yellow mum boutonniere
Shaping the wire armature for your wedding boutonnieres is a little tricky at first, but using a thick dowel rod or a marker pen (like shown below) is the key to getting all your armatures the same approximate size and shape.
Slide the finished wire coils carefully off the end of the marker.
The upper coils have to be large enough around for a flower head to slip down into.
You will be gently pulling the coils apart, but you want to be careful to maintain the rounded shape when doing so.
It's not really difficult to make this boutonniere - but you do have to be careful not to pull too hard or the coils will bend out of shape.
First use your wire cutters or needle nose pliers to cut and twist the cut end into a tight curl.
Re-snip the ends if necessary to get a clean cut.
Gently begin to pull the coils apart, maintaining an even spacing between each of the loops.
Try to keep all your armatures consistent, making each of the approximately the same length and look.
I usually make a boutonniere flower more flexible by wiring the stem. This floral technique is used on many different varieties of flowers.
The wire will allow me to gently shape the flower head and bend it forward if I need to without accidentally snapping the flower head off the stem. Don't get too aggressive, however, or you will find yourself having to wire another flower!
I insert the florist wire up into the base of the flower. There is a wiring technique where you can push it up completely through the flower center, pulling the wire and hook back down into the bloom, burying the hook in the flower center.
For this boutonniere, however, I didn't want to chance marring the boutonniere flower center - so I simply pushed the wire deep into the flower head before taping down the stem.
Floral tape stretches and is slightly tacky, thus adhering to itself as you pull it down the flower stem. Be sure to cover the wire completely, concealing all the mechanics of the flower design.
When finished, I have a strong, bendable stem, yet it is completely concealed by the green flower tape.
Now that the flower is wired and taped, making the boutonniere stem stronger, I shape it gently with my fingers, bending the flower head forward.
