also want to remove any bruised, torn or wilted petals. And, if working with roses be sure to snap off any thorns by placing your thumb at the base of the thorn and pressing it to the side. The thorns should break right off. Once your flower is prepped cut the bottom of the stem at an angle and place it in water until you are ready to assemble your bouquet.Step two: build up the center of your bouquet with face or focal flowers. Here Megan began with japanese ranunculus and garden roses. It’s always a good idea to follow a rule of thirds with your arrangements. Clustering three face flowers together helps to create a soft, less structured look. Another way to achieve the just picked from the garden look is to play with scale and texture. Choose lots of different flowers, berries and greens to create a natural bouquet.Step three: start building out around your face flowers with your textural and scale elements. To this bouquet Megan added micro spray rose, hellebore, peony buds, queen ann’s lace, rice flower and passiflora.Step four: even out the stems by clipping them all to the same length.Step five: loop a rubber band around a sturdy stem, wrap the band around the bunch and loop again. This secures the bouquet without making it too tight and bunching your flowers together too closely.Lovely, no?Step six: select a pretty ribbon. We’re loving silk at the moment. No fancy bows are needed. To keep this soft, natural look, opt for a simple knot and lots of bare stems. For an afternoon wedding short to medium tails are perfect and go all out for evening with a couple of feet of flowing silk tails. This will create lots of drama and elegance.Victory Blooms is a Metro Atlanta event florist that creates organically structured, romantic arrangements which incorporate whimsical elements and vintage touches, drawing inspiration from the ethereal beauty of flora and floral still lifes. Come check out Victory Blooms in person at a Mother’s Day pop-up shop located outside Sun In My Belly opening at 9am Sunday May, 11th! photos by Lesley W Graham for Annette Joseph