Flower Circlet Headpiece (for flowergirls or brides)

Materials needed:

18-guage floral wire
roll of floral tape (green or white, depending on your preference)
silk or dried flowers (or both!)
ribbon or veiling (optional)

Tools needed:

wire cutters
scissors

1. Prepare the flowers. If you're using silk flowers, you should use wire cutters to clip individual clusters or stems from the heavy wired stem for individual use. If you are using dried flowers, I suggest that you make small clusters by gathering smaller bunches of flowers together and fastening them together at the base with floral tape. I most often use a combination of silk flowers and baby's breath, so I end up doing both of these steps. One additional step for silk flowers: if you want to feel 100% secure about using silk flowers, you might want to go one step further and glue each flower onto its plastic stem. It takes a little more time, but it will keep any blossoms from droppping off on the Big Day.

(Note: this project would also probably work with real flowers, but these should be "conditioned" and wired in the same way that professional florists do, or else they will wilt very quickly. If you do use real flowers, you should probaby construct the circlet either the night before or the morning of the wedding to make sure the flowers are at their best.)

2. Take the floral wire and make an oval hoop that fits on the wearer's head just the smallest fraction of an inch farther down than you really want it to sit. Wrap the entire hoop with floral tape, making sure the ends of the wire are well-covered (the wrapping will make the circle fit a bit more snug, which is why you want it slightly larger than the wearer's actual head size). I have found that floral tape is stickiest when it has been stretched slightly before use, which really is what you want to do. That slight stickiness is what helps keep everything together, and it also helps the flower circlet stay secure on the head (it doesn't make the hair sticky at all, so don't worry).

(For an adjustable wreath, don't make a hoop. Take the length of wire and tape it, forming loops at the end, then bend into a round shape.)

3. Start taping the flower clusters to the wreath. Lay one flower (or cluster of flowers) on the wire, keeping all flowers towards the outside of the hoop. Using a long length of floral tape, begin to tape the flowers to the wreath by wrapping the tape around both the wire and the flower. Keep adding flowers and taping until the wreath is completely covered with flowers.

(I usually alternate one small bunch of colored flowers with one cluster of baby's breath. I also alternate small bunches of silk flowers with larger individual silk flowers. You can use flowers of one color, or any number of complimentary colors. Be creative!)

4. Add ribbons or veil (optional). The easiest way to add ribbons to the back of the headpiece is to take a length of ribbon twice as long as desired, then fold in half. Loop the fold over the wire, then draw the loose ends through the loop to form a knot (I STRONGLY recommend using a drop of glue on the knot to keep the ribbons from coming loose). Ribbons can be any color or width desired, but I recommend using ribbons no wider than 1/2 inch. (For the adjustable wreaths, put ribbon "ties" through each loop and tie to fit the wearer's head.)

If the bride would rather have a veil instead of ribbons, a length of bridal tulle or organza can be gathered along one edge and stitched to the wire. For a "medieval" look (great for a theme wedding), a circular or oval veil can be draped over the bride's head and held in place by a wreath placed on top!

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