Greenery is the Pantone Color of the Year, and couples have embraced the yellow-green shade, interpreting it as a tie to nature. They are using it in bold, outdoorsy color palettes – imagine yellow bridesmaid dresses with bouquets of succulents, yellow roses and bachelor’s button, and soft touches of green and ivory hydrangea. Backyard weddings, floral backdrops, oversized floral print patterns, and hanging installations of greens and blooms are all the rage. The “farm-to-table” concept of featuring locally sourced food products on wedding menus is a hot catering trend as well. There is nothing more DIY than actually growing some of the products used for your own wedding!
Caution Farmer Bride!
Before you decide to plant a wedding garden, switch to yellow bridesmaid dresses, and supply everything yourself, know that there are some things that grow better on their own. Your florist, for example, is likely to be alarmed if you propose bringing in all of your own roses for your centerpieces unless you happen to own a commercial rose farm. Growers breed certain varieties of flowers for hardiness and there is definitely a difference in durability between their blossoms and the ones in a common home garden.
Also, florists have access to growers worldwide. One freak weather event might kill off all of your prize tulips, but your florist has an international network of commercial farmers to turn to if something goes wrong.
If you really want to grow your own wedding plants or flowers, think of things that are slightly more foolproof and that still wow your guests.
Garden-Fresh Wedding Favors
One great way to include something that you’ve cultivated in your wedding is to grow your own wedding favors! It only takes a few weeks to start your own seedlings in mini terra cotta pots. As anyone who ever attended kindergarten knows, herbs grow particularly quickly and can reach a point where they are quite full and beautiful in no time. Customize your pots with guest names, your motif, a piece of twine, lace, or ribbon. Your homegrown favors can easily become part of your tablescapes.
Propagate Succulents
Succulents are in-demand at the moment. They lend a unique texture to bouquets and centerpieces, and come in some really special colors including green-grey and some amazing multi-color forms with fuchsia and blue tones. They are hardy little plants, and can be propagated by rooting cuttings in soil or water. Start your succulent propagation experiments very early to find the ones that work best for you.
Grow an Ingredient
Some caterers may be willing to use something you have grown at home as an ingredient, as long as the conditions comply with local food regulations and they can be certain that the product is safe. If you are featuring mint juleps, for example, for your southern-themed wedding, and you have a mad garden overflowing with mint, you may be able to provide it fresh for your bars for the day.
Grow-Your-Own Décor Ideas
Trays of wheatgrass are easy to grow if you start early enough. They look amazing when they are trimmed and topped with a few stunning blooms, or even as a surface for escort cards. Anything you grow for use as décor on the wedding day is best if it can remain potted to avoid wilting.
Bringing the outdoors in can be made very personal when couples decide to grow and cultivate some of their own wedding décor and design elements.
Article Submitted By Community Writer
