Silk Flower Ideas and Tips for Wedding
With these EASY Silk Flower ideas for wedding, you'll see how you CAN make your own simple, yet elegant, wedding flower centerpiece and reception table arrangements with silk flower stems. There are also tips on making silk flower bundles and drop-ins, which you can create and store well in advance of the big day. You can even use them to make a bridal bouquet or throw bouquet for yourself.
Of course, the silk flower arrangement ideas you find here can apply to any celebration - Engagement, Anniversary, Bridal Shower, Baby Shower, Mother's Day, Birthday - for which you want to make your own floral decorations.
How to Make a Simple Silk Wedding Flower Arrangement
I know this example is very obvious, but it is important because it happens to be in stride with the latest floral design trend (2005) in which floral arrangements exhibit a classic, fresh-cut garden look.
To make your own trendy silk wedding flower arrangement in it's simplest form, all you need is 7 to 12 silk flower stems of one variety, all of the same color, to place in a plain, clear glass or plastic vase.
Try to buy stems with large blossoms and some leaves, as in the pink Dutch Tulip arrangement (15 inch height) at top, left. Notice how the attached, large leaves fill the vase and serve as a backdrop to enhance the colorful blossoms.
The red Dutch Tulip floral centerpiece at bottom left shows a slight variation in which the leaves and blossoms lean outward and are spread more apart. See the effect which only a small change can have?
Either way, in minutes you have created a quick, easy and elegant silk wedding flower centerpiece!
If you don't want to make your own wedding flower decorations, there are fabulous Ready-Made (also called Pre-Made) artificial and silk flower arrangement displays now available that are truly amazing. Pictures on this page are examples of pre-made artistry.
Ideas for Silk Wedding Flower Arrangement Variations
If the thought of ten to twelve of the same simple silk wedding flower design sounds uninspiring, why not create variations in pairs containing six stems each? (Buying by the dozen, or as boxed, usually qualifies for wholesale silk flower pricing.)
For example, with a dozen pink Tulips you could make 2 arrangements with 6 stems each. With a dozen white roses you could make 2 arrangements with 6 stems each, and so on with a dozen purple Ranunculus, etc. Add some silk greenery to fill out the designs. Display them in classy glass containers - you could have a different vase style for each flower variety.
Spread these throughout the reception hall, and the overall effect is pleasing, refined and unified. If you want to spice things up by combining a few flower varieties and colors, visit this easy guide to color combination ideas.
Monochromatic Can Be Classy
A single color (monochromatic) floral display can be very interesting with a combination of different shapes and sizes to entice and delight the eye.
Here is a classy suggestion for a silk wedding flower table arrangement. It's a medium-sized (about 13 inches high) combination of white or cream flowers - a mix of small and large blossomed flowers, with some sprigs of greenery - in a low glass container.
This one has large Lilies, a central stem of Hydrangea (snowball), and a stem of Queen Anne's Lace (top right). You could substitute Lily of the Valley instead.
This is Elegance! Don't you agree? Could you make something like this? Of course you could!
Make a Low Silk Wedding Flower Table Arrangement
How can you make a low reception table arrangement? If you answered, 'one way is to just cut the stems shorter', you are right!
Here is a small (but cute!) display of pink rose blossoms, with the green stems trimmed to about 3 inches long. It measures about 5x5 inches, but makes a lovely little table accent.
For a fuller bouquet with a bit more height, add a few more stems, use a larger round glass bowl, trim stem length to about 6 inches (blossoms add about 2 inches beyond this, so total length would be 8 inches) and insert at angles, with the blossoms resting over the rim of the bowl. Before trimming, be sure to measure stems so they will touch the bottom of the vase when in position.
This ready-made water garden design measures about 8 inches high. Notice how the stems crisscross within the glass bowl, providing visual interest and giving an impression that this is an 'arrangement'.
Make Your Own Water Garden Table Arrangement
The picture examples above are pre-made Water Garden arrangements, from Aldik's artificial flower product line. Buying a ready-made silk flower arrangement or pre-made water garden display will save you time, but will be more costly than if you make it yourself. The 'water' is actually an acrylic solution which dries clear and rock-hard (commonly called Illusion Water).
Yes, you can buy Illusion Water kits and do it yourself. I'm sure you realize that you will be making a permanent floral design - the silk flowers and vase will be forever joined together with the acrylic. Be sure to follow instructions carefully, and be aware that the process may be influenced by the atmospheric conditions where you live. So allow for extra drying time, and be patient.
But here is a short-term display option: while most artificial silk flower stems are not manufactured to be displayed in water in a clear container for long periods, you could probably do so for an evening without negative results. This is suggested for plastic stems only, not for stems that are hand-wrapped with floral tape. The drawback here is that stems are not secured in place, and will likely shift or even fall out if not handled carefully.
TIP: To overcome this, try crisscrossing a few strips of clear cellophane tape across the neck of the glass vase, leaving small openings between the strips. Slip silk flower stems into the openings. (Add water before stem placement.)
Or, instead of water, another idea would be to surround the stems with clear or colored glass rocks or pebbles - quite a nice effect in a plain plastic or glass vase. One advantage is that they can help to keep the stems in position.
Making Your Own Silk Wedding Flower Drop-ins or Bundles
A Bundle or Drop-in is a group of loose stems tied together with a short length of twine, raffia or ribbon. It can consist of a single flower variety or a coordinated selection of flowers and foliage, or even just foliage and branches.
They are available pre-assembled by the manufacturer, although it's certainly easy enough to make your own drop-ins.
In the pre-made Narcissus bundle (15 inches high) pictured here, notice how blossom heights vary, and that one leaf on each side was folded downward to embrace the stems - a neat artistic touch! Wouldn't this be a nice hand-tied wedding bouquet for you?
Stem ends usually meet evenly across the bottom. For bundles of pleasing girth, I suggest grouping no less than 8 silk flower stems. Wrap raffia, twine, or ribbon around the stems several times to your liking, then tie with a knot or small 'shoelace' bow. After tying, trim the tail ends very close to the knot.
TIP: If the stems are on the thin side, try slipping a slim, green-colored tapered wax candle to hide in their midst to increase the circumference. (Cut candle as needed so it won't be visible at top or bottom of bundle.)
Get Creative With a Silk Wedding Flower Centerpiece
Go ahead - mix flower varieties, experiment with uneven quantities, such as 3 Rose stems and 5 Ranunculus stems. If using one type of flower you can use mixed colors, such as 3 pink, 3 cream and 2 red Roses. Be sure to include a bit of artificial foliage to help colorful blossoms stand out.
For tall displays, such as the 36 inch tropical silk flower drop-in shown in picture at left, you can use larger mixed floral and foliage elements, but fewer stems. These can be displayed in clear or opaque containers.
Wouldn't this look great in that glazed porcelain bamboo vase shown alongside? This would certainly make an impressive and unique silk wedding flower arrangement!
Remember that different kinds of containers will influence the character of a floral display - short, tall, brassy, classy, shiny, dull. Choosing one is part of the art, so be sure to give some thought to this important design aspect.
So, you see, you can make your own silk wedding flower bundles way ahead of time, store them, and be all set to 'drop-in' to a container when ready.
Also, based on the ideas presented here, you could make an easy - yet stylish - silk wedding bouquet, in the hand-wrapped, hand-tied, or arm bouquet style.
Visit this article for advice and pictures of bridal bouquet styles and popular wedding flowers used in bouquets and floral arrangements for ceremony and reception.
Making silk wedding flower decorations yourself doesn't get much easier than this - go ahead, give it a try!
Feeling creative? Here is a link to photo-illustrated, step-by-step instructions for how to make a simple, classy silk flower centerpiece in FIVE easy steps!
About the Author
Silk Flower Arrangement Expert for Wedding