Splendid Affairs Bridal Bouquet Philosophy

The bridal bouquet is a tradition in almost every culture on Earth. Year after year, brides walk down the aisle, each carrying a personalised blend of carefully selected and artfully assembled flowers.

Anyone who knows me, know that I simply adore making bridal bouquets. Today, I want to share my philosophy  when it comes to making a bridal bouquet.

Making a bridal bouquet is an artistic skill. You need to know technique, but not allow a technique to dictate the outcome. I listen and feel flowers, and even talk to them. I draw my inspiration from the bride for whom the bouquet is intended. I think about her in her wedding dress and let my imagination flow into my hands.

I select the best quality blooms for the bridal bouquet, and make the bouquet around 5 am on the day of the wedding. I wait for flowers to speak to me. Even using same flowers for different brides will always gives me a different results. When I start making a bouquet, I think of the bride, I remember her smile and how she gets a loved golden hue about her as she speaks of her fiancee and their future together. I think of her jokes, her dreams and other important information she has shared with me during our meetings.

When I am making a bridal bouquet, I let the flowers fall into place, where they need to be for this bride’s bouquet. The flowers know the way the want to bend and blend together, and show their faces at an angle that pleases them.

I love mixing up same coloured but different type of flowers in a bouquet. I love adding texture to bouquets. I play around with the way I tie a bouquet too – I have multitude of different coloured and textured ribbons, lace, rope, accents, broaches and bling accessories. I wait for the completed flower structure before I select embellishments. Sometimes, I simply wrap a bouquet in Dodo (a soft rope type of vine) and that finishes a bouquet better than any ribbon.

The secret is that flowers are a gorgeous medium so it is not very difficult to create beauty, you just have to listen to flowers and let your hands help them fall in the way that is best.

I encourage my brides not to copy bouquets in magazines and books, but rather get inspired in creating a perfect bouquet that is personal and meaningful. After all, as you are walking down the aisle you will not only hold a bunch of flowers, you will be holding memories. A bridal bouquet represents your inner beauty and style as you are starting a new chapter in your life.

When it comes to your bouquet, there are no rules. You can go for whites, creams, pinks greens, purple, red flowers, or a combination.  You can have a long stem, or a short stem, opt for a pomander or an over-arm creation. You can mix up colours and textures and the way you tie your bouquet is again completely up to you!

Yet, your bouquet should suit the style and formality of your wedding and it must work well with your wedding gown.

Bouquets: Splendid Affairs for Custography Workshop

Photography: Custo Photo