Some weddings are held at night, some on the weekends. Some weddings take place at the beach, others in a huge chapel. Each woman wants her wedding to be unique but there’s one thing you’ll see at most any wedding – flowers. Of course you want beautiful flowers at your wedding but you don’t have to be like everyone else and simply carry a bouquet. Carry a basket of flowers instead and you’ll put that touch of individuality in the ceremony. Make a second, smaller basket for the flower girl to carry and add even more classiness to the event.
It’s fun and easy to make flower baskets for a wedding, however, when shopping for flower baskets it can be challenging to find the right colors and styles to coordinate with the rest of the wedding decor. When you make your own baskets, though, you can choose your own basket designs. It’s not necessary to buy the initial basket; you probably already have something at home you can use. If not, there are many inexpensive things you can turn into a gorgeous and unique basket for the wedding flowers.
An old sun bonnet can become a cute basket for the bride in no time. Choose the fabric you want to use – even cover the fabric with lace if you want – then add embellishments. Start by setting the hat, right-side-up, on a table. Lay a large piece of fabric over the hat to completely cover it. The cloth should be much larger than the hat itself so that there will be enough leftover to tuck under the hat. With the fabric lying loose over the hat tie a wide ribbon around it. Position the ribbon so that it is right where the hat itself meets the brim. You can hot glue the ribbon on or tie it in a bow. It’s a much neater look if you first wrap the ribbon around the hat then make a separate bow to attach. The bow will cover where the ends of the ribbon meet.
It will be necessary to create pleats as you fit the fabric to the brim of the hat. To make sure you get the right amount of pleats, and get them evenly spaced, use clothes pins to hold the material in place as you position the pleats. When you have everything the way you want it you can then remove a clothespin at a time to glue the fabric. If you’re using an adhesive which dries slowly use the clothes pins to hold the fabric until dry.
Tuck the excess material into the concave part of the hat. Glue in place. At this time, you can turn the hat over and add whatever embellishments you want. Keep in mind as you’re attaching them that the hat will then be turned upside-down to become a basket. Glue on ribbons, bows, fake jewels, buttons, sequin – or just use fabric glue to outline flower patterns on the fabric. There are lots of different ways to create your own theme.
At a craft store you’ll find a section that offers hardware and handles for making your own purses. Stiff handles, of wood, plastic or similar materials, are perfect for finishing your flower basket. It’s easy to position the handle over the top of the hat basket, then mark the placements for the hardware. Instead of buying a handle you can use a wide piece of pliable plastic or even a section cut from a little girl’s belt. The store bought handles, though, will prevent the basket from swinging. Wind lengths of ribbon around the handle, then let them flow to the ground, or just glue some fake flowers across the handle. Wire real flowers onto the handle or just leave the handles bare.
At many craft stores you can find several sizes of sun bonnets for crafting. Choose a larger one for the bride, a smaller one for the flower girl, and even smaller ones to decorate tables. If you don’t have a sun bonnet you can also use a plastic bowl to make the wedding basket. The bowl should be covered with fabric and the excess tucked neatly inside. Even a fabric-covered plant pot can be used to make a unique and beautiful flower basket. Handles can be store-bought or made from something you already have.
Wedding flower baskets are expensive to purchase; buying your own basket means you’ll have trouble finding colors and patterns that are suitable. Make your own, though, and you’ll have the perfect flower basket for the bride as well as the flower girl. One warning, though: the finished baskets are so beautiful they could take some of the attention away from the bride!
