How to: Make a floral dog collar

Back in February, we received a quote from the wedding florist of $75 for a flower dog collar and leash. I decided that while the florists version would surely be beautiful, I could do it myself for MUCH cheaper. PLUS, we kept the collar and can reuse it for special events like Easter parades, and yeah that's about it. Anyway...

I think all in all, I spent about $20 for the silk flowers and all the supplies. Although real flowers would've been gorgeous, I would recommend this method as I was able to do the collar ahead of time and Abbie was able to practice wearing the real deal!

I did some hunting on the internet and found some examples on OffBeatBride and emailed Tiffany who had some experience in this area. Coincidentally, she lives in Richmond! She sent me some great directions to which I've added my own notes.

Materials:
Small, lightweight silk flowers (you'll need less than you think, I used about 3 blooms per inch)
a cheap, flat dog collar with a snap together closure (not the kind with a pin that's like a belt buckle)
standard length dog leash
Ribbon 1/2" wide
Floral wire
Floral tape
Glue gun

1- Adjust the collar to fit your dog - not too tight- it should hang just a little- but not much

2- starting in the middle- secure a single flower or a small cluster to the collar

*You may need to glue the actual flower to the stem, they tend to fall off. Remember that the middle is actual under their neck, so you may want larger blooms closer to the leash/clasp.

3- work your way down, securing the blooms as you go.

4- stop about a 1/2 inch from the clasp/buckle

5- fill in spaces/gaps with small leaves,bows, or little clusters of tulle- secure these with hot glue

Put the collar on your dog for 30 minutes to an hour each day for one week or so before the wedding. Supervise!! You want to be sure it is not too heavy, does not becomes a chew toy, or the flowers don't fall off and get eaten.

At the wedding put the collar on just before it needs to be worn- and remove it after the ceremony and photos- or when ever your dog seems annoyed with it.

photo by Karina Grant Harwood

I also hot glued the same ribbon that I used for bows on the ends directly onto the leash. Leashes tend to come in fluorescent colors, not pretty pastels, so I think it was definitely an improvement over highlighter hot pink!

Also, our ring bearer/flower dog bearer Brock was only 3 years old so a standard length leash was MUCH too long for him to control the dog so my dad cut half the leash off the morning of the wedding to shorten it for him. With the ribbon on the leash, no one could even tell he had chopped it off!