February 2016 - wedOtahiti | Tahiti Wedding Planner in Moorea + Tahiti Officiant in Moorea

14 02 2016

HOW TO DIY POMANDER BALLS FOR YOUR WEDDING IN TAHITI

A pomander ball is originally a ball which contains aromatic substances that is placed in a room or a cupboard, so that the fragrance of the room stays fresh. It can be made from several ingredients to perfume your home, but today I’ll share with you the process of making wedding pomander balls in Tahiti, or in other words flower balls.

If you are wondering how in the world you can get flower balls in Tahiti for your bridal party to carry throughout the wedding day, or to decorate your ceremony site, then let me tell you:

You can DIY wedding pomanders in Tahiti pretty easily, given that you aim at creating mini balls and that you free up enough time pre wedding to do so. This also makes a fun and exciting activity to plan with your bridesmaids the night before the wedding!

You just need to follow a few simple steps and then you will have your own hand-made wedding pomanders.

Here Are My Tips to DIY Wedding Pomander Balls in Tahiti:

1. Choose the material you’ll work with:

There are several options you can choose from to put together your floral ball. Therefore, before you start with it, choose the material that you think will work best for you. It can be ready-made floral foam balls covered with proper netting (this can usually be found in a gardening store in Tahiti and is my preferred choice) or ready-made floral foam balls which are reinforced with bowl tape or making a pomander by cutting a ball shape out of a bar of floral foam (which is much more difficult and obviously not as convenient than the ready-made balls).

2. Reinforce:

If you are not using floral foam balls that are reinforced with netting, you should reinforce the floral foam balls with bowl tape or by wrapping chicken wire around it.

3. Soak:

Now, soak the foam balls gently in water. Keep it overnight or at least soak it for an hour.

4. Choose the ribbon:

After soaking the foam overnight, it is time to choose the ribbon that you will use as the handle of your pomander. Cut the ribbon and make sure it has a length of about 18 inches. Thread the ribbon slowly through the chicken wire (or netting) and tie in a clean knot. Thread the ribbon and tie a knot on the bottom with a tiny wooden pick tied into the knot. Tie another knot on the top with a tiny wooden pick in order to form the ribbon handle.

5. Get the flowers:

Now, you need to get the flowers for your pomanders. The most popular flowers used in floral balls are carnations, mums and Bells of Ireland. Although using roses can be gorgeous, it requires a lot and can be quite expensive. Best is to use local flowers like mini anthuriums (my favorites!) and Tiare flowers (gardenia). Plumeria can also look fantastic but note that they are very fragile.

6. Insert the flowers:

While inserting the flowers, make sure that there are no holes or spaces left in the pomander.

7. Spray:

After your pomander is ready, spray it with a finishing spray. You can use sprays such as Finishing Touch or Crowning Glory. After the spray has dried, put it inside a plastic bag and refrigerate it. You can also lay the pomander on a soft bed of shredded wax paper or tissue paper.

If you follow these tips carefully, you will be able to make flower pomanders for your wedding in Tahiti all by yourself!

Your bridesmaids can each carry a flower ball during the wedding ceremony, and then the pomanders can be recycled as site or venue decoration, either hanging in a tree or added on top of a clear cylinder vase, like this:

This also works using styrofoam balls and silk flowers (no soaking of course!):

Photo Credit: Renaud Fayada