How To Make A Beautiful Brooch Bouquet

I know this isn't one of my typical posts, but I just had to share this with you all! Several months ago, I was asked if I would consider making a brooch bouquet for a friend of a friend's wedding. I thought, sure! I love new adventures and doing crafty things. It can't be that hard, right?How to Make A Beautiful Brooch Bouquet

I had never heard of a brooch bouquet, but when I searched Pinterest, there were so many gorgeous bouquets! Yet, they just didn't seem to really show you how to make one. So, Ta Da! Here I am to save the day!! ;) It turned out so beautiful!


(FYI...This post may contain affiliate links or sponsored content. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.)

Anna, was great to work with! She provided all of the brooches, some were gifts and some were sentimental, and others she picked up here and there.

My problem was I didn't know where to start. Well, until I figured it out, I started wiring all of the brooches. How to wire Brooches for a bouquet

I used a wire just like this,  Artistic Wire 20-Gauge, Stainless Steel, 15-Yard. It made them very sturdy.
Wired Brooches for Brooch Bouquet

I just wired through most of the brooches. You can't see the silver wire at all. Here I just clumped them together.... I had no idea how I was going to do this.
More Wired Brooches

Then I met with Anna and her mom and we ran through some ideas.  I really wanted this to be what she wanted, she's the bride! A plan formulated and I ran with it!

I purchased a 7.5 inch styrofoam ball. Hubby had a 1 inch PVC pipe on hand that he cut down to about 13 inches. Anna wanted the handle to be around 9-10 inches long.PVC and Styrofoam Ball for Brooch Bouquet

I thought I took more pictures... Ugh! Anyway, let me walk you through to this part. We used a hacksaw and cut off about a third of the ball off. It needs to be sort of a mushroom shape.

Then we used a 1 inch drill bit and drilled in the center about 3 inches. I inserted the pipe to make sure it fit and was the correct length. I used my low heat glue gun and spread glue all around the end of the PVC pipe, and reinserted it into the styrofoam. It was very secure and strong.

Next, I primed the handle with spray paint primer and let it dry.  Now we are ready to start making it pretty!
Spray Painted Handle for Brooch Bouquet

At first, I just put a few here and there, just trying to get a feel for how they would fit together.
Attaching Brooches to make a Brooch Bouquet

It worked well, to put as many flat ones on first.  They were easier to add layers to.  The more it can overlap the more depth you will have to your bouquet. It basically was trial and error.

Once I had them where I was positive they were going to stay, I applied hot glue to the stem and inserted it into the styrofoam.  That insured that the brooch wasn't going to fall out.
More Brooches Added to Brooch Bouquet

Here's some more progress. If a brooch was a bit wobbly, then I would also put a dot of glue and secure it to another brooch. Let me just tell you, this baby was going to be heavy!
Brooch Bouquet In Progress

When the brooches were all attached, I needed to figure out how in the world I was going to finish off underneath and wrap the handle.  I saw photos of beautiful satin ribbon just floating under the brooches.  They looked so professional, I had an idea so...  I just kinda went for it!

I started by cutting lengths of ribbon, folding them over and gluing the ends together. They were the length from the center to the outer edge of the bouquet.
Ribbon Loops for underneath Brooch Bouquet

Using my trusty little glue gun, I put a dot at the edge first, where I wanted the fold to be then at the handle to secure it. Then I just kept overlapping them.  It worked out better than I thought it would! :)
Ribbon Finishing for underneath Brooch Bouquet

As I needed more lengths of ribbon, I stopped gluing them together, because it was getting more difficult to get them to lay flat. I laid the ribbon out, then glued the bottom, folded it over and glued to the handle. I eventually overlapped from where I started.
Finishing Ribbon underneath Brooch Bouquet

This is the only picture I took of the bottom complete. Hubby made a stand that held the bouquet off the ground for display.
Handle Wrapped and ribbons complete for Brooch Bouquet

For the handle, I started at the bottom and just wrapped tightly and glued. At the top, once I covered the edges of the loops, I folded over the end and glued it.  It worked!
Brooch Bouquet Complete

A friend of mine, took this photo at the wedding reception. I love how it sparkles!
Brooch Bouquet Complete on Wedding Day

Here are a few more beautiful photos of the lovely couple and bouquet.
Brooch Bouquet and the beautiful Bride
Photo courtesy of Renee Crabtree Photography

Brooch Bouquet and the beautiful Bride
Photo courtesy of Renee Crabtree Photography

Brooch Bouquet Complete
Photo courtesy of Renee Crabtree Photography

It was such a pleasure to make this bouquet.  If you have any questions, please feel free to email me. See my contact information.

Blessings,
 photo New Lori 100_zps2lw4mgnc.jpg

10 comments

  1. Couldn't help but think of that song from way back in the day. Used to sing with our girls. A Diamond in the Ruff. I think it was from the Psalty collection of kids songs. You outdid yourself Lori. You are His "diamond" in the ruff. Nana

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  2. I love your bouqet! You did a great job. It's so cool to see this trend taking off. I too created my own brooch bouquets along with five bridesmaid bouquets. NEVER again. I wish I would have taken more photos of my process but I didn't think to do it at the time. Your photos are really great and show the process well.

    Here is a link to mine (you don't have to look if you don't want) :)
    http://www.domesticability.com/2012/08/wedding-diy-brooch-bouquets.html

    Also, your dress was gorg!
    Lura
    x

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  3. Haha! Lura, no problem! Thanks so much! I'm glad that it is understandable! I'm a photos gal too :) Thanks so much for stopping by!!

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  4. I have never even heard of a brooch bouquet. What I think makes it so neat is that it won't wither and dry up. She'll have it just like that forever if she wants. Just beautiful!

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  5. This is breathtaking! I love it! Can I have another wedding just so I can have one? LOL!

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  6. Wow, that is stunning. You did a wonderful job Lori. Makes me want to get married again just to have that bouquet. LOL

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  7. Hi Lori, quick question. I see you put in the pipe (handle) first. Where do the wires of your brooches congregate? Is it just all over the place or do they meet at a point. I am about to embark on doing mine and there are so many videos out there showing ways of doing it. I know I definitely want to use the Styrofoam ball and pvc pipe. Just trying to think of how the "steams" would stay in the Styrofoam. I fear that they will fall our if not eventually joined together.

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  8. Approximately how many brooches did you use

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