How to Make a Galentine’s Day Bouquet Bar

A bouquet bar, also known as a flower bar or stem bar, is the perfect Galentine’s Day activity. What is a bouquet bar, you ask?

A bouquet bar is a display of individual flowers to choose from so you can build a custom bouquet.

Read on for tips on where to get flowers and how to stock your flower bar for your galentine’s day event.

What you will need

Here is list of materials we like to stock in our flower cart to make bouquet building a breeze.

• Fresh flowers, of course

• Assorted vases

• Rubber bands

• Shears for cutting

• Colorful ribbons

• Bouquet sleeves

• Signage (optional)

• Flower food (optional)

Be sure to find vases that are large enough to display all of your fresh blooms. You can choose an assortment of unique vases for a whimsical style, thrift vases, or find matching vases for a tailored and clean looking flower bar that puts all the focus on the blooms. Ask friends to each bring a vase or a pitcher for a fun assortment that displays everyone’s style and personality!

As for your shears, be sure to use clean, sharp shears. Using dull scissors can crush the stems affecting the flowers ability to absorb water and nutrients. And using dirty shears can introduce bacteria into the water that will affect the lifespan of your flowers.

You may also consider putting up a cute sign with instructions to let guests know how many stems to choose. If you are not sure where to start, try 10 stems! It makes for a sweet little bouquet that isn’t overwhelming to create, allows you to include enough focal flowers, fillers and greens for variety, and is large enough to still look great in a small vase.

Bouquet sleeves are not a must, just a fun detail that also helps guests transport finished bouquets. Here at Botanical House we like these kraft paper bouquet carriers. You can also choose a more traditional clear plastic sleeve, or instead have guests bring a vase for their flowers to save money on bouquet sleeves.

Where to get your flowers?

There are several options for this, all with their own pros and cons…

• Florist

• Grocery Store

• Local Wholesaler

• Flower Farm

Florist

First of all you will have to see if your local florist is willing to work with you on this since it may be different than their traditional services. This may also be one of the more costly routes BUT they can likely provide a great selection and information of which flowers are best.

Local Wholesaler/Warehouse

If you live in a small town or rural area, there may not be flower wholesalers that are local to you and many require you to have a sellers license - but some are open to the public and have an awesome selection, you just won’t get a wholesaler discount.

Flower Farm

For my sister-in-law’s wedding in the mountains of Virginia we stopped by a small wild flower farm/pasture on the way to the wedding and picked flowers to decorate with. What a dreamy experience! If you have a local flower farm near you and are in a warm climate that has flowers available in February then this is a great option! Visiting the flower farm will be an experience in and of itself.

Grocery Store

This option may offer you the least amount of variety to choose from in terms of color and flower variety, but if you are flexible and live in a rural area with out many florists, wholesalers or a flower farm, this could be a great option, easily accessible, and fairly inexpensive.

What flowers to choose?

Here are the main 3 types of stems to include…

Focal Flowers

Larger, single blooms. Think roses, chrysanthemums, daisies, peonies.

Filler Flowers

There are the smaller flowers that don’t steal the show like focal flowers, but help add texture and volume to your bouquet. They may or may not have multiple blooms to a stem. Think baby’s breath, mini carnations, berries, and statice, to name a few.

Greenery

Often overlooked, yet so important! Greenery can balance out your bouquet and really make your flowers pop! Not to mention, the greens themselves can be so gorgeous and can help create a vibe for your bouquet. Going for a neutral, peaceful bouquet? Try a lighter blue/green such as eucalyptus. Wanting a dramatic bouquet? Choose greenery that drapes down from your bouquet like amaranthus. Want something whimsical and delicate? Go with a fern. When it doubt, try ruscus and eucalyptus. That will give your guests two different greens to choose from, both very popular.

Having a flower bar at your Galentine’s Day will surely make it a memorable and dreamy little event and will offer your friends and guests something to take home and enjoy.

If you have questions or need suggestions - feel free to reach out! I’d love to be a resource for you as you build your bouquet bar.

If you are in the Charlotte, North Carolina area or Rock Hill, South Carolina and want help setting up your flower bar, consider renting our Flower Cart.

We stock the cart full of fresh blooms in your preferred color palette, ribbons and all the materials you need to build the bouquets, including some tips on a beautiful gold mirror sign (quite instagram worthy, if I may say) to help you make bouquets you are thrilled with.

We delivery the flower cart/bouquet bar, set up, and tear down so all you have to worry about is the fun part.

Interested in renting our cart? Click HERE for more info. We’d love to help create a special memory on your Galentine’s day!