My Wedding Bouquet

As you know, I've been trying to style my wedding bouquet, which, wasn't working for me. Flowers didn't look right, it needed depth, I don't like it... I even came to the point where I was going to sell my flowers to the highest bidder and buy a bouquet from the supermarket! But, I didn't have the right perspective. I still dont, which is why my dear sister-in-law Lana stayed up until 2 in the morning with me trying to create that lasting memory of a bouquet.

And here it is! Isn't it beautiful? I'll take you step by step through all the things in this bouquet that make it a part of me. It's beauty is enough to look at, but there's always a story behind what you see.

My felt flowers, which you've seen the tutorial for. They've all been hand embroidered by yours truly. My wedding colors, and a tribute to my late Grandmother Mary who made her living by creating things out of wool.

And then there are Janes contributions. She found the idea for this blue flower online. It is made from the left over lining from the bridesmaids dresses, cut into circles with slits in them, and the edges are melted over a candle. Then they are stacked until the flower is large enough to suit whoever is making it, and it is then sewn down through the center with a button, or, as pictured, 3 small pearl beads.

Here is the second of Janes ideas. I'm not sure how she made it, but it is a tulle poof. If I can convince her to make more, she will be starring in my next tutorial! But for now I just get to enjoy the delicate beauty of...tulle.

When I was told I needed to add depth to my bouquet, I never thought it would mean both the physical appearance and the story behind it. My wonderful man brought me home from California last October. It was only 1 week after my 19th birthday, and I came home with a duffle bag half filled with clothes. I had nothing. But, in my very tiny room, he left me a present. A beautiful bouquet. As soon as they were out of their prime for live flowers, I dried them. Unfortunately most of the flowers were too delicate and fell apart once they were dry, but two things survived, baby's breath, and 10 roses.

A lace doilie. This is part of Janes herritage for sure. When I first arrived, I started immediatly picking up on her southern womans wisdom. The first thing she told me was that "a woman is nothing but a simple cotton thread. But the thread twists, it weaves together, and the harder you work at it, the more beautiful it becomes." That was when I decided that I just had to have a doilie in my bouquet. I looked in antique shops and thrift shops, but I never found "the one." When Jane found out that I wanted one, she imparted with me a gift. The last doilie she made. It's beautiful vintage colors, and charm, coupled with its history made it an essential part of the bouquet. Thank you Jane.

I just have to say, isn't this bouquet handle cool? Lana's mother found it online, and sent it my way. I love silver, and this will match the embroidery/beading on my gown, and the silver in my veil.

And here are my final facets. Sam is wearing a small bird pin on his lapel for the wedding. And, symbolically, or some other such nonsense, I decided that I needed a bird too! So we could be two love birds meeting at the end of the aisle. And here, also, is my white lace daisy. Sewn on the only pure white flower of any of the bouquets. This, along with the one on my veil, and the one on my gown, is one of the daisies from my Grandmother Viola's wedding veil.

So, here it is. My bouquet is complete. Thanks to two very wonderful women in my life, and thanks to Sam, my life is complete too.