Hand-tied bouquet, truly hand-tied?

L

lauragreenflowers

Member
Apr 2, 2011
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Waynesboro
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PA
As my flower shop begins to book more weddings, I am starting to question myself on bridal bouquets.

How can I truly make my hand-tied bouquets more round and full? My July bride came in today to look at a sample bouquet and requests that it be more round/formed/ball shape. Is there a special tool or bouquet holder I should be using, instead of just stripping thorns off my 36 P4030003.jpgroses and wrapping ribbon around, securing with corsage pins?
 
there are holders that are more upright balls with handles that you can get.
then cut the roses short and stick them in the oasis and just cover the plastic handle with cut off rose stems glued to it and ribbon over that.
then you can get the roses down lower and more ball /round shaped.

I know its no longer hand tied but its the more ball look she wants.
 
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I think you'd get a more rounded shape by spiralling the stems. Also, try to get more of the flexible stem flowers (lizi & sweets) to the outside and under the larger, less flexible roses.
 
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maynor bouq.jpegcox maids bouq.jpgGassaway maid.jpg
ben hamou bride 3.JPGaudrey.jpg
You can definitely get a rounder shape to a hand tied bouquet by spiraling the stems more. Often the flowers I use on outer portion of a bouquet will be at nearly 90 degree angle. In addition to using softer stems on the outside of the bouquet, I also will wire and tape harder flowers like roses or carns so I can get the right angle without breaking the stems.

I have never used a bouquet holder! :pblush: All the bouquets shown are 100% hand-tied. I'm not exactly opposed to using one - if a bride wanted something MORE round than these, I would use a holder... but I have not had a bride request one yet!
 
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I believe it just takes practice...and some of the tips others have mentioned. I would avoid using a holder....it adds expense and time to the bouquet. Try practicing on old stems that are going in the garbage until you get it perfected.
 
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yep, spiral is where it is at, also if you use big puffy flowers like hydrangeas they help give you your starting shape that will be more full. I had one today that was peonies, stock, and lisianthus. The lisi had a little too much movement and was hanging too much so a few drops of that new clear Milton Adler floral adhesive on the side of the bloom helped. Also when you are doing a more round bouquet it helps to have a smaller ribbon handle so that the base stems splay out a little. I tell brides they can have more round or open with wider base or much tighter with long straight handle and let them choose. Lately they have been choosing a more open full bouquet. We have never had a bouquet holder leave our shop!
 
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Reflexing is simply a fancy term for opening the rose by hand. The petals get turned back and down. We used to call this the duchess rose. Some of the varieties don't work so well, generally speaking the ones that do open nicely naturally too.

I use ones that have been out of the cooler for at least a day so they won't snap when I start manipulating the petals. Have you ever made a "rolled rose"? You take a petal and basically turn it inside out. The main thing to remember is to be VERY gentle, and to push up on the outside of the petal to assist it in turning outward.

Gosh, does that make any sense at all to you?
 
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You can spiral a bouquet for all your worth, but as soon as you wrap ribbon down a few inches it tightens that all back up again. I make bouquets both ways and offer options to the brides. You can have the added expense of having to use more flowers to make the truly round and fill it out or the extra cost of a holder. I make quite a few bouquets in holders and get a really round look especially with the newer gala holder. I can also get a nice airy look with the holder, can use fewer blooms and use stems layered over the handle to give the hand tie look. I only wire and tape orchids for a hand tie, doing more than that rather defeats the purpose of a hand tie to be able to hold it over in a vase after the wedding.

I can detect the hand tie snobbery the same as some designers refuse to use carnations, I do whatever the customer wants and I give them more choices on the style of the bouquet, can't say I like the look of a hand tie cascade either. In our area the heat and arid conditions are not all that favorable to a hand tie arrangement, especially with hydrangeas. It requires extra care and bother on the part of the brides to maintain the bouquet in the heat, the flowers cannot take up water fast enough to prevent wilting or hold it when it's 105 and 30% humidity.
 
Yes we wrap the stems now but I just haven't used the holders for the "hand-tied" look. So you mean I should glue the stems around the holder instead of just sticking the stems under the holder? It's starting to make sense now!

I am seriously beginning to think my flower shop is in the dark ages. Where do you buy the u-glue dots and dashes?
 
We use different methods to secure the stems to the plastic handle, but we first cut the stems and group together with rubberbands and then slide them uo the plastic handle. The glue is to make sure the bouquet doesn't slide out of the cut stems, then wrap ribbon around the it to finish the handle, looks just like a hand tie if it's done right. The local wholesalers carry the dots.
 
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