A Christmas Wedding Wreath Tutorial with Flowers by Breige

We have some very clever beans at our beautiful venues and Breige is one of those very clever beans.

Flowers by Breige is the in-house florist at Sandon Hall, Staffordshire’s most exclusive Country House. Built in the grand Neo-Jacobean style by William Burn, it is surrounded by four hundred acres of parkland and a stunning fifty acre pleasure garden. Yes folks, a pleasure garden.

Anyhoo, back to the florals! Breige has popped by the blog today with a lovely Christmas wreath tutorial for you to try. So whether it’s for your festive wedding decor or you just fancy embracing the season at home, then this one is for you.

Come on, let’s get crafty…

This D.I.Y post is here to inspire you to get creative and make your very own rustic willow wreath, the look is simple and natural and every wreath will always be unique.

These wreaths work beautifully in a variety of different sizes, hung individually or as a little gang of three. Suspend from trees, hang on doors, walls, ceilings, chairs & more. Just have fun with them and enjoy the process of making your very own piece of art.

What you will need…

• The base: A handful of freshly cut willow or Dogwood (1.75 – 2metres long)
• A roll of Oasis natural bind wire or natural string
• Floristry scissors
• Ribbon (approx 1-1.5 metres long) or string to hang your wreath

Optional: Use pot tape for extra security.

The Ingredients, be creative…

Your choice of ingredients is where the creative process begins. Choose a variety of green foliage, add berries, branches or even dried fruits & seed pods for a Christmas feel. Your wreath can reflect your favourite colour combinations from delicate natural hues to vivid brights.

Think about whats around you…? As we move into Winter there is an incredible range of berries, Ivy, pines, rose hips, crab apples, seed pods and other seasonal ingredients, a lot of them can often be found right on your doorstep (be sure to do any foraging mindfully for both the environment and those around you).

The great thing about these DIY wreaths is their rustic simplicity, its more about textures and colour combinations, rather than having an abundance of expensive flowers. To keep fresh greenery looking good, remember to give it a light spritz every couple of days.

If you do want to introduce flowers into your design, one idea worth considering, is adding dried ingredients – Hydrangeas, lavender, roses, pinecones and cinnamon sticks offer a very pretty festive display for something a little different indoors.

Please note it is really important all fresh ingredients have a good drink of water before use. Ideally allow fresh ingredients to sit in clean water for 24 hours before using, this will mean they are happier for longer as sadly these materials won’t last forever.

Be sure to recycle your wire/string and any dried ingredients to re-use for next time, store in a dry airtight container.

The foliage I used…

7 – 10 short pieces of Eucalyptus Populus Berry (3 x full stems will hopefully provide you with enough small side pieces)
7 pieces of Cinerea 
or 7 x mixed pieces of a mix of Eucalyptus (Cinerea & Parvifolia)
1 bunch of Asparagus Plumosus (1 – 2 pieces used per bundle)
5 pieces of Rosemary (long pieces can be cut in half)
1 – 2 branches of Silver Birch seed pods (take side shoots for bundles and use short pieces at the front of your bundle)
1 full stem of Viburnum Berries (small side pieces removed & used in each bundle)
8 small Cinnamon sticks (bound together in two’s)
Thuja x 2 woody stems, divided into smaller pieces.

Optional: add in Pheasant Feathers, Scots Pine, Rosehips or red Dogwood pieces.

Now lets begin!

Step 1

Start by creating your base…

This approach is a very simple way to create a natural willow wreath base without having to weave or prepare your willow beforehand. Its simply about creating a rough circular shape by hand then securing with bind wire.

Firstly take your willow stems holding them firmly. Create a circular shape by holding the design in front of you, leaning it against your body for support, this will help you hold and mould the shape as you bind it.

Once you are happy with your rough circular wreath (Note: It does not need to be a perfect circle!) Use the bind wire to wrap and secure (knot) in three different places starting at the top and working evenly around.

The bind wire is very versatile and easy to tie which helps secure the willow well.

Now trim any excess willow stems that may be sticking out from the design. Don’t worry about seeing the binding as this will be covered with your foliage bundles.

The size of your wreath is completely up to you, but the length of your willow or dogwood stems will determine this also.

Step 2

The next stage is to create your foliage bundles…

You will need approximately x 7 bundles to fill your wreath base. To make your bundles take a piece of asparagus plumosus, a few sprigs of eucalyptus populus berry and cinerea, a couple pieces of rosemary and a piece of thuja.

Hold the foliage in your hand and start by creating a mini posy with a flat back, staggering your greenery so it looks natural. Your foliage needs to be a maximum of 30cm in length, strip the bottom third of any leaves or side shoots.

Eucalyptus and stronger taller stems work well towards the back of your bundle. Smaller sprigs of seed pods and berries can be added to the front of the design once you are happy with the greenery.

Remember, every bundle can be a little different adding to the natural feel of your design, this is a great opportunity to get wild and rustic with your style.

Secure each bundle with a long piece of bind wire. Take the bind wire wrapping it around your bundle three times, then secure with a knot. Important, make sure your wire is kept long enough to then tie around the wreath securing the bundle to the base.

Note: Before attaching your bundles it’s a good idea to place them down on the wreath, take a step back and check you are happy with their positioning. Each bundle needs to slightly overlap the one before it, this covers any wire/string & ensures no gaps in your design. Each bundle needs to be slightly angled in order to follow the circular shape of the base.

Step 3

Secure and trim…

Once your bundles are ready to be attached, place the wreath flat on a table & secure the excess bind wire around the wreath, tie tightly at the back & trim.

It is also time to trim any excess stems on your bundles, you don’t want any stems to show outside the width of your design.

Optional Tip: If you prefer to use pot tape you can simply tape your bundle together then tape directly onto the wreath, this offers a very quick and secure way of attaching the bundles, you just need to be quite neat & discreet.

Now add your next bundle covering the stems of the bundle attached previously. Make sure all of your bundles are pointing in the same clockwise direction, following the shape of the wreath. Then secure again with bind wire and repeat until the wreath is finished.

Step 4

Finishing touches…

Now time to add the finishing touches to your most wonderful creation.

If you want to add cinnamon sticks now is the time to add them to your design. Simply tie two short cinnamon sticks tightly together with bind wire, knot and trim. The sticks should be nice and snug so they don’t slip out of their ties.

Space them evenly throughout the design and then secure by threading your bind wire through the back of the tied sticks, then tie directly to the wreath securing at the back.

Add your ribbon by looping it around the top or bottom of your wreath, you can create a knot or a big bow. Cut to required length, stand back and admire.

These simple wreaths work beautifully hung individually or as a trio. Why not experiment with different sizes, colours and materials..? Try different ribbons, string or even raffia. You can also create a beautiful willow wreath by covering just some of the base with foliage, leaving the natural colours of the willow and dogwood on show.

We hope this step by step guide gives you the confidence to get creative, to be inspired and most importantly to fill your space with lots of handmade wreaths!

Thank you so much to the wonderful Flowers by Breige, Jade Osborne Photography and of course Lady Harrowby, owner of the gorgeous dog pictured and of Sandon Hall, for this beautiful feature.

If you fancy giving this a go, then you’ll find your pinnable step-by-step tutorial guide below. But, look out for a fabulous competition to WIN your very own Christmas Wreath thanks to Flowers by Breige! Coming to Coco social media this afternoon, make sure you’re following us for all the details!

Lots of love…