Monday 21 July 2014

A Brooch Bouquet For Your Wedding Day

Wedding Brooch Bouquets are one of the Top 5 Trends for Weddings this year. Brooch Bouquets made from all new Brooches but including family heirlooms are probably the most popular.  



What is a Brooch Bouquet?


A Brooch Bouquets is a Wedding Bouquet made from Brooches / Pins and any type of Jewels, that are all wired together into a desired shape and carried by the bride on her wedding day.


What can be put into a Brooch Bouquet?

Although called Brooch Bouquets, these can be made up from anything from rosary beads, to war medals.  Below is a list of items we have included in Wedding Brooch Bouquets which will give you ideas as to what you might like to include in yours

  • Jewelry of any kind Old and New - Family heirlooms 
  • Medals  - War, Religious, Sports or Charity 
  • Photos - Photos of past or absent family members / family pets / special locations
  • Cremated Ashes - Ashes can now be enclosed in jewel like pieces and included into your bouquet 
  • Fabric - from Mums Wedding Dress / Christening Robes / From Brides own dress / Special location
  • Buttons - from family heirloom clothing / to match Bridal dress / themed bouquets
  • Seashells - for themed weddings 
  • Bottle Caps - Coke / 7Up / Budweiser etc 
The above are just ideas, but anything that means anything to you can be included in your bespoke Bridal Bouquet 


What Shape is a Brooch Bouquet? 

Brooch Bouquets come in all shapes and the shape you choose is entirely up to you.  The Teardrop or posy shape bouquet are probably the most popular at the moment, but Cascade Bouquets are very popular across the pond in the United States. But as these bouquets are all wired, they can be shaped into any desired shape - Hearts, Horseshoes, Diamond Shape, Curved Shape.


Are Brooch Bouquets Heavy?

This really depends on the quantity of Brooches used,  our standard Bridal Posy Brooch Bouquet is made from 30 brooches and would weigh a little over 1 kg, but the larger cascade Brooch Bouquet is made up of about 45 - 50 Brooches and extra beads and weighs about 1.5kg.  For larger than 50 brooches we would advise incorporating some fabric flowers to avoid the bouquet becoming too heavy, the bouquet in this photo below was made up of 70 brooches and weighed over 2kg as the frame of the bouquet had to be reinforced to keep the shape.  However the bride was absolutely thrilled with it. 


Will my Brooch Bouquet Tarnish?

Like all new Jewelry over time your Bouquet will Tarnish, but this will add to the authenticity of it.  Storing your bouquet in a dry dark place will prevent this from happening, but why would you not want to display your beautiful piece of art? 


How do I collect Brooches?

Ask your family for any heirlooms pieces of jewelry they may have.
Shop around in second hand shops, car boot sales, vintage shops & flea markets.  You will be surprised  what type of jewels you can pick up at these.
If you want all new brooches, ask your  friends coming to your Hen Party to each to bring a brooch that reminds them of you and your partner. ( this is a great fun way to build up a collection of brooches) 
Shop all the online sites that have brooches for sale - Ebay, Etsy, Amazon etc.

Where can I get a Brooch Bouquet Made?

Because Brooch Bouquets are growing in popularity more people are learning how to do them.  Do not depend on making it yourself if you have never done it before and dont know how to do it.  Chances are though it will end up costing you double the price and lots of frustrating hours.  You can also purchase a " Do it yourself" Brooch Bouquet Kit which will guide you step by step and include all the materials that you need.
Alternatively you can Google Brooch Bouquet designers, but always check out their recommendations.  Your local flower shop my also be a Brooch Bouquet designer so it is worth check them also. 





How much is a Brooch Bouquet?

Obviously every designer will be different, but all brooch posy Bouquets can range in price from €200 - €400.
It is very important to see the brooches that will be included in your bouquet and to find out how many brooches will be included before comparing prices.  you cannot compare like with like if the brooches are of totally different quality.  As i have said already, check out the designers recommendations.

I would like to learn how to make my own Brooch Bouquet?

There are lots of Youtube videos showing different techniques for making Brooch Wedding Bouquets.  we believe our technique is one of the best as our sytem is designed using professional floristry skills that have been adapted for the complete beginner.  Our unique system can be adapted to make any shape / size bouquet using any materials. we recently designed a wedding bouquet using Lego.



Where can I buy a Brooch Bouquet Kit and what else will I need?

You can order your Brooch Bouquet Kit Directly from our Flower School Website.  Our kit includes everything you will need to create your brooch bouquet including 30 top quality brooches, you will need a small amount of craft glue to finish of the fabric on the handle (postal regulations will not allow us to post glue).  



Check out our Brooch Bouquet Gallery for lots of ideas and styles of Brooch Wedding Bouquets