Wedding 101: How to design a Brooch Bouquet

We are planning to tie the knot and I simply couldn't resist carrying this down the aisle. This is a repost from fancypantsweddings.com . I can't wait to create my own and post it as a DIY right here on my blog. But for now, here are the steps in creating it.

Brooch bouquets are amazing for so many reasons. Let me count the ways: they are sparkly, they make meaningful keepsakes after the wedding, they are sparkly, you can use jewelry from family members and carry a bit of them with you down the aisle, you make your brooch bouquet well in advance of the wedding, you never have to worry about it not holding up throughout the day and they are sparkly.

Making a brooch bouquet is quite the DIY project! It takes patience and creativity. But it is a worthy endeavor. Especially when you are ready to walk down the aisle carrying a beautiful brooch bouquet of your own making.

How to make a Brooch Bridal Bouquet:

Supplies:

50-85 brooches, large earrings or necklaces (I used 55 pieces. ½ were jewelry pieces from my grandmother and great-grandmother and the other ½ I purchased on clearance at Michael’s)

2 feet 5 inch wide Midori taffeta ribbon in gold

3 yards 3/8 inch wide Midori velvet ribbon in almond

3 yards of clear and gold seed beads strung on wire

Scissors

Wire cutters

Needle nose pliers

Hot glue gun with glue

22-gauge green florist wire

Light green corsage tape

Clear gem topped pins

2 stems of inexpensive artificial hydrangea-light green

Choosing your brooches:

You should consider a few things when choosing the jewelry pieces you are going to include into your brooch bouquet.

1. Colors- Choose at least three but not more than five color families and stick to them. I used shades of green, purple, turquoise and gold pieces with antique gold as my metal accent.

2. Finish- Choose one metal type. I prefer to use either all shades of gold metals or all shades of silver. I think it gives your finished brooch bouquet a more polished look.

3. Size- Pick jewelry pieces in a variety of sizes. It will give your bouquet depth and dimension.

4. Sentimentality- You may want to include a few pieces of jewelry that have special meaning to you. A brooch your grandma always wore, you and your fiancée’s initials or the earrings your mother wore on her wedding day would all be sweet additions.

5. Value- I would not use any jewelry pieces that are worth too much money. The bouquet will be tossed around and set down all day long. It would be terrible to loose a particularly valuable piece of jewelry.

6. Inspiration- If you have a brooch that you love use it to inspire to colors of the entire bouquet.

Step One: Wire and taping

Attach wire to your jewelry pieces. Since each brooch will be different you will need to alter your wiring technique for each piece. For heavier pieces you will want to use a couple of pieces of wire. The wired brooch should not droop when you hold it between two fingers otherwise it will not hold up in the finished bouquet.

Twirl the corsage tape down the wire pulling as you go. The tape sticks best when gently pulled and is overlapping itself. This will take some practice. Be patient and take your time

The wired and taped brooch should be sturdy. The tape finishes the wire, holding multiple wires together and adding some strength

Repeat until all your jewelry pieces are wired and taped.

Step Two: Assemble the brooch bouquet

Hold the hydrangeas in your left hand. Insert your wired and taped jewelry pieces one at a time. The hydrangea acts as a spacer and it fills in any gaps between the jewelry pieces so you cannot see the wires. The hydrangea will be completely covered when you are done with your bouquet. Rotate the bouquet as you insert the brooches while maintaining a pleasing domed shape

After you have added all the wired brooches and have the bouquet in a shape you like, gather all the wire ends tightly together and wrap with the corsage tape to form the handle of the bouquet.

Step 3: Seed bead loops

Make 3-inch loops out of wired seed beads.

Continue looping until you are holding four loops.

Attach a long wire and tape the length. Make a total of four seed bead clusters.

Collar the bottom of the bouquet with the seed bead loops. Tape the wires in place down the handle of the bouquet.

Step Four: Ribbon collar and handle

Cut eight inches of the ribbon and set aside. Grasp the remaining ribbon in two fingers on the end at the edge. Hold the copper wire that runs the length of the ribbon and start pulling the wire, pleating the ribbon as you go. Continue until the entire ribbon is ruffled.