How to Arrange a Cascade Bridal Bouquet

Co-authored by Jeanne Walker and Amy Bobinger, BA

Last Updated: April 25, 2024 Fact Checked

A cascading flower arrangement is dramatic and beautiful, making it perfect for a bridal bouquet. However, buying your bouquet can be expensive, especially if you want a lush design. Fortunately, making your own cascading bouquet is relatively easy, and it can be a great way to save a little on your wedding budget. All you’ll need are a bouquet holder and an assortment of greenery and flowers.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Choosing Your Flowers

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1
Choose about 15-18 stems of a long-stemmed flower for your bouquet. Having one main flower repeated throughout the bouquet will look more elegant than having a random assortment of blooms. You can choose any flowers you like, but make sure the stems are at least 6 in (15 cm) long to ensure they'll be long enough to reach the bouquet holder.^{[1]
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- Roses are a common option for a wedding bouquet, especially white or red roses. Other popular options include stargazer lilies, peonies, anemones, ranunculus, dahlias, and hydrangeas. It's up to you whether you want to use all the same color of your primary bloom, or if you want an assortment of shades!^{[2]
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- To narrow down your options, look at a picture of each flower and think about how each one would look against your dress. For example, if you have a very simple gown, an ornate flower like a hydrangea could provide a pretty contrast.
- On the other hand, you could choose a flower with special significance to you, like the first flower your fiance ever gave you or a bloom that reminds you of a loved one.
2
Add 10-12 stems of smaller accent flowers. You’ll need to tuck smaller flowers around the primary blooms in order to make your bouquet look full. You can choose 1 accent flower, or you can use more than one kind of flower if you want an even more diverse bouquet. However, just as with your primary blooms, look for flowers with stems that are at least 6 in (15 cm).^{[3]
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- Good options for accent flowers include calla lilies, lavender, spray roses, hypericum, and orchids.
- You can choose accent blooms that are the same color as your primary flower for a monochrome look, or you can choose a coordinating color to add contrast to your bouquet. You can even use multiple colors of accent blooms if you want!
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3
Select 8-10 long sprays of greenery. Your greenery will be used to shape the cascade bouquet, so you’ll need several long pieces that will drape from the center of the bouquet as far down as you want the bouquet to reach. For an average-sized cascade bouquet, about 8–10 in (20–25 cm) will be long enough, but if you want a dramatically long cascade, you may want it to be even longer than that.
- Myrtle, ivy, silver sage, spirea, lemon leaf, and eucalyptus are all popular options, but you can use any greenery that’s in season!
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Find a delicate filler like baby's breath or ferns to close any gaps. Since you’ll be creating your cascade bouquet on a form, you may need to use small, delicate sprays to fill in any gaps. After all, you want the focus to be on your bouquet, not on the holder underneath it.
- Baby’s breath is a perfect filler, since it’s so delicate that it won’t detract from your primary blooms, but you can also use any other small flowers, ferns, or additional greenery. Other filler flowers include snapdragons, silver ragwort, poms, delphinium, and Queen Anne's lace.^{[4]
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Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Creating the Cascade Shape

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Submerge a bouquet holder in warm water. A bouquet holder looks almost like a microphone, with a long handle and a round area on top where you insert the flowers. Before you arrange your bouquet, place the top of holder upside-down in a pitcher or bowl of warm water for about a minute. The top of the bouquet holder, which is called the “oasis,” typically has foam inside, which absorbs water to keep the flowers fresh.^{[5]
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- Place the holder gently into the water and let it sink. Don’t push it down into the water, or air bubbles could form inside the oasis, preventing the water from reaching the flowers.
- You can find these bouquet holders wherever craft or floral supplies are sold.
Tip: To keep your flowers fresh longer, add flower food to the water before you soak the bouquet holder.
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Place the bouquet holder in a heavy ceramic vase. Once you’ve filled the oasis, lift the holder straight out of the water, turn it right-side-up, and transfer it to a vase to keep it secure. You’ll need your hands free to work with the flowers, so make sure you use a heavy vase with a secure base that won’t tip over while you’re creating your bouquet.^{[6]
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- If you have a stand for your bouquet holder, you can use that instead.
- Add rocks or marbles to the bottom of the vase if it isn’t heavy enough.
3
Insert the 2 longest greenery stems into the bottom of the holder. Start by putting your 2 longest pieces of greenery in the bottom front of the bouquet holder. With the tips of the greenery pointing down, push the bottom of the stems into the gaps or foam in the holder until they feel like they’re securely in place. Then, add the rest of your greenery, cutting it if necessary so it’s shorter at the top and longer at the bottom.^{[7]
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- You want the effect here to look as if the greenery is spilling out all the way around your hand, but if it’s too long on the top, it will be difficult for you to hold the bouquet.
4
Fill in more greenery around the top and sides of the holder. To make the bouquet look symmetrical, you may need to have a few short pieces of greenery around the circumference of the holder, as well as sticking up from the top back of the bouquet holder. Imagine creating an upside-down teardrop shape that’s rounded at the top and full on the sides, then comes to a narrow point at the bottom.^{[8]
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- The length of the greenery on the top and sides will depend on the size of the bouquet you want to create and how far you want the greenery to extend, but it should be just a little shorter than your flowers, unless you have a few pieces you want to showcase.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Adding the Flowers

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1
Start by arranging your primary blooms. Place your largest, prettiest flowers in the center of your arrangement as the focal point, then work the remaining flowers all the way around the bouquet holder. Arrange the top flowers so they’re pointing straight up, the blooms around the circumference of the holder so they’re horizontal, and the longest, cascading stems so they’re pointing downward.^{[9]
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- As you’re arranging the flowers, alternate putting a few on the top, then a few on the sides, and so on. This causes the stems to interlock in a grid pattern, which will help prevent the flowers from falling out of your bouquet.^{[10]
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- Space each type of flower evenly throughout the bouquet. If it isn’t symmetrical, it won’t create the effect that the flowers are cascading down.^{[11]
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Tip: If you have a flower with a weak stem, push a pin through the head of the bloom, then wrap the stem with wire and floral tape to stabilize it.
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Trim your flower stems so the shortest go on top and the longest go on bottom. As you start to arrange your bouquet, use a sharp pair of floral shears to trim each stem to the length you want it to be. The stems on the bottom of your bouquet should be the longest, with medium-length stems in the middle of the arrangement, and the shortest blooms on top.^{[12]
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- The length of the stems will depend on the size of the bouquet you’re creating, but they’ll likely only need to be about 2–3 in (5.1–7.6 cm) at the top, whereas you may not need to trim the stems on the bottom at all.
- It’s best to trim your flowers one at a time as you place them in the arrangement so you can customize your bouquet.
- When you’re trimming the stems, try to cut the flowers on the top and middle so they’ll extend slightly past the greenery.
- Cut thicker stems at an angle so they'll be easy to insert into the bouquet holder.
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Add your accent flowers around your primary blooms. Now that you have your greenery and primary blooms arranged, you can start filling in the body of your bouquet with the accent flowers that you chose. Continue alternating between adding flowers to the top and sides of the bouquet, criss-crossing the stems to secure them.^{[13]
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- Don’t worry about making the bouquet look perfectly full just yet; it’s more important that you space your accent flowers evenly throughout the bouquet.^{[14]
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Fill in any remaining gaps with baby’s breath or greenery. Look at the bouquet from the top, front, and sides, and use your filler to completely cover up any gaps that are left. Depending on the size of the blooms you used and how closely they’re arranged, you may only need a few sprigs, or you may need to tuck small sprays throughout the entire bouquet to fill it out.
- Baby’s breath is inexpensive and delicate, so buy more than you think you’ll need just in case your bouquet doesn’t look as full as you’d like when you’re finished.
- Not only will this ensure the bouquet holder isn’t visible in your wedding photographs, but it also helps secure the grid you made that’s holding the larger stems in place.
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Keep your flowers in a cool place overnight or until you need them. It's best to assemble your bouquet no more than 1 day before you'll need it. If you have a floral cooler, you can keep your bouquet there, but if not, you'll need to find a cool place away from direct sunlight where your flowers won't be disturbed, like a shaded, out-of-the-way corner in a cool bedroom.^{[15]
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Expert Source

Jeanne Walker
Florist

Expert Interview. 15 April 2020.}

Arrange a Cascade Bridal Bouquet Step 13

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- Don't place your bouquet in a regular refrigerator. The moisture will cause the flowers to wilt.
- If you need to make your bouquet more than 1 day ahead of time, either choose hearty flowers like posies, lilies, and succulents, or opt for artificial flowers.^{[16]
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- Be sure to change the water in the vase every day to keep your flowers looking fresh. You can also use a turkey baster to add 1 drop of bleach to the water to kill any bacteria and slow down the decomposition process.^{[17]
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  Jeanne Walker
  Florist
  
  Expert Interview. 15 April 2020.}

How Can I Build My Own Wedding Bouquets?

Things You'll Need

15-18 long-stemmed flowers
10-12 accent flowers
8-10 sprays of greenery
Baby's breath or another filler
Bouquet holder
Heavy vase or stand
Bowl or pitcher of warm water
Floral shears
Floral wire and tape (optional)
Pin (optional)

Tips

You can even use artificial flowers to save more!

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If you’d like, you can wrap the handle of your bouquet holder in ribbon to make it look more elegant.

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