Weddingbee Blog

Remember my devious plan to elicit tears from our wedding guests? (Quick update: it involves old family photos, sentimental flowers and trinkets.)

I had everything except for the flowers and so turned to our florist to add a few additional blooms to the procurement list. She loved the idea but my chosen flowers are springtime blooms in our area; the likelihood of them being available (read: reasonably priced) would be slim. She suggested I look for silk versions of a calla lily, peony and pansy. While not resistant to using silk flowers, I was skeptical about locating all three. Sure, the calla lily and peony would be a snap, but pansies? I’d never seen a silk version before.

Off Mr. PaC and I went: me to Michaels, him to neighboring Lowes. Imagine my surprise when pansies were the first silk flower I found. With the option of purple or yellow to boot! Two bunches of purple pansies found their way home with me.

For Mémère

There were also several options for calla lilies. I almost bought an off-white one until spotting the crisp white ones.

For Mr. PaC’s grandmother

Finding a suitable peony was tougher. None of them fully represented the “bomb” type of peony flower or bubblegum pink color of our family’s specimen. All the store carried was the “full double” bloom. So I settled on the one below because… it’s close enough to make the point. And the family members who know the difference will appreciate the gesture.

(what I got vs. what I wanted)

I was still holding out hope that my mom’s peonies would bloom during our wedding week and we’d have the real deal. Alas, it was not meant to be. Mom texted this photo yesterday:

“Look what’s blooming - they couldn’t wait for your wedding!”

Even with a late start and partial-sun location, they’re peaking now. Three weeks early. Their fleeting beauty only lasts a week. Better to know now that we’re using the Plan B silk blooms.

Big thanks to my florist for tipping me off on the seasonality of the blooms and suggesting the use of silk flowers (for so many practical reasons).

Are you using silk or paper flowers to supplement your flowers?