Mother-of-the-Bride Corsage

A wrist corsage is only as old-fashioned as its design. To give yours a modern look, choose a flower that is "big and elegant," like a gardenia or a flat garden rose, and opting for a ribbon base over an elastic band.

TOOLS & SUPPLIES

18-gauge floral stem wire

1/2 inch-wide floral tape

Thick ribbon

Wire cutters

A hearty rose, orchid, or gardenia

Lemon leaves

1. Tightly wrap one wire in floral tape, gently pulling and stretching it as you go to help it stick to the metal.
2. Bend the wrapped wire into a pretzel shape, creating two loops on top and two lengths on the bottom.
3. Trim the lengths with the wire cutter so they both measure two inches. Wrap them together with floral tape.
4. Thread ribbon through the pretzel's two open loops. This will be the corsage holder.
5. Next, prepare your flower. Cut its stem to measure two inches long.
6. With an unwrapped wire, pierce the base of a flower and thread it all the way through.
7. Bend the wire in half so it frames either side of the flower stem.
8. Cut the stem and wire to be equal in length, and then tape together.
9. If you wish to slip in leaves, arrange them around the bud, and secure them with a wrapping of tape.
10. Place the prepared flower on top of the corsage holder, lining up the lengths of wrapped wire and tapping them together.
11. Tie it onto the wrist and trim ribbon.