Illuminate Your Wedding

Without Using Candles

How to Make LED Flower Arrangements & Firefly Jars

www.holidayleds.com

About the Projects

We have been getting a lot of inquiries lately from Brides and Wedding Planners/Coordinators looking for alternate options for lighting tables and wedding or reception spaces. More and more venues are not allowing candles to be used, and outdoor weddings lend other obstacles such as wind. Micro Dots or Battery Operated strands are a great option for tables, or anywhere else you do not have power. Here are a couple ideas we’ve come up with using the Micro Dot LEDs.www.holidayleds.com

2

Supplies

For Illuminated Flower Arrangements (Page 4)

Micro Dot battery-operated LEDs

Your wedding floral arrangements

Firefly Jars (Page 10)

Micro Dot battery operated LEDs

Mason jar with wide mouth lid

Ribbon (color to match theme)

Burlap, floral wire, cotton balls

www.holidayleds.com3

How To Make Your Own

Illuminated Flower Arrangement

We made our own arrangements, so adding the lights was easier. If you are working with a florist, you can ask them to add the lights, or if you can be present when the arrangements are being made you can add the lights yourself.

You will want to start with the twigs/branches that you will be adding the lights to. Get those set in the arrangement the way you want them, and then begin adding the lights (Pic. 1).

Pic. 1

4

www.holidayleds.com

Tips for Adding the Lights

Start with the end of the strand—the bulb end, not the end connected to the battery pack

Begin putting the lights on, starting at the base of the arrangement.

Loop or wrap the lights around the branches, leaving about 4”-6” between each wrap (Pic. 2).

We were trying to take pictures to demonstrate this technique, but the wire on these Micro Dot Lights just disappears on the stems of the branches! Don’t get me wrong, that is the final look we were going for, but for showing you what this looks like, it does not work that well. So, we decided to use some other materials for our pictures, which will give you a better visual on how we put the lights on. Pic. 2

5

www.holidayleds.com

Starting the Arrangement

Most of your twigs/branches will have multiple “branches” coming off the “main stem.” We were trying to fill this arrangement with as many lights as possible, so we wanted to take advantage of all the branch space that we could. Starting at the base of the arrangement, we picked a branch to start with. Using the looping/wrapping technique above, we wrapped up the main stem until we hit the first smaller branch. Wrap out this branch until you come to the end, or where you would like the lights to stop (Pics. 3 & 4).

Pic. 2

Pic. 3

Pic. 3

Pic. 4

6

www.holidayleds.com

Continuing the Arrangement

Cross over the branch, working your way back toward the main stem, making sure you are crossing over the wire you just put on (you want it to look like X’s not candy cane stripes) (Pics. 5 & 6).

Once you get back to the main stem, continue up the main stem until you hit the next branch, or where you want the lights to stop (Pics. 7 & 8).

Pic. 6

Pic. 7 Pic. 8

Pic. 5

7

www.holidayleds.com

Continuing the Arrangement

You will do exactly as you did on the

first branch—cross over the branch,

and wrap back down to the base of the

arrangement (Pic. 9).

Starting and stopping at the base of the

arrangement allows you to “jump”

between the main stems, without

seeing the wire/lights between the

branches at the top, which gives you a

very clean and professional look.

Continue this process around the

arrangement until you have covered all

the branches, or added as many lights

as you would like (Pics. 10 & 11).

Pic. 9

Pic. 10 Pic. 11

8

www.holidayleds.com

Finishing the Arrangement

The battery pack can be hidden in the center of the arrangement, and covered with Spanish Moss, or some other type of decorative material that goes along with your theme. Please Note: The battery pack cannot be submerged in water. If you are using live flowers, you will need to suspend the battery pack above the water/moisture level.

At this point the arrangement can be finished with the remaining flowers and fillers (Pics. 12 & 13).

Pic. 2

Pic. 3

Pic. 12

Pic. 13

If you do not want to add lights to the flowers themselves, try adding the lights into the vase, which will illuminate the bottom of the arrangement instead of the top. Or try putting the lights under a sheer in the center of the table, to illuminate the table itself.

9

www.holidayleds.com

How To Make

Your Own Firefly Jar

You can use any size or type of jar, but we found the Wide Mouth Mason Jars worked best. The Wide Mouth Lid gave you just enough room to hide the battery pack, without it hanging over the edges. Height of the jar can vary based on where you are putting the jars, and how long your Micro Dot lights are. We used a smaller jar, as we were going to use these on the tables instead of candles, and did not want a taller jar to get in the way of the other items already on the tables.

SUPPLIES: Mason jar with wide mouth lid,

Micro Dot battery-operated LEDs, ribbon

(color to match your theme), burlap (and we

also used some floral wire and cotton balls).

10

www.holidayleds.com

Starting the Firefly Jar

Start by removing the lid, and begin to loosely wrap the lights inside of the jar. Start at the bottom, moving your way up the jar, making sure to “fill-in” as much space a possible (Pic. 1).

Make sure you put batteries in your lights, and turn them on. This makes it easier to see where you have lights and where you need more.

11

Pic. 1

www.holidayleds.com

Preparing the Firefly Jar Lid

You will need to cut a slit into the inner flat lid so you can get the wire coming out of the battery pack through, leaving the battery pack itself on the outside of the jar (Pic. 2).

Be careful getting the wire through this slit; the metal on the lid is sharp, and can cut through the wire.

12

Pic. 2

www.holidayleds.com

Closing Up the Firefly Jar

Once you get the wire thru the slit, replace the inner lid and outer screw-on ring. Place the battery pack on top of the jar, positioning it in the center, making sure it is not hanging off the edges (Pic. 3).

Double-check that all of the wire with no lights on it is pulled up thru the lid and wrapped under the battery pack so it cannot be seen.

www.holidayleds.com

13

Pic. 3

Covering the Battery Pack

We now need to cover the battery pack, so you cannot see it. We used burlap to cover our jars, but you can use another type of fabric or color, to match your theme. We tried pre-cutting the pieces, but found it easier to use a larger section, and then cut off what we did not need. We used two layers of burlap, which allowed us to secure the first piece with floral wire, making sure everything was tight and well covered. Once we were happy with the look, we trimmed off the excess burlap (Pic. 4).

www.holidayleds.com

14

We used about 9 large cotton balls between the lid/battery pack and the first layer of burlap. This gave us a little more dimension, and helped to hide the corners/edges of the battery pack.

Pic. 4

Finishing Up the Firefly Jar

You can now cover the top with your second piece of burlap. Secure the second piece with ribbon and/or other decorations, to match your theme/colors, and then trim any excess (Pics. 5 & 6).

You can use smaller jars on reception tables to replace candles, or larger jars to add height and dimension to place card tables, gift tables, head table, bar, or cocktail spaces.

15

www.holidayleds.com

Pic. 6

Pic. 5

Looking for more ideas, on how to use LEDs to light up your wedding/reception space? Check these out:

Use steady or twinkle LEDs behind a sheer or fabric to highlight an area

Icicle lights work great hanging from the edge of a table (head table, cake table, gift table)

String Lights or Commercial Curtain Tap with Lights can accent a wall, or highlight a particular area (behind head table, bar spaces, accent pieces)

Drape LED String Lights from the ceiling—use by themselves or in conjunction with our LED Light Spheres

LED Cherry Blossom Trees are great stand-alone accent pieces (put at entry to reception, set on bars/cake table/gift table)

Or use them in conjunction with the LED Cherry Blossom Light Strings, which match the trees

More Wedding LED Light Tips

16

www.holidayleds.com

Completed Illuminated Flower

Arrangement and Firefly Jar

www.holidayleds.com17

For more great tips and the

largest selection of LED

holiday lights, visit us at

www.HolidayLEDs.com!

We hope you enjoyed this step-by-step tutorial!

www.holidayleds.comfacebook.com/ledchristmaslightstwitter.com/holidayledspinterest.com/holidayleds

© 2014 Holiday LEDs