To Wire or Not to Wire

[Flame]

Ta Tracey...now I understand. I do not think they have those ' cowees' down here as I have never heard or seem them before. Sounds very interesting how you guys tend to do things differently. To me floristry is amazing as no matter how long you have been a florist and no matter how much you know...there are always new tricks or things to create.

 

[Victoria]

Flame, how long have you been in the floral industry in Australia? And how did you get into it?

In reading your posts about products we have in Canada and the U.S., I'm surprised to learn that Cowee and other of our products haven't gone more international... especially since most of the stuff is made in China!

It's interesting to learn no matter how similar many things in the industry are, there are just as many that are very different.


V

 

[DistinctiveFlorist]

Rick,
I saw the technique that you are referring to at a design show several years ago and agree that it is much more comfortable for the bride to carry. Have you come up with a great ways for the bride to be able to display her bouquet at the reception when using this technique? Around here most of the brides like to have their bouquet displayed and I haven't been able to come up with any ideas that I love.

Wanda

 

[Flame]

Victoria...I have been in it for 6 1/2 years. It is a family business so I do all the ordering and manage the business myself with the help of my 5 girls. So no...unfortunately I have not seen the cowees in the florist accessories stores and Australia tends to get everything last.... but the funny thing is....we are on the same par as Europeans and probably yourself when it comes to design....which thankfully is wonderful!

 

[Tracy D'Amico]

Flame - THIS is the website for WJ Cowee - thought you'd like an image of what we're talking about.

tracy

 

[RWK]

Rick,
I saw the technique that you are referring to at a design show several years ago and agree that it is much more comfortable for the bride to carry. Have you come up with a great ways for the bride to be able to display her bouquet at the reception when using this technique? Around here most of the brides like to have their bouquet displayed and I haven't been able to come up with any ideas that I love.

Wanda

Yes - I use a base similar to the attached illustration: It consists of a plywood base, varied lengths of pvc wrapped in ribbon to match the wedding colors, and for bouquet handles positioned horizontally, an additional pvc part called a T-joint

You glue the pvc lengths to the wood base - cover the base with greens and/ or flowers to match the wedding flowers/ colors - position the T-joint on top the pvc sections and insert the handle through - If you are concerned that the bouquet may slip back forward through the hole - have a wire noose at the back of the base with a wire loop to catch onto the handle and to hold it securely - You can attach the noose to the wood base or just under the T-joint - which is where I usually place the wire noose if needed.


[EDIT: If you are using the handle vertically, just leave off the t-joint and drop the handles into the top of the pipes - If they are handtied - just use a larger diameter pipe and drop the stems down the top of the pipe - Is you glue this well enough and make it watertight - then you can fill the pipes with water to hold the handtieds. EDIT]

 

[Joe Mioux]

btw,

If you have to make a really long cascade tail, you can wire the tail and leave the ends of the wire open a bit.

Attach the tail by inserting the taped wires completely through the bouquet holder and then bend back the wire on to the cage.

This is a sure fire guaranteed fool-proofed way to make sure the cascade tail will not fall out.

Joe

 

[Victoria]

btw,

If you have to make a really long cascade tail, you can wire the tail and leave the ends of the wire open a bit.

Attach the tail by inserting the taped wires completely through the bouquet holder and then bend back the wire on to the cage.

This is a sure fire guaranteed fool-proofed way to make sure the cascade tail will not fall out.

Joe

Joe, that's how I have done it in the past. It works great.

V

 

[Gracie]

I'm reviving this thread because I have to make a huge teardrop-shaped bouquet at the end of October. The bride brought in a photo -- it must be 18" wide by 30" long, and has about 30 roses in it. (Yes, we're getting really big bucks to do this one.) The bouquet in the photo reminded me more of a standing spray than a bouquet!

I have no problem with the cascade part, which will be mostly wired and taped. No problem with the focal point in the bouquet holder. But are there any tips on getting the width?

There will be some roses at the furthest point out from the sides. Obviously, to maintain their position they can't be wired, but I have doubts that there's enough foam in the holder to keep the stems secure, even with cowee picks.

Hmmm ... as I'm writing this, I'm thinking -- maybe some kind of armature, secured to the holder and hidden behind the foliage, on which I can tie the roses just below the calyx?

 

[shannonlovesflowers]

my suggestion is you need to experiment before making this woman's bridal bouquet. don't wait until the last minute and try to figure it out then.

I REALLY really don't mean to be hateful, but I must ask this:
Why would anyone take an order for something they don't know how to do? I just do not understand that.

She is paying you big bucks as you put it. The big bucks she is paying you should insure her that you know fully how to create her bridal bouquet.

Now with all that said, without seeing the pic, I can't help you. but my first thought is you will need to wire and tape the whole thing. And it's gonna weigh 5,000 pounds.
Hope that bride has a good arm!

Second thought is you need to get a few of the new gala bouquet holders and experiment. The big ones may be just big enough.

post a pic, and we will see what we can figure out for you.

 

[Gracie]

Sorry, haven't figured out how to post pics yet.

I will experiment prior to making the final one. I will search out the largest holders possible.

I have warned the bride about the weight. She doesn't care -- said that if she needs to, she'll put it on a walker and take it down the aisle. She wants a showstopper, something people will talk about (but in a very traditional format).

As for why I took this order: I have full confidence that our head designer can do this, with her 30+ years of experience in South Africa, England and Canada. I briefly consulted with her before I accepted the bride's desposit. If I have problems, she will either assist or take over. I simply wanted to see if others here had some helpful ideas. I have found that sometimes methods & techniques are presented here that even she has not heard about.

I'm still toying with the armature idea. Not only would it give the extension and support needed, but it might better distribute the weight.

 

[CHERYL BAKIN]

Gracie:
Yes, you could use an armature for the width.

You could also wire & tape it.

You could also stem the roses with a corsage stem, and tape several together, just as in making a cascading tail, and insert into each side. This would also help to get your weight out of the bouquet.

Agree with Shannon, you need a big bouquet holder!! This thing will be HUGE!!!!

Good luck!
Cheryl

 

[Tracy D'Amico]

You can also use several BHO's fastened together to make one oversized holder. When I've made oversized cascades in the past, I used hyacinth stakes with a few flowers wired & taped to them to get the right "spread" in a design. I felt they were more secure than natural stems, and less likely to break ... with such a large spread, you might want to double them. Just a thought.

If you can make a traditional teardrop cascade, you can master this giant teardrop cascade - same mechanics on a much grander scale. Think about the weight / balance of those long stems, and how to counteract it.

Think it through and post pics!

Good luck!

 

[CHR]

Years ago, I remember a designer winning a competition by making a huge bouquet in an Oasis Floracage. The bride held the handle like a skillet in her right hand and her left hand was placed under the cage for additional support. (Hope she spent a lot of time in the gym to build up the muscles to hold it.)

The side roses would only need to extent out about 6" to get your 18" width, but I don't think 30 roses will be enough to complete the design in the overall size indicated.

HTH

 

[Gracie]

That's what I'm talking about! Those kind of ideas. Thanks, people.

I had considered the double bouquet holder, if I have trouble getting a single one large enough. And, there isn't just roses in this bouquet, but the other floral materials are much lighter and more flexible. The roses were the most problematic, I thought.

Just a little word about our head designer: Her knowledge base is formidable (but no one knows everything), and her mechanics are rock solid. She can spy a microscopic spot on a petal from 50', and no one dares send out anything with a broken fern tip. But she needs, as we all do, new ideas to stimulate (although she absolutely rejected the concept of gluing corsages, after experimenting, when I showed her your posts on them). And she's just of that type who would never consider getting on the internet, let alone a forum such as this. So, that's one of my roles.

 

[theflowersmith]

I agree with Cathy. You won't have to worry much about the width. I have made some huge bouquets in the past. We once secured three BHOs together and it worked fine although it was very heavy! The floracage is a great idea--that will work, too.

I am also concerned about only 30 roses. Are you using ivy or any greens?

 

[RWK]

Sounds like this bride is wanting something similar to what Lady Diana carried when she married Prince Charles.

I tried to find a large picture of the bouquet through google image search, but this was the best I could find.

I am almost sure that I remember reading quite a while back that the bouquet was completely hand wired.

 

[Gracie]

That's very close, Rick. Maybe a little wider at the top, for a more distinct teardrop shape. Floral colours are going to be reds and lime greens. Luckily for us she doesn't care, other than the red roses, what the other flowers are going to be.