How I DIYed My Event Flowers (and the Supplies That Made It So Easy)
When I started planning flowers for our event, I knew I wanted arrangements that felt full and beautiful—but I also knew I didn't want to spend a fortune having them professionally made. I decided to order flowers in bulk and arrange them myself, and it ended up being so much easier than I expected.
I made about six statement arrangements, all a little different, using vases I already had on hand. I am definitely not a florist, and I didn't take enough step-by-step photos to call this a true tutorial. But there were a few things I learned—and a few inexpensive supplies I ordered from Amazon—that made the entire process surprisingly easy.
So, if you've ever thought about DIYing flowers for a party, shower, wedding, military ball, or other event, here's what worked for me.
Where I Ordered My Flowers
I ordered all of my flowers online from FiftyFlowers, and I had such a good experience.
The ordering process was easy, and they even reached out to me about adjusting my ship date to make sure the flowers would arrive with plenty of time before the event. They arrived right on schedule, looked exactly as described, and were absolutely beautiful.
If you're making more than one arrangement, I definitely think ordering flowers in bulk is the way to go. Honestly, they were so much less expensive than I expected that I think it's worth looking into even for a relatively small event.
The flowers were also incredibly fresh. Our arrangements lasted beautifully through the event, and we were still enjoying them at home several days later.
The Supplies That Made DIY Flowers So Much Easier
You really don't need a huge collection of professional floral supplies to make your own arrangements.
I used vases I already owned and kept everything else pretty simple. But there were three inexpensive tools that made a huge difference.
Floral Tape
This was such a simple trick, but it made arranging the flowers so much easier.
Before adding the flowers, I used floral tape to create a small grid across the opening of each vase. The grid gave me separate spaces for the stems instead of letting all of the flowers fall toward the outside or bunch together in the middle.
Game changer.
It was much easier to spread the flowers out, keep everything even, and get that full look without constantly trying to reposition stems.
Sharp Floral Shears
A good pair of sharp flower shears is a must.
I trimmed the stems at approximately a 45-degree angle before putting them into water. Sharp shears made it quick and easy, especially when I was working through a lot of flowers at once.
My Favorite Find: A Flower Stem Stripper
Of everything I ordered, this might have been my favorite.
It's basically a little flower-shaped pad that you wrap around the stem and pull down to remove excess leaves and greenery.
If you're working with roses, you need one of these.
Instead of picking leaves off one at a time, I could quickly run the stems through the tool and move on to the next flower. It made prepping all of those roses SO much faster.
It's one of those inexpensive tools I didn't even know existed before this project—and now I wouldn't want to prep a big flower order without one.
How I Prepped the Flowers
The actual process was pretty simple.
First, I removed the excess leaves from each stem, especially any greenery that would eventually sit below the water line.
Then I used my floral shears to trim the stems at roughly a 45-degree angle.
I filled the vases with fresh water and flower food, created my floral-tape grid across the top, and started arranging.
I didn't try to make all six arrangements identical. In fact, I think letting each one be a little different made the process much easier.
I started placing flowers into the sections of my tape grid, spreading out the larger blooms and then filling in the open spaces. I kept moving things around and trimming stems until each arrangement looked full and balanced.
No complicated floral formula. No professional training. Just beautiful flowers, a little trial and error, and that magical floral-tape grid!
The One Thing I'd Do Differently
If I did this again, I would have the flowers arrive one day earlier.
Everything arrived incredibly fresh—which is obviously a good problem to have—but some of the blooms were almost too fresh.
A few were still pretty tightly closed when I made the arrangements and didn't fully open until the day after the event. Whoops!
They were still beautiful for the event, but some of the arrangements looked even better the next day once those blooms had fully opened.
Next time, I'd build in an extra day between delivery and the event. That would give me more time to process the flowers, get them into fresh water and flower food, and give those tighter blooms a chance to start opening before I arranged everything.
My takeaway: give your flowers a little more time than you think they'll need.
Would I DIY Event Flowers Again?
Absolutely.
I was honestly surprised by how manageable the whole thing was.
Ordering the flowers in bulk saved a ton of money, using vases I already owned kept the cost down even more, and a few inexpensive floral tools made the prep and arranging process so much easier.
And I loved that the six arrangements weren't exactly the same. They coordinated, but each had its own look, which made them feel much more natural.
Best of all, the flowers lasted beautifully through the event and for several days afterward. After spending the time making them, it was nice to bring them home and keep enjoying them!
If you're considering making your own flowers for an event, I wouldn't be intimidated by it. You don't have to be a professional florist, and you don't need a complicated setup.
Order beautiful flowers, use what you already have, give yourself plenty of time, and invest in a few inexpensive tools that make the job easier.
For me, this was definitely one of those projects that was worth making.
Shop My DIY Flower Supplies
These are the simple supplies that made prepping and arranging my event flowers so much easier:
Floral Tape — for creating the grid across the top of each vase
Sharp Floral Shears — for quickly trimming all of the stems
Flower Stem Stripper — my favorite find and a MUST if you're working with lots of roses
Vases — I just used ones I already owned
Flower Food — to help everything stay fresh
[SHOP MY AMAZON DIY FLOWER SUPPLIES]
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