So you’ve decided to DIY your wedding flowers (yay – you’re going to do great!). Your blooms need a bit of tender loving care once they arrive, follow these easy steps and you’ll be on your way!
First off, it’s time for some expectation management – take a deep breath, don’t fret, and relax – you totally got this!!
- When your flowers arrive, they’ll look thirsty and tired – that’s totally normal – they’ve been on a journey, and just need some time to recuperate and they’ll be back in action!
- Not every bud will be perfect. I follow the 5% rule, meaning that out of 100 stems, 5 stems may break while unpacking, look a little too mushed, etc. Don’t let this stress you out! It’s totally normal and to be expected when dealing with fresh/live products.
- One more thing to note…your flowers are shipped super fresh, so fresh that they haven’t fully opened up – don’t fret…over the next few days they’ll open up to their full expression!
So now you’re ready…you’ve got some good tunes on, you’ve got your crew, and you’ve got snacks. It’s now time to get down to business.
Step 1: Count & Confirm
- Count the bunches as you are pulling them out of the box. Get in contact with us right away if anything is awry.
- If you ordered roses, note that they are packed in two layers to ensure protection during shipping. From the top angle, it will appear that you only have 12 rose stems in the bunch; however, below this layer, there is a second layer containing the remaining 13 roses (yes, we threw in a bonus one because we’re sweet like that)
Step 2: Snip
- Give everything a fresh cut (about 1 inch off), at an angle, with your snips (scissors don’t work well).
Step 3: Remove Foliage
- Some flowers will have lots of foliage on the stem, remove any that falls below the waterline of your containers. When removing foliage, be very careful and gentle to not damage the stem.
- Removing any foliage that falls below the waterline will help prevent the growth of mold or bacteria which could cause premature wilting.
Step 4: Hydrate
- Hydrating your flowers is the most important, super key, integral, non-negotiated step (am I articulating the importance well enough?). If you don’t have time to do steps 2 and 3, jump right to step 4 and then re-convene later to do the earlier steps. Trust me, your flowers will thank you.
- Allow flowers at least 4 hours to hydrate before you start arranging. Make sure everything has elbow room – no crowding. Periodically check the water levels, flowers drink a lot of water when they first arrive and the water may need to be refilled
- If you ordered roses, leave them in their cardboard packaging while they hydrate.
If you ordered roses, you’ll need to do step 5 – if not, you’re done. Easy peasy…now onto the fun part, arranging!!!
Step 5: Remove the guard petals
- We ship our roses with guard petals intact to protect the roses while traveling. These petals might cause the rose to look distorted, discolored, and/or bruised.
- You may need to remove up to 8 guard petals per rose (carefully pinch them off) to reveal the pristine quality rose bloom!
xoxo
Sarah
Credit:
Photography by https://jenniferrapkinsphotography.ca/
Florals by https://www.youfloral.ca/
