Kimberly Aurora Kapur

Kimberly Aurora's Studio, LLC

PO Box 50384
Bellevue WA 98105

(206) 679-0289

Using mokara orchids in wedding bouquets can be a challenge, especially when you pair them with flowers like a hydrangea which is very two dimensional. I solved this challenge by wiring the individual flowers of the mokara orchids so that you can see the beautiful face of the flower when mixed with hydrangeas. I also suggest this when pairing most orchids with other flat flowers such as roses.

For the mokara orchids I use a #24 gauge wire and wire through the top of the flower to ensure that the head does not pop off the wire. I wire the flowers and insert them in the hydrangea and then I tape the ends of the wire to the hydrangea stem with waterproof florist tape. I leave the hydrangea in water until just before use. I ribbon wrap the stem just before I hand it to the bride or bridesmaid. The final product is garden flower with a bright tropical twist.

I like to mix and match cymbidums to create an allover tropical look. Mixing colors of the same flower gives the look of a mixed bouquet, while keeping the lines simple. I love to cascade the cymbidum heads because they can take a very thick wire. I wire cymbidiums through the stem only; I don't go through the face of the flower. For the domed part of the bouquet, I use a thick wire, such as #20 gauge doubled up. For the cascading parts I use #22 or #24 gauge doubled up. The thickness of the wire is very important when making a shaped bouquet because you don't want the flower to sag.

This little centerpiece is perfect for a cocktail table. It is made with a flat ikebana vase and a ikebana frog. I take one stem of a large, premium cymbidium and cut it in half. The top half I tilt at a 30 to 45 degree angle in the frog. The remaining half, I remove the flowers and place them individually around the base in "S" pattern to balance out the top. If you need a longer stem on each of the heads, I cut the main stem at each node rather than cutting the head off the main stem so that I can use the thickness of main stem to anchor the flower. Any type of stiff grass can be inserted into the arrangement to create accentuating lines in the arrangement.