Hand Tied Bouquets

Creating European hand bouquets

Published 07/30/2011, The Dickinson Press

Internationally known florist Ardith E. Beveridge, director of education at the Institute of Floristry, teaches Ashley Duclun, Dickinson and Tammy Dukart, Dickinson how to do a European hand-tied bouquet at Third Avenue Floral and Greenhouse on Friday morning in Dickinson.

Your floral 4-1-1: What's in for 2011 | MarryMEmagazine.com

For 25 years floral designer Mark Pellon, one of four floral designers at Chapel Hill Floral in Bangor, has given his creative talent to making dream weddings for hundreds of brides and grooms of the region. A Maine Master Floral Designer, Pellon is expert in his craft and stresses that each wedding is a unique reflection of the bride, groom and their special union.

Though each wedding is unique, a palette of color and certain styles create widespread appeal each year.

“The hand-tied Martha Stewart-type arrangements with large mounds of flowers are out,” Pellon says. “Hand-wired and taped -cascades are back in. The dresses of today are morphing with dresses of the 80s, therefore the floral styles of the 80s are back in.  Extra detailing on dresses that are heavily adorned in lace, jewels and beads are back.  We always discuss the dress, because you certainly want a bouquet that compliments and fits the dress.  The bouquet on the front of the dress needs to match what’s happening in the back of the dress with the train.”

Pellon said the vast majority of wedding bouquets are hand-tied, where the flowers are gathered together and the stems are wrapped in wide satin ribbon.

Some brides select forms within which the flowers are placed. Often adorned with beads, brooches, jewel or pearl pins, or crystal or rhinestone picks, the enduring popularity of the style lies in its ability to compliment any theme.

Beach, garden, rustic, natural, feather and fur, berry, and pinecone themes are among the most favorite.

The rose continues to be the most popular and elegant bouquet flower and in Maine, the red rose enjoys tremendous popularity. Lilies, peonies, hydrangeas, tulips and orchids represent the trendier choices for the modern bride.

Arrangements with a just-picked and looser casual look have replaced the more tightly-bound bouquet shapes of previous seasons. Tablescapes that include a variety of media are growing more popular for receptions than singular arrangements.

Vivid flower colors continue in popularity.  Honeysuckle is the primary color set for the year by Pantone Color Institute, whose influence trickles into all aspects of home design and worn and floral fashions.  The dynamic “sassy hot” pink Honeysuckle is encouraging and uplifting.

“Honeysuckle is a captivating, stimulating color that gets the adrenaline going,” explains Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. “Honeysuckle derives its positive qualities from a powerful bond to its mother color red, the most physical, viscerally alive hue in the spectrum.

Hand tied bouquets

Hand tied bouquets

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