Entries Tagged 'flowers' ↓

Do you have to toss your bouquet?

Of course not!

For one thing, it probably cost you a fair amount of money and no-one would blame you if you wanted to take it home with you and put it in a vase. Or give it to your mom as a special thank you for all her love and hard work.

Yes, it was fun thirty years ago, because the single girls at a wedding reception were- in all likelihood- considerably younger than they are now, and they had different priorities- marriage and children being at the top of their lists! These days, the bride’s single friends are often successful business and career women with either no intention to marry (even if they are happily involved with someone), or they could be unhappily single and don’t want attention drawn to that fact!

So why was the bouquet ever tossed at all?

One theory tells of how, in ancient times, it was exceptionally lucky to get a piece of the bride’s dress. It was accepted that she was unlikely to ever wear it again so single women would chase the bride and try to rip pieces off her dress! Sounds absolutely charming doesn’t it… Not!! As weddings became bigger and bigger events, wedding dresses started costing more and more money, and women started wanting to keep them to perhaps pass on to a daughter one day- leaving the bride in tatters became rather unpopular. So brides began to give away other objects instead, like their garter and their bouquet.

There are ways of giving away your bouquet where it doesn’t have to be thrown into a crowd of women who are more likely to scatter than try to catch it!

You could play a dancing game and eliminate couples on the dance floor until the couple remaining is the one that’s been together the longest and give them the flowers. Or if you have a hand tied bouquet of single flowers you could untie it and give each lady a single flower. Or blindfold the bride, have all the ladies stand in a circle around her and when the music stops the person nearest the bride is the one who gets the bouquet.

If you are going to be tossing your bouquet into a crowd standing behind you, make sure to check how high the ceilings are, that the ladies don’t stand too far behind you, and that there are no ceiling fans that could interfere with the flowers’ trajectory!

The possibilities are endless.

And there are no rules.

One of my favourite places to go idea hunting is on Martha Stewart Weddings and for this post I was looking around on the flowers page, specifically centrepieces.

One idea I like very much is having a multitude of different vases as centrepieces! A mixture of vases in different shapes and sizes- or as in one of the pictures, a mixture of old fashioned tea tins- with different flowers in makes for a very striking visual impact. You can even have little individual flowers in tiny pots in amongst the candles.

There are so many options! Painted terracotta vases, bowls, teapots, coloured glass, slim glass vases, painted glass bottles, boxes, baskets, porcelain vases, even antique silver jugs and vases. In one of the pictures you’ll see there are no flowers on the table at all- just tapered candles in several different glass candleholders and it looks stunning! You can of course, colour coordinate the vases.

An added bonus of having multiple vases as centrepieces is that you can use them as gifts for your guests. Little potted plants make wonderful thank you gifts as well as gawjiss decorative table decor.

Go and check this out!!!

Honestly. . . Whenever I look at any of my bridal magazines, or see something on TV, or even just think about what I’d like to do for myself one day- I have never seen myself with a traditional bridal bouquet. I have always seen myself with a clutch or draw-string bag completely covered in silk flowers instead. I absolutely love silk flowers (and feathers, and beads, and sequins, and fake fur… but that’s another post altogether!) And a bonus is that a handbag can hold things like lipsticks and extra hair clips as well as a hanky or tissues. . . and it could even be something to keep and use forever!

Instead of tossing your wedding bouquet- why not throw several small bunches of flowers, or single flowers, each one with a little “fortune” tied to it… or try using the Finnish tradition- where the blindfolded bride is in the centre of a circle made up by the unmarried women. She then turns in a circle, all the girls forming the outer circle turn the other way- when the music stops the person directly in front of the bride gets the flowers.