How-to Make a Wedding Corsage

Why spend the extra money to get everyone of your wedding party a corsage when you could make them in a cinch for much less. You can make them with silk flowers and have a lasting piece of wedding memorabilia, instead of a shriveled up real flower that needs to be tossed in a week. Making these well in advance to your wedding will save you time, aggravation, and especially money.

What you need

You will need a few materials to make these simple projects. Purchase silk flowers that are the size and colors that you would like to use. Decide whether you would like some baby's breath or other smaller flowers also and purchase accordingly. Make sure you buy enough for everyone and then a few extras in case you have some last-minute responses for bride's maids or the like. It's better to be safe than sorry.

You will also need some floral tape, wire cutters, pearl head hair pins, and the size and color ribbons you would like to use for the decoration of the corsage. It works best if you will purchase a ¼" wide organza ribbon and a complementary color satin 1/8" wide ribbon. The contrast of materials makes the corsages look more elegant than just two solid color ribbons. But the preference is yours.

How to make them

Using wire cutters, snip off two blooms (or one bloom and a bunch of smaller flowers) about 4" from the bottom of the bud. Arrange the severed stems together in the presentation you would like the finished corsage; for example, you can place two equal sized flowers together with the petals touching, or a bunch of smaller flowers behind a bigger flower. Be sure to keep some of the leaves at the top of each bloom for a prettier presentation.

Next take the satin ribbon and make three or four loops to the length that best suits your front arrangement of blooms. Attach them to the stem with floral tape. You can repeat this on the other side of the buds if you would like more ribbon, or just attach it in the center for less ribbon. With each item you attach you should wrap floral tape down the length of the stem wire and back up. This will create layers that will give your finished corsage added stability.

To finish, be sure the floral tape is bond tightly and consistently, and cut off about an inch off the end; this evens out the look and gives you a crisp end. Tie a bow of ¼" wide organza ribbon to the base of the corsage, just below the flower buds. The stem will be hidden somewhat by the ribbon. Use one or two pearl head hair pins to affix the corsage to clothing. Press the pin into the floral tape stem and weave into clothing and back out through the floral tape. You can use one pin at the top and one at the base to secure it best, or weave it up through the base of the stem.