Weddingbee PRO

Photo by Michelle Walker

Frances wrote a wonderful comment on the post {Ask Nancy: Pomander Tutorial}, on how to make kissing balls. She introduced the idea of using waterproof tape. As a follow up, when you are using large stem flowers like roses, you definitely should use an oasis ball that is soaked with water. One of the things that floral designers also do is wrap the oasis ball with chicken wire to prevent it from crumbling. I also like Frances’ idea, which is to wrap the ball with waterproof tape. Read about her experience below.

Hi Nancy! I have the same relationship with these darn things and when brides tell me they want one, I almost cringe…my first attempt was 8 years ago with some bluebird roses. Uggh, what a mistake! The flower girls were holding the balls down the aisle in pieces (luckily the bride was a relative and wasn’t too upset). I have since found other ways to avoid the “fall apart” debacle. I’ve tried the chicken wire around the oasis method  and, although it withstood the softball pitch the flower girl threw with it, the ball still takes more time to make. I have since been using waterproof tape, to tape around the asis (about 3 loops will do, depending on size), and it has helped keep the oasis ball together. Hope this helps all your readers…

Thanks for all the great insight! I love your work.

Thank you Frances! If you also have a tip or question, please leave it in the comments for me.

Photo by Nancy Liu Chin

Claudia asks: I love, love, love these tutorials! Here’s my question: what’s the trick to making a sturdy, fresh pomander? I tried making one of my own and completely failed! Water was dripping from my foam and the stems kept breaking as I pushed them into the foam. Would you mind sharing your expert tips and advice?

I personally have a love/hate relationship with kissing balls (aka pomanders). I love making them, but they aren’t as easy as they appear. Even though we’ve made over 200 kissing balls over the course of our business, they are still one of those pieces that we continue to finesse. For me, the trick with kissing balls is using the right flowers. Many people don’t realize that there aren’t many flowers that work. I once saw someone use French tulips to make a kissing ball. Sorry, but that’s the absolute worst flower you could use. First of all, the beauty of the French tulip is its gorgeously long stem. What a shame to waste that stem on a kissing ball. Also out of water or Oasis, tulips aren’t very “happy”.

Most important tip: choose a sturdy, flat, round, mass flower. My two favorites are mini carnations and pom pom (button) mums.

We use two different methods when making a kissing ball. For mums, we like to use a styrofoam ball. For the carnations, we use an Oasis ball. It’s a matter of personal preference and ease for us, so you don’t have to follow this. Most people use Oasis balls because they keep the flowers hydrated. We have a professional cooler where we can keep kissing balls for several days, so we often use the styrofoam method. For a non-professional, I suggest using the Oasis balls.
Read more…

This week I finished the flowers for Holly’s wedding, and her order was really fun because I made a pomander for the first time.

Read more…