Many Black couples jump over a special wedding broom as part of their wedding ceremony. Jumping the broom is believed to bring good luck to the newly married couple.
As the broom is part of the ceremony, it is usually decorated to match the special occasion’s decor.
You can purchase a fully decorated broom for your wedding, or you and your wedding party can create and decorate it together. DIY’ing the broom can be a fun way to spend an evening with the girls.
Here is the basic way to make your own wedding broom.
How to Make Your Wedding Broom
Most people start with a natural straw broom designed to be used for crafting. A natural straw broom looks more traditional and can be much easier to decorate because the bristles are easier to manipulate.
What You Need
The materials used to decorate your wedding broom are up to the couple tying the knot. Some common items can include flowers such as lilies, ribbon in your wedding colors, decorative floral curled wire, maybe decorative pins, or other personalized decorations.
You will also need basic crafting materials such as tape, scissors, markers and a hot glue gun. If you use hot glue, you will also need a crafting stick to press your materials to the glue. Do not use your fingers; hot glue can cause burns.
Steps to Make Your Wedding Broom
Decorate one side of the broom. Lay the broom on a hard flat surface, such as a table or the floor. Place the curly wires on the broom along with your flowers.
After deciding on the layout, tape the ends of the wires together, label the flower stems in the order you want them on the broom. Spread your flowers out like a fan and tape the ends together.
Cover the end of the broom handle with two pieces of ribbon. Put the two pieces of ribbon in a cross shape to cover all four sides of the handle. Hot glue each side in place. Use the craft stick to press it down and make it smooth.
Use the same ribbon to wrap the handle in a diagonal pattern like the grips of a baseball bat. You might want the entire handle wrapped, or you might want just a few inches wrapped. That is your preference.
You also might want to wrap the handle high enough to cover the tape on the wire and flowers, or you can wrap that separately from the handle, depending on how far down the wire and flowers go.
Lastly, use the same or a complementing color of wired ribbon to create a bow. The bow can be simple or very elaborate, depending on your skill level. Adhere the bow to the broom. You can hot glue it or use decorative pins.
You might also want to add decorations to the broom’s handle, such as plastic jewels or shells or, in my neck of the woods, Mardi Gras beads.
