Whether or not you are planning your wedding on a budget, DIY touches like a handmade calla lily boutonniere will make your day more uniquely you. Follow the steps outlined below to make your own DIY calla lily boutonnieres for the groom, father of the bride and groom, and/ or the groomsmen.
Make a DIY Calla Lily Boutonniere Step 1: Gather Your Supplies
There are a few things you should have on hand before you begin the process of making your DIY calla lily boutonniere. For each calla lily boutonniere, you will need:
• One white calla lily
• A few small pearl beads
• Floral wire
• Floral tape
• A safety pin
• A little bit of cotton
• Scissors
Make a DIY Calla Lily Boutonniere Step 2: Cut the Calla Lily
To begin, you will need to cut off the stalk or stem of your calla lily. Then use your scissors to cut off the bottom part of the calla lily that connects to the stem, about one-quarter to one-half inch above where the stem was, depending upon the size of the flower. You should have only the calla lily blossom, the top white part with only a little bit of green. Pull out the yellow center of the flower, or spathe.
Make a DIY Calla Lily Boutonniere Step 3: Insert the Wire
To give your calla lily boutonniere shape, insert a piece of floral wire about five or six inches long into the bottom of the yellow spathe. Bend the two sides of the floral wire so that they are pointing down, away from the spathe, in the shape of long, thin U.
Make a DIY Calla Lily Boutonniere Step 4: Preservation
In order to keep your calla lily boutonniere fresh for the better part of the day, you will need to add a bit of moisture. Take your cotton and wrap it thinly around the bottom half-inch or so of the spathe, then wet the cotton with water. Wrap floral tape around the cotton so that it is completely covered.
Make a DIY Calla Lily Boutonniere Step 5: Recreate the Calla Lily
Now, take the white part of the calla lily flower and wrap it around your prepared spathe as if you were recreating the original blossom. When it looks just right, insert another piece of 5- or 6-inch piece of floral wire horizontally through both the flower and the spathe to reconnect them so that it runs perpendicular to the blossom. Again, pull both sides of the floral wire down so that it creates another long U shape. Then, again, thinly wrap cotton around the bottom of the flower, wet it, and cover the cotton by wrapping it with floral tape as you did around the spathe.
Make a DIY Calla Lily Boutonniere Step 6: Attach the Safety Pin
Now that you’ve got a healthy blossom prepared with water and ready to go, you need to attach a way to attach it to the lucky guy who gets to wear your DIY calla lily boutonniere. Do this by holding the back of the safety pin to the top of the floral tape at the back of the flower and securing it in place by wrapping it with copper wire.
You will need about 12 inches of copper wire. Wrap it around the back of the safety pin (not the moveable part of the pin that must be free to latch and unlatch to the pin head) and completely encircle the bottom of the calla lily, wrapping it around about a dozen times.
Make a DIY Calla Lily Boutonniere Step 7: Decorate
On the extra inches of copper wire from the safety pin attachment, thread a few pearl beads near the top, then wrap the copper wire around itself at the base to keep the beads in place. Then continue to wrap the copper wire down the two U-shaped floral wire pieces until you get to the end, thread another pearl bead and secure it in place by balling the ends of the copper wire tightly together so that no pointy edges of copper wire or floral wire stick out.
Make a DIY Calla Lily Boutonniere Step 8: Adjust
You’re done! Now you have only to bend the wire wrapped stem into a pretty shape and present to your lucky guy!
Sources
Flower Arrangement Advisor
JR Roses: DIY Boutonnieres
The Knot: Boutonniere Gallery
