Wedding bouquet with vintage brooches

I got married last July and in the run up to it I was slightly hooked on the amazing website http://www.offbeatbride.com/ where I came across this freaking amazing vintage brooch bouquet pictured above, made by Studio del Fiore. Unfortunately their prices were a little beyond my price range (by about £800). So I decided to try and make my own.

I set about gathering brooches - from my grandmothers collections, from charity shops and from very generous friends and family. The problem then was how to go about making it. Various instructions I found online didn't work out for me but after some trial and error and much gnashing of teeth I settled on using a polystyrene ball with a fine wire mesh over it, onto which I wired the brooches. It took quite a lot of time and effort but I loved what I ended up with and I'd like to think it will be an heirloom of the future to pass on to my daughters for their wedding days.

These are the three bouquets my sisters and I carried. Helen and I made the origami flower one that she is holding on the left and Maria's butterfly bouquet was made very simply with butterflies ordered online from a florists supply company. Leave a comment if you'd like a tutorial for either. And I am willing to take orders to make a unique brooch bouquet for your wedding - and I promise to charge significantly less than £800!

last image by our awesome photograher, Ronan O'Donnell.