DIY wedding flowers that never wilt, never brown and never need room in the fridge: that’s the whole idea behind these 17. Fresh blooms are gorgeous for one day, but these keepsake versions can sit on your shelf for years. You’ll find a baby’s breath flower crown, fabric peonies, a flower wand, a daffodil bouquet, a gypsophila bouquet with a matching buttonhole and a spring flower centerpiece. Then come the paper and ribbon blooms: ranunculus, roses two ways, satin ribbon roses, easy and round crepe paper flowers, coffee filter hydrangeas, crepe paper sunflowers, a cupcake liner bouquet, a paper towel rose bouquet and tiny hot glue flowers for the bridal party’s hair clips. Perfect for boho brides, garden parties and anyone with allergies in the wedding party! Planning more? See my outdoor wedding ideas, cheap wedding decorations, Dollar Tree wedding decorations and DIY wedding centerpieces.
1. Baby’s Breath Flower Crown
Baby’s breath gets a bad rap as filler, but give it the whole crown and it suddenly looks like a fairy tale. You only need four or five stems, floral wire and floral tape. Measure the wire around your head, cut it a little long and fold the ends into a clasp. Then snip the tops into mini bundles, about 14 of them, wrap each in tape and attach them from the center out, mirroring both sides. The wire feels flimsy at first (don’t panic), but the flowers and tape firm it right up. If you’re using fresh stems, pop the finished crown in the fridge until it’s time to put it on.
Get the full tutorial at zoewithlove.
2. DIY Fabric Peonies
Fabric peonies are the closest you’ll get to real peonies without paying peony prices in June. They look more realistic than paper or coffee filter versions, and they won’t wilt, droop or brown before the reception ends. Here’s the money saving tip I love: hit the thrift store for pink silk blouses and dresses and cut your petals from those. A step by step video walks you through layering the petals into full, ruffled blooms. Gather them into the bridal bouquet, pin a single bloom on as a boutonniere or cluster a few in a vase on the head table, then keep them for years.
Get the full tutorial at diyjoy.
3. DIY Flower Wand
Skip the petal toss and hand your flower girl a wand she can actually wave! All you need is one big artificial flower, a few ribbons, a thin dowel about 35 cm long and a hot glue gun. Trim the flower stem to about 10 cm, glue a ribbon to the bottom of the dowel, let it set, then spiral it up and glue the top. Glue the flower on and finish with a bunch of long ribbon tails underneath so they flutter as she walks. Keep the dowel thin so it’s light enough for little hands, and pick ribbons that match your colors. Bonus: no petals to sweep up later.
Get the full tutorial at modernwedding.
4. DIY Daffodil Bouquet
Nothing says spring wedding quite like a bouquet of daffodils, and this one uses just 12 stems. Strip the leaves, hold one bloom in the center and add the rest around it in alternating colors, turning as you go so it rounds out. Secure the stems with a rubber band, trim them straight to 6 to 8 inches and wrap them in an 18 inch velvet ribbon finished with pearl head pins. You can make it the day before (keep it upright in a little water in the fridge, ribbon dry). One heads up: daffodils are toxic to cats, so wash your hands after handling them.
Get the full tutorial at crafted-spaces.
5. Gypsophila Bouquet and Buttonhole
A gypsophila bouquet looks like you’re carrying a little cloud down the aisle, and you get a matching buttonhole from the leftovers. Use about 5 to 6 bunches of full, open baby’s breath. Strip every lower leaf first (fiddly, but leftover leaves shrink and make the design fall apart). Then feed each new stem in on top of the last so they spiral into a rounded ball. Tie it with string, not satin ribbon, since satin won’t hold a knot, and trim stems to a hand width and a bit. Cover the tie with ribbon and lace held with pearl pins. Fair warning: your fingernails will turn green.
Get the full tutorial at boho-weddings.
6. Spring Flower Centerpiece
This one looks like it came from a florist, but the formula is easy to follow. Soak floral foam until it drinks up water (let it sink on its own, pushing it under makes air pockets), trim it to fit a small white pot and start with the greenery. Silver dollar and willow eucalyptus go in first, balanced evenly on each side for that long horizontal shape. Then add the big blooms like hydrangea and garden roses or peonies, and finish with tulips or lisianthus to fill the gaps. Don’t fuss over perfection here. Nobody at the reception will notice a stray stem.
Get the full tutorial at zoewithlove.
7. Paper Ranunculus
Ranunculus are a bride favorite right now, and the paper version won’t drop a single petal before the toast. Each bloom starts with a foil ball wrapped in a small green crepe paper circle and set on floral wire. Then you glue on crepe paper petals in four sizes, about 65 in all, smallest first, working outward in layers and saving a few to cover the base. It takes patience, but none of it is hard. Use three or four shades of one color per flower for a realistic blush, and add paper leaves for a bridal bouquet that lasts long after the honeymoon.
Get the full tutorial at DIY JOY.
8. Easy Crepe Paper Flowers
Need a lot of flowers without a lot of fuss? These easy crepe paper flowers are a great starter bloom for a DIY wedding. A 3 by 29 inch strip of crepe paper gets folded, snipped into five pointed petals and stacked with a second color. Then you crumple it around a looped floral wire stem, tie the base with jute twine and wrap it in floral tape. Fluff the petals and you’re done! Mix colors and sizes for bridesmaid bouquets, or fill bud vases all the way down a long table.
Get the full tutorial at DIY JOY.
9. Round Crepe Paper Flowers
These round crepe paper flowers come together in minutes, which matters when you need dozens. Twelve crepe paper rectangles, cut with the grain running along the short side, get stacked in threes, accordion folded and cinched with floral wire. You pull the layers up one at a time, make four of these little clusters, twist them together and trim the whole bloom round. Finish with floral tape or a rolled green paper stem. They look sweet in a toss bouquet or massed in jars on the welcome table, and crepe holds its shape far better than tissue.
Get the full tutorial at DIY JOY.
10. Easy Paper Rose
Roses are the classic wedding flower, and this paper rose needs nothing more than cardstock, PVA glue and scissors. You fold a square into a small triangle, cut a curved edge, then snip away petals so you end up with pieces from seven petals down to one. Each piece is glued into a little cup, the tips curled with a pen, and everything is stacked with hot glue onto a rolled paper stem. Make them in a few sizes for a natural bouquet, or skip the stems and scatter them as place setting toppers. Sharp scissors give the cleanest petals!
Get the full tutorial at DIY JOY.
11. Paper Roses for Beginners
If cutting petals one at a time sounds like torture, these paper roses for beginners are your fix. One long strip of crepe paper, 37 by 8.5 cm, is folded and cut with three U-shaped slits, so every petal comes out at once. You curl the tops with a pen, stretch the middles into soft cups, then roll the strip tightly around a skewer and glue it. Once you get the hang of it, each rose takes about 10 minutes. Offset the petal layers for a fuller bloom and make a few shades for the bridesmaids.
Get the full tutorial at DIY JOY.
12. Satin Ribbon Rose
Satin ribbon roses look gorgeous next to a satin dress, and they’ll survive a whole day of hugs. You cut 25 pieces of satin ribbon, about 7 cm each, fold each into a small triangle and seal the folded edge with a quick pass of flame so it can’t fray. The petals get hot glued side by side, then rolled onto a floral stem with little dabs of glue as you go. Wider ribbon makes a statement rose, and narrow ribbon makes a sweet boutonniere. Two or three colors together give the petals real depth.
Get the full tutorial at DIY JOY.
13. Cupcake Liner Flower Bouquet
Cupcake liners are already cut into perfect circles, so most of the work is done before you start. Stack nine liners, cut the sides into eight sections and trim each tip to a point. Then poke a skewer through the center of the first one, add hot glue and crumple it around the top, layering on the rest the same way. Wrap the skewer in floral tape and add leaves cut from green liners, with floral wire glued inside so they bend. It makes a cheerful little flower girl bouquet, and nobody has to worry about it wilting.
Get the full tutorial at DIY JOY.
14. Paper Towel Rose Bouquet
Would you believe this bouquet started as a roll of paper towels? You cut 21 circles per flower, dip them in diluted acrylic paint and let them dry flat. Then each circle is folded over the rim of a small glass and glued, overlapping all the way around, layer after layer, until a full rose lifts right off the glass. Seven roses get glued onto a round foam base with crepe paper leaves tucked between, then wrapped in floral paper. Paint them in your wedding colors for a bridal bouquet that costs almost nothing!
Get the full tutorial at DIY JOY.
15. Hot Glue Flowers
These tiny hot glue flowers are the kind of detail guests pick up and ask about. You squeeze five teardrop petals onto parchment paper, peel them off once they set, arrange them into a flower and fill the center with more glue. A toothpick goes in the back as a stem. Nail polish paints them any color with a glossy finish, and a UV lamp cures gel polish fast. They’re adorable on hair clips for the bridal party, or planted in a little cap of clay and moss as a mini potted favor.
Get the full tutorial at DIY JOY.
16. Coffee Filter Hydrangeas
Hydrangeas are a wedding favorite, and these coffee filter hydrangeas cost pennies a bloom. Each flower uses 12 basket filters, folded in half four times and cut into a petal pattern (one at a time, since stacking makes them hard to cut). You paint the outer part a light color and the tips a darker shade for a soft ombre, let them dry, then thread them onto a hooked floral wire stem and glue. Blues, lavenders, blush and white all work. Mass them in floral foam for a full, lush arrangement.
Get the full tutorial at DIY JOY.
17. Crepe Paper Sunflower
Planning a late summer wedding? This crepe paper sunflower comes with full measurements, so there’s no guessing. The brown center is fringed about 5/8 inch deep and wrapped around a taped wire stem. Yellow petals are cut 2 1/4 inches deep, shaped into points, curled and glued evenly around the center with a green sepal wrapped underneath. The leaves get floral wire sealed inside with double-sided tape so they hold their shape. Pair a few with dried lavender for a sunny bridesmaid bouquet, or lay one at each place setting.
Get the full tutorial at DIY JOY.
