Floral Design

Here is a step-by-step how-to demonstration of floral design. And the important thing is that there are no rules! A few pointers are given though that you can follow, or not. Basically, the only rule to follow is that your design is pleasing to the eye.

Your first step is to choose your flowers. You should think about the texture of your flowers. You can keep it the same, or you can have it be a variety of mixed blooms (large petals, thin and spidery blossoms, delicate floral poufs, robust and strong buds, etc..). Next you should also pay attention to color. Again, you can go monochromatic (all one color) or a variety of colors. Maybe you'll stick to pastels or go for bright and bold. The choice is yours.

You could also design with regional flowers in mind: Caribbean Flowers, African Flowers, etc.. Maybe you're interested in creating an arrangement featuring your favorite flower: lets say Gerbera Daisies. The final word is up to you (and maybe your budget).

Different flowers will be more or less widely available at different points during the year. Stick with seasonal flowers if you want to keep your budget low and your choices more environmentally friendly. In fact, local and seasonal flowers are the most "green" and environmentally responsible decision. Best yet, purchase them fresh from a local farmer's market.

After you've chosen your flowers, here are the steps to create a floral arrangement in a vase of water with no additional florists tools:

1. Start filling your vase with greenery - This will help to hold your arrangement in place


2. Add the structural flowers - This will set the height for your arrangement and this designer states that "odd numbers of flowers are more pleasing to the eye"


3. Add your filler flowers - Be sure to create a round that is equally appealing when viewed from any side: you can alternately go assymetrical however.


4. Add spilling flowers - These droop down over the vase and pull the whole floral arrangement together.

As a last step to keep your flowers fresh for the longest amount of time, remove your flowers from the vase and replenish it with fresh water and flower food. When designing your arrangement, bits of plant and leaves will have fallen in to the water and will cause it to wilt sooner. View this article for more tips on how to keep your cut flowers fresh for longer.

Watch as Phil Rulloda prepares an exquisite floral arrangement using Ecuadorian roses, ginger flowers, aluriums and cymbidium orchids. Learn about how to define the arrangements height and width at the start, along with other floral design tips.

View these videos where floral designer Preston Bailey shows you how to make dramatically large rose centerpieces, comments on his favorite wedding flowers (roses, peonies, cymbidium orchids and hydrangeas), and limiting your use to a single flower for drama.

Finally, view an interview with Preston where he describes how he treats event design: almost like a theatre. He goes for drama and total transformation. Usually, there will be a change midstream to alter the overall appearance of the event. Finally, Preston Bailey is an expert on destination weddings. Get some ideas from his stunning creations.

Today's top floral and event designers give their opinions on how to create a stunning bridal bouquet that you'll be proud of for years to come in your wedding photos. Topics covered are color, the bridesmaid's bouquets, and budgeting.