Before diving in to how I managed to duplicate this (with my own twist, of course), I have to warn you, this took hours of detailed, carefully planned work by me and Annie. The result is incredible--no one could say I had an average bouquet--it was extraordinary.
Supplies:
styrofoam ball - approximately 5" diameter
wooden dowel - 1 inch diameter
string of fake pearls
fabric
paper flowers (handmade or purchased)
ribbon
burlap ribbon
baubles
letter tiles
wire and wire cutters
hot glue gun and glue sticks
As Carley mentioned, we got married on the beach, so we intertwined the beach theme subtly throughout the wedding. For my bouquet, we used brown and black burlap, twine, pearls, and seashells to tie in the ocean theme.
We covered my styrofoam ball in brown burlap and used hot glue and pins to attach it to the ball as shown in the picture. Once the ball is covered, you can start planning out where to place the flowers.
I relied on my inspiration bouquet picture when deciding what materials to use to make the flowers. I could see paper, fabric, beads, yarn, and ribbon flowers. I decided to make my flowers primarily out of paper, fabric, ribbon, and burlap. As I folded, twisted, and swirled flower after flower, I began to plan where I would place them. I attached each flower to wire with hot glue, leaving a tail of about 2-3 inches at the base to stick in the styrofoam. We did not use a pattern for the fabric flowers, just folded and twisted the fabric until it started to resemble a flower shape.
Once you have wires attached to your flowers and are ready to start placing, pay attention to the colors you are using. For example, you don't want to place too many white flowers together. Break up the white with a red and black flower in between. This will create balance and be more aesthetically pleasing.
In addition to flowers, I chose to include several vintage-looking broaches, an antique key, seashells, pearl beads, and tufts of black tulle to fill in gaps and create a well-rounded, vintage look. Most of these were purchased from Michael's.
Cut a piece of dowel the length you want so it is comfortable to hold plus an inch. Wrap the dowel in a coordinating fabric or ribbon so you can't see the wood (leave one inch bare). Drill a hole in the flat base of the ball that is the width of your dowel. Put hot glue on the bare end of the dowel and stick it in the hole.
You can leave the handle as is or decorate it. I wrapped and hot glued ribbon around the dowel and topped it with pearl beads for a clean and sturdy hand hold.