Imagine getting married under this ...
On Christmas Eve we were setting up all the decorations for our family Christmas. Julia made a stunning wreath to hang over the outdoor table using material from the garden at Millbrook. We were discussing how fabulous a wreath like this would look hanging over a pergola to get married under or as a decoration over a bridal table.
The materials we used are easy to purchased and not expensive. We started with a simple hola hoop purchased in the toy department for $6! You will need some fine wire to attach the flowers and greenery to the hoop. Julia used 30 gauge that she had purchased from Spotlight.
You can see the hoop and the wire here
Think about what kind of look you want. Do you want lots of lush greenery with long trails, something brimming with peonies roses nestled in soft greenery or something extravagant and colourful? Think rustic wildflowers that you've gathered maybe or, reflecting the current trend for gorgeous big blooms from the garden, maybe ask Nana or Mum if you can cut roses, dahlias, hollyhocks, pansies or hydrangeas from their gardens. Think too about the scale of the location that it will be in. Don't make the mistake of making it too small: if it is to hang outdoors or be suspended above a large table, you'll be surprised at home much smaller it looks. If you are going to all the effort to have a hanging wreath, make sure it really looks fabulous!
For our wreath we wanted something that blended in with the garden that would be the background to it. Julia went for a wander in the garden and came up with a simple but stunning look to mirror the garden. For the base she used Viburnum (gorgeous dark green large leaves) with long stems of Ladies Mantle (Alchemilla Mollis) and purple sage.
Here's how it was constructed. Start with a generous bunch of material and wire it firmly to the hoop. Continue to add bunches of your material, wiring as you go. It you are adding in big blooms, they may be heavier than the greenery so may need to be wired on after the greenery. Don't forget that you will be looking at it from underneath upwards ..... make sure that you wire the material on taking that into account.
When your hoop is nearly fully covered, just simply overlay the last prices of your material so that there is no "join".
Overlay the final pieces
Finally, mist it with water and, if you keep doing that, you'll be surprised at how long it lasts. I've only just taken ours days after Christmas!
Have a go - it's surprisingly simple to make and easy to correct if you don't like something you've added ..... simply unwind your wire, take of what you added and do it again!
