Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
Tying the knot and loosening those curls
- 18 September 2012
- click to send Christine a smile
My article and the second do-it-yourself wedding design project featured in the autumn issue of
DIY Weddings Magazine
While planning a wedding, most couples will have inspiration and pin boards full of ideas they absolutely love. It is often overwhelming, even paralyzing to choose which ones to keep, and which ideas to let go. Decisions are even harder when choosing between seemingly conflicting designs. They are all beautiful, just different. If that is not confusing enough, you also want to personalize your wedding to be uniquely you!
Take heart, there is a way.
Stand back. No, even further. You will notice the designs do have something in common. They have you in common. You are the golden thread that ties the contrasting design ideas. Now look closer, which part of each design attracts you, and to which part of you, does it speak to? The colours? The shapes?
Spend time with each idea and the outcome will form a unit and can be scaled to fit your budget, because you will know exactly which parts inspire you.
This process is personal, no-one can do it for you, but let me show you how I combined and personalized some of the prominent DIY wedding design trends currently seen on inspiration boards:
Design trend 1: Knots and curls
Flower design inspiration does not only come from flowers, look wider and you will find inspiration in unexpected places. I like the twist of wedding hairstyle elements: braiding knots and loose flowing curls. You can see these design elements in both of my designs.
Last week I showed you Design trend 2: Puffs of Gypsophilla and the Tight Round Posy that incorporated both the braiding and the knots.
In this week’s design I will loosen up the curls for Design trend 3: Romantic Roses and a Twilight forest centerpiece
Roses are still the most popular flower choice for weddings.
Using roses in a design is a DIY bride (or groom) staple. They are reliable. You can order the colour you require and know, with the right conditioning, that they will last well and look beautiful.
I love the solid shape and romance of a rose bouquet. At the same time a Twilight inspired forest wedding appeals to me.
My rose centerpiece has soft, flowing lines but the subtle addition of the studded pins makes the design more edgy rather than purely pretty.
Wire and thin grass strands and curls, drapes loosely, like a veil over the design just hinting at an open heart shape.
The strands add inexpensive volume and interest to a straightforward design by mimicking that airy lightness and flow that you get when you design with puffs of Gyp.
To create the slightly overgrown forest floor base layer of the design, healthy green Phalaenopsis roots curl in and around beds of moss and forest green dried hydrangeas.
Revisit your inspiration and pin boards to see which parts of you will be the golden thread that tie the ideas together.
Thank you DIY Wedding Magazine for inviting me to be part of your beautiful autumn issue
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Tutorials
Make a small grass "propeller" by pinning blades of grass into the design
If you use Papier Mache, terracotta or clay or any precious container that might scratch, rust, or discolour or disintegrate when it's in prolonged contact with water it is best...
How to condition Orchids to use as plants in an arrangement without placing the roots in a growth medium
Long blades of thin grass or ripped flax are ideal for stringing decorative beads
Favourite Flowers
Rose
Related Designs
A fragile looking heart made from twigs that can hold a lot of orchids
Place a water tube at an angle in lumber so that the Zantedeschia float just above the base to show off the delicate grass snippets scattered up the stem
