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love is the mother of invention

We were lucky enough to spend Labour Day weekend celebrating a gorgeous wedding in cottage country with friends.
It was a wonderful reprieve from our reno-torn-battleground commonly known as “home”.

As I breathed in the sweetness of the country air and romantic setting, I was struck by how beautifully styled weddings have become.

Ideas were everywhere…

And personal touches made the event so much more special (bride Krystyn did an amazing job!)…

Through a friend, I was sent photos from another wedding this summer in Calgary (not hard to guess!)…

The bride’s bouquet was made out of brooches - some family heirlooms, some flea market finds - all put together by the bride…

photography, Duran Cheung

She was kind enough to share a ‘how-to’ lesson with us:

Think of a colour scheme for the bouquet. Then put the feelers out there to anyone who loves to search for things. My mom loves to poke her head around antique markets and my aunt Laura also did the same out east! I decided to go with the colours of my bridesmaids dresses…greens…blues…browns.

COLLECT! Get your hands on buttons & brooches, and even clip-on earrings in your colours. I also knew I’d be wearing pearls, so made sure to find pearl beads or brooches as well. I don’t know how many pieces I ended up with, but my guess is somewhere between 60-80. Then, set a budget…I made sure I didn’t spend more than $4 per item - it also made it kind of fun having to barter with people to get them. My Best Lady and I went out one day and made it our mission to have the most fun possible while on the hunt. We went to antique shows, flea markets, second hand shops, etc. A tip…I would suggest picking a metal colour….sliver or gold…and stick to it. Also look for pieces with a variety of sizes and shape - it’ll make it more interesting.

Get sentimental! There were a few pieces that were special to me. My husband’s grandma gave me a bunch of green and brown buttons and on my wedding day she was pointing them out and trying to find them in the bouquet - it was so cute! I was also a bit goofy and found a lady golfer pin, a little fawn, and a french horn - all which had meaning but weren’t particularly beautiful. A real gem was a pin that said “ASK ME” and thought it was way too funny not to include. When I looked down at the bouquet on my wedding day, seeing all these little memories made me smile!

Stop collecting! Otherwise you’ll make yourself crazy. Then, gather the materials you need…wire and floral tape….and begin turning the buttons and brooches into flowers!

The ‘stem’ of the button or brooch should be about 10 inches, so you’ll need double that in wire. The wire can be wrapped around the brooch fastener, or through the holes of a button. The wire is then just twisted together for strength, and then covered in floral tape to give it a more finished look. The green floral wire and green floral tape was purchased at Michael’s Arts & Crafts.

Collect them all in a vase as you go!

Purchase an artificial hydrangea flower. This acts as the base and holds/separates all the pieces so they don’t clump together. They usually come quite long, so cut it to 10-15 inches of stem. You will then hold the flower in one hand, and add the brooches one by one, placing them through the top of the flower. I also purchased leaves shown in the picture and wrapped wire and tape around them to go along the outside edge of the bouquet.

Once all of the brooches, buttons and earring pieces are placed where you want them, ask someone to help you hold the bundle together. I used plastic zip ties and it worked very well! You’ll want to make sure there is a tight grip on all parts so it doesn’t slip around. Add in the large leaf pieces to the outer edge if you so desire. Use your favorite ribbon and wrap the base completely to hide all the mechanics. I also thought about using a nice lace or piece of my dress on the stem, but ended up liking the ribbon I found the best. My mom then did a tiny little hand stitch to hold it in place. TA DA! A beautiful heirloom.

Thanks for sharing Kelly! You should get this featured on one of those gorgeous wedding blogs!

Two of the best are Style Me Pretty and Ruffled. I think the best Canadian wedding blog is Wedding Obsessed.

I’m amazed at how beautiful some of the wedding blogs are and they’re great for getting ideas for any kind of celebration.

After all, love and beauty are for all of us to enjoy!