Glamour This!

official blog of Sucre + Confetti

21
Jul
2010

DIY : Brooch Bridal Bouquet

categories: DIY = Design it Yourself, Real Parties

Hi!  I am so happy to be guest blogging for Kelly. I am Judy with Fancy Pants Weddings.  I have a blog focused on Northern California Weddings.  But there is a lot of general advice you can use for any and all weddings.  So trip the light fantastic on over and take a look (but read my guest blog first).

I love brooch bridal bouquets.  If I were getting married now I would so carry one of these beauties down the aisle.  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.

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 yards 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.

Grasp the wire you used to pleat the ribbon at both cut ends.  Twist the wire together.

Run a bead of hot glue down the rough edges of both ends of the ribbon.  Press the glued ends together to form a seam.

Wrap the stem of the bouquet with the eight inches of ribbon you placed to the side.

Place the bouquet handle through the ribbon collar. And glue in place.

Wrap the seam of where the bouquet collar meets the handle in velvet ribbon.  Finish with a small bow and the gem headed pins.

The finished aisle worthy bouquet!

 

Another version of the brooch bouquet with fresh flowers included throughout the arrangement.

Brooch bouquet collared with fresh flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

37 Comments on DIY : Brooch Bridal Bouquet

  1. Lilian
    July 21, 2010 at 11:21 (1039 days ago)

    That is fabulous.
    I’ve seen those brooch bouquets before and I love them. But I still love the old fashioned flower bouquets as well. So I am thinking about incorporating both somehow…
    Thanks for sharing this step by step.

    ~lilian~

    Reply
    • Judy/FancyPantsWeddings
      August 10, 2010 at 23:36 (1019 days ago)

      Hi Lillian- The last two pictures on the post also have fresh flowers mixed in with the brooches. I loved the way they turned out.

      Reply
  2. M and C
    July 21, 2010 at 12:12 (1039 days ago)

    I LOVE this!!! It would also look great in a home in place of fresh flowers in the winter. Really dress up a space.

    Reply
    • Judy/FancyPantsWeddings
      August 10, 2010 at 23:37 (1019 days ago)

      I have this bouquet in a pretty vase in my office. It is such a cute a different touch in the decor.

      Reply
  3. Jody
    July 22, 2010 at 11:27 (1038 days ago)

    This is really cool! I want to make one!

    Reply
    • Judy/FancyPantsWeddings
      August 10, 2010 at 23:39 (1019 days ago)

      It is a fun way to display jewelry maybe you would never wear but you still love. So sparkly!

      Reply
  5. Jessica
    July 30, 2010 at 18:58 (1030 days ago)

    This is an awesome idea… I have seen these once before. Thanks for the step by step instructions since I have decided this is what I am doing for my wedding!!! Love it

    Reply
    • Judy/FancyPantsWeddings
      August 10, 2010 at 23:38 (1019 days ago)

      Good Luck with your bouquet and Send me a picture when it is done. I would love to see it!

      Reply
      • jessica
        September 22, 2010 at 19:57 (976 days ago)

        i certainly will send a pic. i pretty well have all brooches now i just have to trial and error it!

        Reply
  6. Sofia Baker
    October 1, 2010 at 05:22 (967 days ago)

    i really like Fresh Flowers because they are very beautiful “”~

    Reply
  7. Amp Accessories 
    October 18, 2010 at 12:27 (950 days ago)

    i love the smell of fresh flowers, they can really make my day so beautiful~-:

    Reply
  8. Lunch Bags ·
    November 8, 2010 at 05:31 (929 days ago)

    i kind of like the smell of fresh flowers specially those fragrang ones ;;

    Reply
  9. van
    January 22, 2011 at 19:17 (854 days ago)

    Absolutely AMAZING!!!! The best version of instructions i have found :) )

    Thank you sooooooo MUCH!!!!!!

    Reply
  10. Megan
    April 4, 2011 at 10:01 (782 days ago)

    I have been in love with brooch bouquets since I realized how much real flowers cost! I love DIY projects, and my bouquet is one of my big endeavors, and I think this may be exactly what I do! Time to start collecting brooches! :) I bet flea markets and garage sales would be a great way to get your hands on some cheap ones too!

    Reply
  11. LittleDee
    April 21, 2011 at 22:13 (765 days ago)

    I am so happy I stumbled upon this! The step-by-step, clear instructions are fantastic, and of course the bouquets are simply, undoubtedly, FABULOUS! Thanks for sharing, I will be making one!♥

    Reply
  12. Johanna
    May 30, 2011 at 08:07 (726 days ago)

    Perfect for my wedding!!! I’m thinking about making one for my civil marriage and then reusing and combining some of it with real flowers for the church marrige. Thank you sooooooo much!

    Reply
  13. Emily
    June 4, 2011 at 05:57 (721 days ago)

    Hello! I recently came across the new brooch bouquets and I absolutely love them!!! By just looking and watching youtube videos, I believe I understand how to make them, but I do have one question. I want to add real flowers combined with the brooches, and for some reason I can’t wrap my brain around a way to do that. Do you possibly have a way to do that?

    Thanks a bunch!
    ~Emily

    Reply
  14. Harley
    June 7, 2011 at 22:22 (718 days ago)

    Can you tell me what type of flowers are used in the first bouquet shown with Fresh Flowers :)

    Reply
  15. John
    June 18, 2011 at 17:31 (707 days ago)

    This is such a beautiful post! So much so that we would like to feature it on our similar post about DIY Wedding Bouquets would that be ok? Please let me know.

    Reply
  16. Noelle
    July 12, 2011 at 07:45 (683 days ago)

    I have the same question as Emily, how did you put in the real flowers? i LOVE this tutorial thank you so much! i look forward to your reply as to how to do this. this would combine what i love!

    thanks!
    Noelle

    Reply
  18. bethany
    August 16, 2011 at 15:37 (648 days ago)

    Hi!
    Before my wedding this summer, I was researching bouquets like this, and came across your how-to, which I used as part of my inspiration for my bouquet. I tried a variation of this, with a base of fake flowers covered with heirloom brooches, crocheted flowers made by my sister-in-law, lace flowers from some re-purposed hair clips, hat-pins, and more. My bouquet was mainly purple, and then we made 5 smaller green, white, and cream bouquets for my bridesmaids. Oh, and a mini one for my cake-topper. I loved it! As did the bridesmaids, who kept theirs as keep-sakes. I can’t figure out how to post any photos, though.

    Reply
  19. Mercedes
    August 19, 2011 at 14:31 (645 days ago)

    I love the instructions in words, but I’d love to see the pictures too

    Reply
    • Kelly | Glamour This!
      August 19, 2011 at 22:16 (645 days ago)

      There are step by step pictures. So I don’t understand what more you would like to see.

      Reply
  20. make handmade
    September 26, 2011 at 01:17 (608 days ago)

    Great tutorial. Love it, thanks for sharing

    Reply
  22. scarlot
    February 12, 2012 at 05:14 (468 days ago)

    Your step by step instructions are wonderful! I am going to give it a try for my daughter’s wedding. She loves it! I would like to incorporate fresh flowers in it but was wondering if you do this the day before the wedding and complete the bouquet or should I get the fresh flowers preserved first and then mix them among the brooches. Also could you tell me the approximate size of the bouquet when finished. My daughter is petite and I don’t want it to be too large. Thank you so much for your time.
    Scarlot and daughter Tara Leigh

    Reply
    • Kelly | Glamour This!
      February 13, 2012 at 16:01 (467 days ago)

      Unfotunrately, I didn’t right the post… it was a guest post. But as for fresh flowers, you can find many tips online. All I know is that you need to store them in a fridge (with no food) before you assemble them. And yes you can do it 1 day prior to the wedding.

      Reply
  23. Wandering Louise
    February 13, 2012 at 17:54 (467 days ago)

    So sweet… and even more sweet of you to share your creative idea. Now we can share with our tribe. You’ll be on our blog!

    Reply
  24. Jewelry Rage
    June 21, 2012 at 10:35 (338 days ago)

    Wow this is amazing. Your step by step instructions makes it really easy to follow. Great post!

    Reply
  25. Merry
    December 10, 2012 at 00:17 (167 days ago)

    These are fantastic. I have a couple of friends getting married soon, who’d really love this idea! I’m going to share your page with them. Thank you! xo

    Reply

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  3. Vintage Jeweled Brooch Bouquets | capecountryweddings.com
    October 6, 2011 at 09:09 (597 days ago)

    [...] and Photos: www.kinsereventcompany.blogspot.com      How to make your own brooch bouquets:    http://blushink.com/diy-brooch-bridal-bouquet/        Photo:  Theknot.com               Did you enjoy this article? Share [...]

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