I thought it would be appropriate to include some "Green" ideas, as I have been trying to live more sustainable. I hope some of these ideas find their way to your wedding.
Decor:
Real potted plants & flowers could be used for
altar/table decorations.
Drift wood with or
without floral touches added would make great centerpieces.
Old boots could be spray painted and used as unusual décor
or add flowers and use as vases.
Wash & dry soda/beer cans. Add some pebbles to bottom of
can (weight). Cover cans with fabric (scraps are perfect) or ribbon or both and
add flowers for a cool vase and unique to your wedding.
Download and print pictures of your theme or use magazine
cut outs/color book pages and glue to cardboard boxes to add 3 Dimensional
décor to your wedding. The rest of the box could be painted or covered in an
old sheet or something.
The cost of longer style garlands are…well, rather
ridiculous. Why not make your own? I’m serious & it is easy, too! Take your
old Christmas lights (or ask somebody for theirs) – ones that don’t work and
cut off the lights and the plug pieces (or tuck them under and tie with wire).
Hot glue flowers where the lights used to be and a few extras, too, along with
some leaves. And wah-lah…instant (cheap) garland that can be used in place of
streamers or added to an arch for a day wedding.
For the beach themed
wedding you can take ½ gallon milk jugs (clean by alternating cold and water
for at least 5 times) and cut near the milk jug handle (shovel shape). Add a
pail of sand and you have a cute decoration! You can use the gallon size, too.
These could also be great favor ideas for children and a way to keep them
occupied. Hint. Hint.
Seating and Tables:
Pallets can be cut and add legs from chopped wood, old
chairs/benches/ or use wood scraps. Make benches using half for seat and other
half for back. Cover with old vinyl tablecloths or fabric (thrift stores/garage
sales) or sand down to remove splinters.
Pallets could be made into tables using the same concept as
the benches. This will save on rental costs and add a touch of “We did it” to
the day. At the end of the day, they could be given as bridal party gifts or
gifts to the parents.
Old Tires could be covered in fabric or vinyl and used as
seating for children or adults (very laid back) or they could be used as décor.
Bouquets and
Boutonnières:
Think out of the box on some of these ideas and you will see
the possibility of wonderful they could be. For a beach theme, try a seashell bouquet (Google it). They are beautiful
and there are a few good tutorials for some. There are Button bouquets that
would be very original and could be used for a Victorian or Vintage theme and be impressive. Green theme or just original idea would be to use plastic
water/soda bottles to make flowers (cut strips of plastic and glue to a center.
Make stems with twigs or wooden dowels). These would definitely get people’s
attention and may start a new trend that is healthy for the planet, too.
Artificial flowers are a good alternative to cutting real flowers or try maple
leaves or branches of maple leaves for a greener bouquet/boutonnière.
A very cool way to make a bridal bouquet handle would be to
use a cardboard roll (toilet paper/paper towel) decorated with ribbon and
fabric. Just slip the bouquet into one and you have a cute handle that won’t
break the purse strings.
Favors:
Heirloom seed packets – make your own packet to include
names & wedding date.
Plastic bottle brooms (Google this) – these are easy to make
and very useful. I skipped the handle and use mine as a car broom (very
effective!).
Plastic bottle coin purses – these are a little time
consuming but very cute!
I hope these ideas get your brains churning and get you
started in the right direction. If you need any help, please leave a comment
and I’ll try to help, if I can.
