How To Make A Hand-tied Bridal Bouquet

Materials You Will Need: a vase 5 yards of 1-1/2" or wider ribbon sharp gardening pruners a metal twist-tie two-dozen South American Roses In this lesson we are using a mustard rose with burnt orange tips called 'fashion.' This rose can be purchased at romanticflowers.com. The roses that you purchase should be conditioned properly before you begin. Please refer to romanticflowers.com for instructions on conditioning your roses.
Step 1 You will use one hand to hold the bouquet and the other hand to "arrange" the bouquet. Build the bouquet with one rose at a time, keeping all the flower heads on the same plane. In this lesson we are using the "cinch-point method" to join the flowers together.	Step 2 The "cinch-point" is the area where all the roses are carefully layered atop one another.
Step 3 Each rose is added to the bouquet an angle. After a rose is added,	Step 4 the bouquet is turned a few degrees to create a twisted effect.
Step 5 The "cinch-point" usually lies immediately under the leaves that are left on the roses. For a loose bouquet, keep more leaves on the stems. For a tight bouquet, take off more leaves to create a higher "cinch-point."	Step 6 Use your free hand to wrap a twist-tie around the "cinch-point." I got this extra large twist tie from a bunch of parsley that I bought at the grocery store. You can also find twist ties at romanticflowers.com.
Step 7 Use your free hand to wrap a twist-tie around the "cinch-point." I got this extra large twist tie from a bunch of parsley that I bought at the grocery store. You can also find twist ties at romanticflowers.com.	Step 8 Putting the ribbon wrap on is the fun part. A wide ribbon of 1-1/2 inches or more is the best for hand-tied bouquets. Here we are using a double-faced satin ribbon from romanticflowers.com. The color is called 'seafoam.'
Step 9 Begin at the top by wrapping the ribbon around the stem at a 45 degree angle. Be sure to leave enough length at the top to tie a bow.	Step 10 When you reach the bottom, begin to wrap upwards at a 45 degree angle. Double wrapping the stems ensures that the stems will not show through.
Step 11 Wrap to the top...	Step 12 and finish by tying the loose ends together in a shoestring bow.
Step 13 Make the streaming ends of the bow as long as you please. Here we have chosen to make them fairly short.	Step 14 If the stems are sticking out after you have wrapped them, cut them to the bottom of the ribbon.
Step 15 The loose look of a hand-tied bouquet is gorgeous! Take a minute to feel proud of your creation!	If you are going to store the bouquet without water overnight, you must refrigerate it. If doing so, wrap the sides in tissue and stand the bouquet upright in a vase. Mist the top occasionally with fresh water. Make sure there is no fruit in the refrigerator. The ethylene gases from fruit are harmful to flowers. The approximate time for this project is 15 minutes.