DIY Minimal Wreath

With the holiday season in full swing and Christmas fast approaching, decking out my house in all things festive is definitely on my mind. This project actually wound up killing two birds with one stone; I had been holding on to my dried wedding bouquet for sentimental reasons, but it took up so much space, and I didn't really have anywhere to display/store it. I debated what to do with it for a few weeks after we moved, since I really didn't want to throw it away! Finally, I carefully disassembled and sorted the parts of the bouquet and used it to create a wreath that added a nice decor element to our home, and could remind me of my beautiful bouquet. So, if you, too, are racking your brains for something to do with your giant wedding bouquet, or just want to learn how to make a pretty wreath, read on!


You will need:

01. Scissors

02. 12 gauge wire

03. Florist's wire

04. Wire cutters

05. Pliers

06. Your chosen greens and flowers

07. A long piece of ribbon (optional for hanging)


First, I carefully took apart the bouquet, taking it from this...



...to this. I had a lot of greens, like all that gorgeous eucalyptus, and a few pops of color that I wanted to incorporate (By the way, can we all just take a second admire the amazing work my friend did on this bouquet?! So good.). I also wanted to find a way to use the gray ribbon.


Then I used the wire to create a large circle, about fourteen inches in diameter. I used a large bowl to get the rough shape. I left a little extra so I could wrap it as shown in the photo.


After that, I began to add in elements of greenery. I began with the larger pieces that I wanted to be on the bottom, and fastened them to the wire frame with the florist's wire. Make sure to start where you wrapped the wire to secure the circle, so that it's covered.

Then I layered on the other pieces. I did a little experimenting to get the placement I wanted, then secured it on top of the other pieces. It was about this point that I realized how brittle some of the dried pieces were, and I hot-glued some of the bits down to add extra staying power. If you are working with fresh greens and flowers, this won't be a big problem. I wound up completely gluing the roses on at the end, because everything was so fragile at that point!




I finished up by tying the ribbon around the top for hanging purposes. And voila! I had a beautiful wreath that not only made a beautiful addition to my home, but also could remind me of my wedding every time I looked at it!



Be sure and let me know if you try your hand at wreath-making! I'm also thinking about making a couple more "Christmas-y" ones in different styles, so look out for those posts in the coming weeks!