Florists' Review Magazine® :: Your monthly magazine for operating a successful floral business

design WEDDING

preserved perfection

This posy will keep its pretty pink color long after the wedding day.

For brides who want flowers that will last beyond the wedding but are turned off by the thought of manufactured blooms, preserved flowers are a great option. This lovely bouquet features carnations and Hydrangea florets, both in pretty pastel pink, that will retain their natural-looking colors and shapes. The stems are wired, then hot-glued, into the soft floral foam of a bouquet holder and are accented with a collar of preserved Gardenia leaves. The backsides of the leaves are facing up, giving the collar a lighter shade of green and allowing the natural pattern of each leaf to be more prominent.

A trend-forward pink-, brown- and ivory-striped ribbon covers the handle of the bouquet holder, and a few ribbon streamers are left at the top to casually drape as the bride or bridesmaid walks down the aisle.

MATERIALS: preserved carnations, Hydrangeas and Gardenia leaves from Verdissimo USA; Wedding Belle® Straight-Handle Bouquet Holder, Oasis® Hot-Melt Glue and Oasis® Floral Adhesive from Smithers-Oasis; Tack 2000 spray adhesive from Design Master Color Tool; ribbon from Berwick Offray.

HOW TO 1:
Attach a wire “stem” to each preserved carnation blossom, dip the stem into hot-melt (pan) glue, and arrange the flowers into the bouquet holder. HOW TO 2:
Spray adhesive onto one side of a length of ribbon, and cover the bottom tip of the bouquet holder. Wrap the handle of the bouquet holder with ribbon. HOW TO 3:
Glue preserved Gardenia leaves to the underside of the bouquet holder in overlapping fashion with floral adhesive, facing their reverse sides toward the flowers.

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