The Royal Wedding: Kate’s Bouquet

Posted by Khris in Bouquets + Flowers

Now that Kate and William are officially hitched and the whole world has now seen the gorgeous details, it’s time to start looking for DIY inspiration!

One of my favorite elements from the royal wedding is Kate’s bouquet. The unusual shape, monochromatic color scheme, and choice of flowers makes this a very special bouquet indeed.

From the Official Royal Press Release:

The bouquet is a shield-shaped wired bouquet of myrtle, lily-of-the-valley, sweet William and hyacinth. The bouquet was designed by Shane Connolly and draws on the traditions of flowers of significance for the Royal Family, the Middleton family and on the Language of Flowers.

The flowers’ meanings in the bouquet are:

Lily-of-the-valley – Return of happiness;

Sweet William – Gallantry;

Hyacinth – Constancy of love;

Ivy - Fidelity; marriage; wedded love; friendship; affection;

Myrtle – the emblem of marriage; love.

The bouquet contains stems from a myrtle planted at Osborne House, Isle of Wight, by Queen Victoria in 1845, and a sprig from a plant grown from the myrtle used in The Queen’s wedding bouquet of 1947.

Should you want to DIY this beautiful bouquet, there are some things to be aware of:

• Lily of the Valley is expensive. It retails for about $10.00 per stem.
• White flowers often bruise easily; you’ll need a lot of extra blooms on hand to swap out for any damaged flowers. Florists recommend adding 10% – 20% more flowers than you think you’ll need.
• The stems are all wired which allows them to be bent and manoeuvred into perfect position.
• Many florists and onlookers have mentioned Kate’s bouquet is rather small in proportion to her (and she’s a very slim woman). You may want to scale up if you’re more voluptuous to achieve a more balanced look.

The Deconstruction

Good DIYers that we are, we couldn’t resist deconstructing Kate’s bouquet to see how if it’s a good candidate for a DIYer.

We estimate:

• 60 stems Lily of the Valley
• 5 bunches Sweet William
• 5 stems Hyacinth
• 1 sprig Myrtle
• 3 – 5 sprigs Green Ivy

Cost Breakdown: We priced the florals from from our friends at FiftyFlowers (Note: there is a minimum amount of stems/bunches when buying from an online floral supplier – you’re buying in bulk to get that discount, remember? – even though you may need only 1 bunch or a few stems.)

• 60 stems Lily of the Valley (10 stems/bunch at $99.99 ea x 6 = $599.94)
• 10 bunches Sweet William ($129.99)
• 50 stems Hyacinth ($149.99)
• 10 bunches Myrtle ($139.99)
• 10 bunches Green Ivy ($119.99)

Add in: Floral tape ($4.00), wire (another $4.00), wire clippers ($8.00) and a floral cutters/sheers ($12.00) = $28.00.

Grand total for a DIY copycat Kate bouquet: $1167.90

Before you freak out on me, my pretty princess-to-be, you will have leftover from the Sweet William, Hyacinth, Myrtle, and Ivory stems. This is where buying in bulk pays off because you’ll be able to use the leftovers to use for bridesmaid bouquets, boutonnieres, flower girl hair adornments, decor, or centerpieces.

If a Kate bouquet is all you want, then hiring a florist will be your best (and most economical) bet. If you’re going all-out DIY with your flowers, going in for a bulk buy is still a good option but probably not for micro-budget brides. To make this DIY work for your whole wedding, we recommend bringing in bolder and less expensive white flowers, like Ecuardoran roses, to use a the base/focal point flowers for your maids and centerpieces and add in the other flowers and greenery as accents.

Tune in next week as we show you HOW to make this gorgeous bouquet on a budget.

Annette + Chris

Posted by Khris in Real DIYers

Annette and Chris enlisted the help of their whole family to create this gorgeous and whimsical budget wedding on Annette’s family farm.

Annette + Chris
June 20, 2009
Holden, Missouri

Details

Photographer: Portraits By Lucinda
Hair Stylist: Innovations Salon
Favors and Gifts: Arbor Tree Foundation
Floral Designer: Brides Mom
Reception Venue: Holden Community Center
Invitation Designer: Costco
Dress Store: David’s Bridal
Cake Designer: Grooms Mom
Ceremony Location: Gilcrest Family Farm
Shoes: Hale Bob
Tuxedo and Mens Attire: Men’s Wearhouse

Layout Test

Posted by Khris in Uncategorized

This should split into other pages with layout, images, HTML tags, and other things.

Readability Test

Posted by Khris in Uncategorized

All children, except one, grow up. They soon know that they will grow up, and the way Wendy knew was this. One day when she was two years old she was playing in a garden, and she plucked another flower and ran with it to her mother. I suppose she must have looked rather delightful, for Mrs. Darling put her hand to her heart and cried, “Oh, why can’t you remain like this for ever!”

Images Test

Posted by Khris in Uncategorized

This page presents the following:

1. Image alignment tests
2. Gallery tests
3. Clearing floats

Other tests on images are also presented.