an alternative to flowers for bride?

willow tree

My flower girls are going to throw flower petals from a basket. I'm thinking i don't want to hold a bouquet walking down the aisle.(or for bridesmaid or pins etc).. did anyone not bother with flowers? Did you use an alternative?
thanks in advance.


(outdoor humanist ceremony weather permitting)

ChewChew

willow tree wrote: »

My flower girls are going to throw flower petals from a basket. I'm thinking i don't want to hold a bouquet walking down the aisle.(or for bridesmaid or pins etc).. did anyone not bother with flowers? Did you use an alternative?
thanks in advance.

I wish I could help but I'm also looking for inspiration. My bm's will carry a fresh flower bouquet but I don't want to and am at a complete loss!! I never thought of the flower girls so tha is for reminding me of that one

January

A button bouquet or brooch bouquet?

My flower girls had little heart shaped open handbags with flower petals in them or you can get flower girl wands too. Ours were like this but silver, got them in Inspiring Idea's in Blanchardstown.

willow tree

ah so cute!!! my littlest one is too young to get it but my older daughter is so excited, she'd love this idea! thanks :-)

anothernight

I'm not going to bother with a bouquet. Instead, I'll be wearing a dress with colourful floral accents.

I haven't decided what I will do with my spare hand. I'll probably just put it on the arm of the person who's walking me down the aisle, or put it in my skirt pocket.

Princess Peach

I'm having a bouquet but it's made out of small doorknobs.

If you want a bouquet but not flowers, have a search for alternative bouquets. Pinterest is your friend here!

Milly33

Well you dont have to carry anything if you dont want to, but like if you did..

You could have
Hand corsages
Wedding Sings
fancy handbags
wedding wands

Lots of options really

willow tree

Thanks everyone, it's great to put something out there and hear people's ideas. I've seen some gorgeous bouquets and brooch ones etc and they're beautiful, i just don't think it make sense to me to carry up something unless it is going to be left on the table? like i will have some candle lanterns left on the table and some flowers so maybe i could bring one of those up but i think i will just walk up with my hands free (i may end up carrying my 2 year old anyway!).
Thanks for all the thoughts.x

pwurple

How about something leafy, maybe branches of a tree instead of flowers? (Perhaps a 'willow tree')

What are the reasons for avoiding flowers specifically, maybe we can advise better?

Pollen allergy? Cost?

My flowers were picked from my grandmother and mother's gardens that morning... didn't cost a lot, but meant a lot.

Obviously if you just don't see the point of it at all, then there's no need.



Branchy bouquets below, I really like the olive branches, the second one.

willow tree

they are really cool pwurple ..love the olive one too. yeah the more i think about it, the more i think it's the practical side of me can't make sense of it. i think i'll just not bother with it. hmm they do look nice though..ah! i'm overthinking it. :-)

anothernight

Do consider whether you'll need to hold something to prevent you from fidgeting due to nerves! With all eyes on you, you might feel awkward not knowing what to do with your hands.

If you don't want flowers, you could hold a book that means something to you, or a cute clutch that complements the dress.

Extraplus

I didn’t bother with a bouquet, or anything else for that matter. Like you Willow, I just didn’t see the point in it. I was never going to have a big, dramatic bouquet, so I would have just been having one for the sake of it. Having been a bridesmaid before I remembered following the bride around most of the time holding her bouquet! So I didn’t bother with anything, and it worked out just fine.

I did get simple bouquets for my bridesmaids though so they would have something to do with their hands walking up the aisle! I was on my Dad’s arm going up the aisle, and my husband’s going down, so my hands didn’t feel awkward at all!

willow tree

That sounds great extraplus.. i will be walking up with dp and our 2 dd's so i think my hands will be full (because is a good point, i'll be very nervous to be centre of attention). but my bridesmaid might appreciate a bouquet.. thanks everyone

Keane2baMused

I picked up 3 absolutely fabulous silk flower bouquets in Tkmaxx the other day.

You really would think they are real unless you looked very close! And I love fresh flowers so I am really pleased!!! I am going to wrap the stems in lovely material and mix through some fresh lavendar and foliage for the day

13 euro each!!

ThatGeekGirl

I have decided against fresh flowers for my own wedding because I was bridesmaid a few years ago and all I remember of my bouquet at the time was holding it for the 20 min civil ceremony, holding it for about 10 mins of photos and then seeing it wilt on the table for the rest of the night while we got drunk. I could not resign myself to the cost for my own wedding - I am having 4 bridesmaids and a flower girl so I was budgeting approx 400Euro or more for fresh flowers. Instead I have gotten realistic fake flowers; 5 bouquets and basket of petals for around 100E total. I could have gone even cheaper but I got carried away with my own flowers because they were so pretty hahaha.

Keane2baMused

ThatGeekGirl wrote: »

I have decided against fresh flowers for my own wedding because I was bridesmaid a few years ago and all I remember of my bouquet at the time was holding it for the 20 min civil ceremony, holding it for about 10 mins of photos and then seeing it wilt on the table for the rest of the night while we got drunk. I could not resign myself to the cost for my own wedding - I am having 4 bridesmaids and a flower girl so I was budgeting approx 400Euro or more for fresh flowers. Instead I have gotten realistic fake flowers; 5 bouquets and basket of petals for around 100E total. I could have gone even cheaper but I got carried away with my own flowers because they were so pretty hahaha.

Where did you get your own bouquet do you mind me asking?

ThatGeekGirl

Keane2baMused wrote: »

Where did you get your own bouquet do you mind me asking?

I am making my own but I bought the individual flowers online, I can't post websites yet (I'm a newbie apparently ha) so its central floral supplies (all one word) dot com - they are in cork and very fast at delivering! Also they ring you if they need to confirm things so you get to talk to an actual person which is always nice

Keane2baMused

ThatGeekGirl wrote: »

I am making my own but I bought the individual flowers online, I can't post websites yet (I'm a newbie apparently ha) so its central floral supplies (all one word) dot com - they are in cork and very fast at delivering! Also they ring you if they need to confirm things so you get to talk to an actual person which is always nice

Brill I will look them up thanks :-)

daveyeh

Shotguns

athtrasna

Saw photos on Facebook of an acquaintance's wedding and all the bouquets and the guys lapel flowers were knitted. The bouquets looked fab.