As I have mentioned elsewhere, I do weddings very infrequently and always for a couple I know who also have a particular theme or bespoke idea in mind.
This wedding arch was for a couple of local business people, one of whom was a former employee of mine. They built the arch themselves and asked me to decorate it with similar materials to those being used in the bridal flowers (see this post for the details).
Simple is always better for an arch so choosing big foliage will keep the decoration in proportion and scale to the arch.
The technique for an arch is to find a central place for a large floral foam container – the ones used for funeral/casket flowers are best as they already have a solid plastic base.
Attach these with cable ties to ensure the decoration will not move or slip, then place the largest pieces of foliage to mirror the corner of the arch. The remainder of the decoration should follow these lines so that the arch is not the dominant visual impact but rather the foliage/decoration forms an arch from which, now and then, the structure appears.
Here I have placed one arrangement at the back corner and one at the front to give the arch some visual depth. As this was a beach wedding, I have used palm leaves straight and manipulated as well as other tropical foliages. To weave the palm leaves into the “nautilus shell” shape click here.
The most important aspect of these designs is ensuring that every angle has a decorative view – from underneath and all sides.
Take photos rather than rely on a visual check. Often our eyes fill in the blanks when we have been working on a full view design but a photo doesn’t lie!
