Weddingbee Blog
Exactly one year out from our wedding date, I decided to do a test run of our bouquets and centerpieces so I could get an idea of what was in season for September. I really wanted to do the flower arrangements myself to save money, but I had no experience at all. I figured that if I screwed up I could always just have the female bridal party carry books or lanterns down the aisle.
To save even more money, we decided to use fruits and vegetables to cut down on flower costs. Plus, I was having a tough time finding flowers in anything other than weak, pale green shades. So, I decided to do a test run of the bridesmaid bouquets using green bell peppers, broccoli and asparagus. The pepper and asparagus bouquets turned out horribly because, as I said before, I didn’t know what I was doing. They were asymmetrical and lumpy.
However, when I tried a third time using broccoli, I managed to get results I could live with. I used alstroemeria, white chrysanthemums, mini white roses and an outside layer of bells of Ireland to surround a head of broccoli in the middle.
The flowers in the picture came from Whole Foods and our Maid of Awesomeness is serving as the hand model.
The flowers for the wedding itself will be come from Jim Ludwig’s Blumengarten in the Strip District. They will be selling us wholesale flowers for bouquets and centerpieces as well as pre-made boutonnieres and corsages. This will cost us about $400.
|
Share this post:
Approximately how much money are you saving my doing this?
That is a very fun and original idea. The one thing that I would warn you about is scent/smell. If broccoli is left out of a fridge or water too long it begins to stink. It should be fine through the ceremony, but I wouldn’t recommend putting them on the cake table to decorate it (as many people do). It could be unappetizing…:)
Here’s a place where you can find some great, affordable silks…They look 100% real. 
I think I might be confused…did you use the broccoli as a filler for youTEST bouquet? Or are you using for the actual day of as well…lol…sorry I have to ask!
I think you did a nice job putting this one together, but I would nix the broccoli. I like the creativity of it but I guess it is too out there for me.
How you thought about just getting some really nice fake flowers and making a bouquet? I’ve seen some gorgeous ones that were quite inexpensive. I also agree with the previous poster that the broccoli won’t smell too nice after awhile….
Ok - I get it but I don’t think its a good idea. We are getting all of our flowers (bouquets, centerpieces, 30+ buckets down the aisle, etc) from a wholesales and its less than $400. Just get all the same flower in like 2 colors and it can look classy even if you don’t think you have arranging skills.
Sorry, but I think you may have gone too far - if you want to do veggies do straight veggies but the veggie/flower mix is just confusing.
I honestly was thinking “what the…” as I was reading but when I got down to the picture I actually think it looks pretty good. But be careful about the smell like others have said…
Also, another option is just having smaller bouquets with same amount of actual flowers you used in your trial. That way you wouldn’t have to worry about the smell…
Miss Lollipop,
I love the broccoli. I think it is unique and whimsical, and refreshingly odd. Have you considered carrying a cauliflower bouquet in white and having the bridesmaids carry broccoli green?
Very original, Miss Lollipop! I love the oranges and whites with the varying shades of green. Especially the dark green. If you’d like to keep the brocolli, instead of having a whole head in the middle perhaps you can divide it into smaller sections about the size of the chyrsanthemums and randomly position them in the bouquet? Or you could replace the brocolli with dark green leaves seen on some rose bushes.
OK, obviously take everyone’s comments with a grain of salt (the plus and minus about opening blogging about your plans — some people won’t love it). I don’t love it either. but if you love it than cool.
I’ve seen cabbage in table flowers — maybe you’re on to something, but the broccoli doesn’t “do it” for me. Maybe some other veggies? Do a google image search and see if you can get some inspiration that way. GL!
if anyone gets hungry, they can take a bite. 
i think fruits/veggies on smaller pieces (ie. boutonnières, flower girls bouquets, etc) would be cute but not sure about larger bouquets though.
i think everything looks really great! except for the head of broccoli. i think its a original idea but maybe use florets instead of a whole head. just my 2 cents. =)
I appreciate the creativity - but to be honest, this is just too much. And plus, broccoli smells terrible! Why dont you just carry a little hand-tie bouquet of the flowers from that bouquet? You could even put a bunch of mint leaves in it - that would smell great!
I actually really like it. It’s unique and interesting. My only suggestion (not that you asked for any) would be to bring the broccoli out a little farther. Right now it looks like it was just placed in the middle of a small bouquet to make it look fuller. But if you kind of use the broccoli as the crest of a dome of flowers I think it would look more intentional and would better showcase the veggie.
Basically what I’m saying is that it might look more put together if the flowers didn’t extend so far past the head of broccoli. But great idea!
Fruit might smell yummier and be a little more attractive?
The broccoli hunk in the middle is too big and does, like Deb says, look like filler. Maybe use smaller florets? How about dried wheat stalks for texture & variety?
Sorry, but I have to add: And if you take Beano before, there’ll be no gas.
wow i’m surprised by all the anonymous comments, which are usually quite rare.
i actually love the idea - it’s unique and could definitely work. you might try incorporating some beautiful cabbages which look very much like flowers. good luck miss lollipop! love your original ideas.
Are all of the annonymous comments from the same person?
I really like your idea, Miss Lollipop! I think the bouquet looks beautiful.. I love the colors!
I think I would like kale better as a vegetable “flower” for the center. Creative approach, though!
I can’t decide whether I like it or not. But I have to applaud you for your creativity and originality
I love how you are thinking out of the box!
I think that if the brocolli pushed our more and perhaps broken up and shown throughout the arrangement might make it more appeasing!
Hmm…I didn’t think about the smell…we might have to reconsider if the bridal party end up smelling like a garbage dump.
My bouquet will be all white roses with baby artichokes (Sorry, no pictures from that trial run!). I’m tempted to leave a few artichokes out for a few hours to see if they end up smelling, too.
I’m really not a fan of silk flowers and our $400 will get us buckets of roses, daisies and other flowers, so we should be able to work something out if the broccoli idea falls through.
Eek. Please don’t use broccoli. The flowers in the bouquet above are beautiful–why not just use those?
I think it’s great that you are thinking outside the box…I don’t think it would work for me, but your wedding isn’t my wedding!
My 2 cents:
I agree with the ppl that said maybe all fruits/veg OR all flowers?
If you want it as is, maybe pull the brocolli up to the height of the other flowers.
Also, I read in the spring/summer issue about the amazing things you can do with carnations (very cheap) If you use one color and pack them tightly together you can’t even tell they are carnations…
Just an idea
It’s definitely unique. I agree about the smell. You might want to try leaving your trial bouquet out for 4-6 hours and see how it does.
I think it’s really cute and fun. I’ve seen some gorgeous arrangements with fruit and veggies. Maybe you and your bridal party can go to Whole Foods or farmer’s market to look for different veggies, fruits, and flowers and practice more arrangements.
I think it’s a little weird. Not so much the idea itself, but just the way it looks in the picture. For centerpieces it would work great, but for the bridal bouquet… yeah, weird. Maybe smaller pieces of broccoli intead of one big piece in the middle? I think the massiveness of it might be a good part of what bothers me personally.
Heck, it’s your wedding. It’s up to you what you do, not Weddingbee-ers, you know? These are all just opinions.
o the warning about the broccoli smell is absolutely RIGHT! we have monthly staff meetings and there are always snacks and someone brought a tray of veggies and they made the whole meeting room smell like fart. it was pretty funky.
I also saw something cute done with tiny little brussel sprouts — looked very “spring” like — sort of British, Peter Rabbit meets Martha, if you can imagine.
I love your idea. It’s fun, funky and (I’m assuming) totally you. Go for it!
Miss Broco–I mean, Miss Lollipop! I was totally going to suggest you use artichokes as another option, but I see you’ve already thought of that–they can be really beautiful with purple tips, or even when they’re more in-flower.
Brocollini (sp?) might be another option, since they have a bit more of a slender flower look.
There are some ornamental kale varieties that also could add a lot of color (think fuschia). And of course herbs–though I’m not sure that would save you money.
You might also check with folks at farmers markets, too–sometimes they’ll be more likely to sell fruits & veggies that have an old-school market apperance, with flowers or larger leaves still attached…
So much fun!
I always wanted to do one with herbs.
One could saute dinner with it after!
So would you have a salad toss instead of a bouquet toss?
Did you go with broccoli because you wanted green? Because otherwise I think some of those small ornamental squashes might be nice–they would not rot, and they come in pretty colors and interesting textures. Or perhaps apples or pears would have a better chance of not smelling. Or what about small green peppers–jalapenos or serrano chiles, wired to a stem, would not be unwieldy or rot too quickly.
I certainly don’t mean to be negative, because I DEFININITELY appreciate creativity, but this is just not pretty. 
It doesn’t look like a unique bouquet, it looks like you shoved a stalk of brocolli in the middle. I agree with the PP that if you want to incorporate fruits and veggies, maybe just do flowers for the bouquets and do the fruits and veggies in the centerpeices. that could really work and be really cool.
i think it looks very interesting. i like the colors & your creativity to this.
a personal thought: make sure this is something you wont regret 20 years from now for being different.
You know, when I was feeling sad about the high cost of flowers and indecisive about what I wanted, I was seriously considering using broccoli. (But then I got excited about flowers and decided on those instead.)
[...] Herbal wedding bouquets and veggie ones! [...]
| Visit our sister sites | Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Fertile Thoughts Infertility Support |
Mrs. Lollipop, Pittsburgh
Age and Occupation: 26, Computational Linguist
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Project Manager
Engagement Date: August 2, 2006
Wedding Date: September 2, 2007
Blogging Since: July 17, 2007
Venue: The PPG Aquarium at the Pittsburgh Zoo
About Me: I'm a Pittsburgh transplant who grew up in the deep south. I have a weakness for exotic alphabets, DIY projects, mobster movies and international travel. My fiance and I are both non-native Japanese speakers and we have a bullfrog named Skinny.
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| 28 |
Latest Gallery Pics