I have had the privilege, over the past few weeks, of helping my friend, Tina, get ready for her daughter’s wedding.  Sweet Amy was to marry Blake…at his very rustic farmhouse several miles outside of town.  After Tina and Amy talked and came up with the plan…she and I met and figured out the way to get it taken care of.  We have been working on projects all along, so the majority of things we needed to make were done ahead of time.  One of the first orders of business for me was to make the brides bouquet.  I was anxious to get started, because I like to do this.  I made what is called an all-in-hand bouquet,where you start with a flower in one hand and keep adding flowers and turning it and adding flowers and turning…all the time keeping all the flowers in that one hand.  Then wrap the stems.  Oh, it looked great!  But, Amy thought it was too small for her…and I think she was right.  So, I set about making another one…still not big enough.  OK..I decide to use a form this time.  She says she wants it BIG!  Big enough to cover  her side to side when held in front of her.  I got the form and I got the flowers, and I clipped and wrapped and poked and wrapped and poked until I ended up with one of the biggest bouquets that I have ever seen!  Side to side, it would cover her.  This is bouquet # 3…

Shirl had come down from Moultrie Thursday and she and Tina went out to the house to get the decorating underway.  They worked most of the day  Thursday and got the front of her house decorated and then moved to the back and got things started there.    When I joined them on Friday, we had a discussion about the size of this  ‘fistful of flowers’ and agreed that it was too big.

 So, I set about removing all the flowers for the 4th time…placed them all into groups…and started over.  

 Now the danger of making something around a group of people, is that they all have an opinion about how to do it.  And, as such…I had 4 voices other than mine.  This didn’t annoy me..it just gets a little  frustrating. So, I pulled this flower out and put that flower in.  Then I took out this flower, and put another one in.  Then I’d take out  2 flowers and put back 1.  And, finally…finally it was finished.  Here is bouquet #4…

I was happy.   Amy was happy.  Shirl and Tina were happy.   Do you see how happy we were?   And, all was right with the world.    We should have taken that bouquet to a locked vault and put it in and not looked at it again until right before the wedding!     But , NOooooooooooo…..we decided that we  needed to make one ‘little’ change.  Because we don’t know how to leave well enough alone.   So, I pulled out a few blooms.  And, then…AND THEN !!!!!!!…

…the unthinkable happened…the foam, which was glued to the base, broke loose.  The flowers and a small bit of foam went one way.  And the handle, with another small bit of foam, went another way.  The rest of the foam went EVERYWHERE !  I was shocked!  Idon’t understand why this happened …the foam  only had 683 holes in it!!!!

And I cried.

Because the nearest store from which we could buy

 foam was 15 miles away…and it was already after lunch.  Tina and I began to brainstorm a solution.  And, somewhere in the house, Tina found a old silk flower arrangement…with dead oasis stuff.  It only had 10 or so holes in it.  So, I got a piece of tulle, wrapped the oasis all around, and hot glued the mess out of it onto the base.   And I made the bouquet for the fifth time.  Many of the stems had to be re-wrapped and wired and cut because the shape of the oasis was different.  And, it was so fragile already, I knew I could only stick the flowers in one time.  It finally came together, and, I finished the bouquet.  I did not ask them if they liked it.  They had to like it. Because IT  WAS  DONE !!!  And, I was done, too!

Now all that really did happen.  But, I loved every minute of it!    It’s always the most fun when we are working together.  It was an honor to be asked to do the bouquet, and help decorate.   All’s well that ends well…RIGHT?  Here is the finished bouquet…

And, the bouquet held together.  The bride was very pleased with it and she looked beautiful carrying it.  It even lasted through the reception.

Next post, I want to share with you some of the decor.  We had some really neat things to work with, and I think you will enjoy seeing it.  (But, I won’t show any pics of the bride and groom and the actual wedding.  She will want to do that in her own time.  But, once she does, I will share some with you, too.)

Oh, and maybe by the time Christmas rolls around, I’ll get to finish my posts on Hawaii! 🙂