DIY Victorian Wedding: The Blushing Blue Bride Boutonnieres and Bridesmaid Bouquets

The true DIY-er wants to dip their hands in every aspect of a project. When it comes to the flowers used in your Victorian wedding, there's no reason you shouldn't. Want a set of boutonnieres and bridesmaid bouquets that match the Blushing Blue Bride Wedding Bouquet? Your wish is my command ... and it's easily done.

In this article, we're going to cover the design of Victorian boutonnieres and bridesmaid bouquets. From start to finish, using the "extras" from the wedding bouquet you've already created, you can whip up a series of these beauties with very little work. And they're pretty enough that most of your bridal party will treasure them as keepsakes from your wedding.

DIY Victorian Bridesmaid Bouquet Instructions

This article assumes that you've already completed the Blushing Blue Bride Wedding Bouquet, or a Victorian bridal bouquet of your choice. You will be using remnants and left-overs from that bouquet to create the bridesmaid bouquets.

If your bridal bouquet design differs greatly from the Blushing Blue one, you may need to do a little extra work making the groups of flowers fall using floral tape or floral wire according to your bridal bouquet design.

The Victorian Bridesmaid Bouquet is simple and sweet, embellished just enough to make it special but will not overpower the beauty of the bride's bouquet.

Materials & Tools:

• 1 Spray Small Light or "Victorian" Blue Roses (approximately 5 roses on 1 stem)

• Several Small Sprays (around 50 individual flowers) Forget-Me-Nots

• 2.5" Wide White Satin Ribbon (wired is preferred)

• 1/8" Wide Light Blue Grosgrain Ribbon

• Self-sealing floral tape

• Floral or Wire Cutters

• Scissors

Instructions:

For this Victorian Bridesmaid Bouquet, simplicity is beauty. It is all in the little things that make the finished piece such a stunning compliment to the bride's bouquet, and its soft colors look beautiful against white Victorian backdrops.

Step One: First, try playing around with your bridesmaid bouquet. Arrange the flowers in different ways, altering heights and angles until you have a look that pleases you. These bouquets will feature a small wrist loop, so make sure that you are focusing on a "front" and "back" look. In the bouquet photographed, the forget-me-nots swarm around the sides and behind the light blue roses.

Step Two: Once you have an arrangement that you like, hold on to it or lay it very carefully aside. Now, cut a length of blue grosgrain ribbon that is approximately 6" long. Pull out a small length of the floral tape and secure each end of the grosgrain ribbon to the sticky side of the tape. Finally, starting at the top of your bridal bouquet, start wrapping the tape in a spiral down the length of your flower stems (aim for right at 2 ½" long). Trim the ends of your flower stems so that they are even and just barely pass the floral tape - or, for a very clean look, cover the ends completely with the tape. Refer to the 2^nd photo attached to this article.

Step Three: Looking quite pretty, but not exactly the stunner we're going for. It's time for some ribbon.

First, cut a length of white ribbon about one foot long (if in doubt, cut too long rather than too short). Using the cut white ribbon as your ruler, trim two pieces of blue grosgrain ribbon to the same length; temporarily attach each of the blue ribbons a fingers-width in from the sides of the white ribbon using tape.

Tie a bow around the tape-wrapped stems of your Victorian Bridesmaid Bouquet. Make sure that the first "tightening" of the ribbon is extremely snug. Double-knot, then create a large bow. Remove the tape at the ends of the ribbons and allow them to hang loose.

To finish the bow - and the bouquet - off, make sure that the bow itself is at the back of the arrangement, with the wrist loop centered between the sides of the bow.

And with that, you have an absolutely stunning, petite Victorian Bridesmaid Bouquet ready for slipping over the wrists of your favorite ladies in the world. Refer to the 3^rd photo attached to this article.

DIY Victorian Boutonniere Instructions

This article assumes that you've already completed the Blushing Blue Bride Wedding Bouquet, or a Victorian bridal bouquet of your choice. You will be using remnants and left-overs from that bouquet to create the boutonnieres.

Victorian Boutonnieres are very simple, an elegant splash of color against what is usually a black background. The trick behind a great boutonniere is finding that perfect balance where floral is sophisticated yet masculine. The Blushing Blue Victorian Boutonniere catches that balance perfectly and can be pulled together in minutes.

Materials & Tools:

• 1 Small Dark Blue Rose

• Two Rose Leaves (about the same size as the dark blue rose)

• 1 twirled stem (found with silk flowers, often used in potpourri mixtures)

• 1 White Pearl Corsage Pin

• Self-sealing floral tape

• Floral or Wire Cutters

• Scissors

Instructions:

Once again, the beauty of this Victorian wedding piece is in its simplicity. It holds just enough color to really show off against the traditional black tux, but it's not so bright that it screams for attention.

Step One: Usually, I recommend playing around with your arrangement before settling on the final look. With this boutonniere, though, there really isn't a lot to play around with. Lay the twirled stem down on your work surface. Just to the right of the stem, lay down the dark blue rose. Now, lay the leaves down so that they "hug" the stem and the rose. Refer to the 4^th photo attached to this article.

Step Two: Starting at the top with the floral tape, wrap the pieces carefully together. This can be tricky if the stems of any piece are short; if this is the case, I definitely recommend a pair of tweezers to help you hold things in place. Trim, if necessary, so that the total length of the combined stems are not more than 2 inches. Cover the ends completely with floral tape. If desired, tie a short length of the blue grosgrain ribbon at the top of the boutonniere, just below the flowers.

To finish this little (masculine) beauty off, push a white pearl corsage pin through the floral tape. This will be the pin used to attach the boutonniere on your groom's and his best mens' jackets. Gorgeous, and they'll never even complain. Refer to the 5^th photo attached to this article.