Weddingbee Blog

I know flowers are usually an integral part of a wedding. I’ve seen some beautiful inspiration, but I tend to be a very frugal person. I can’t wrap my head around spending money on something I’m not passionate about. And flowers just don’t do it for me. Luckily our venue, being all inclusive, includes decorative flowers. Given the time of year for our wedding, we’ll probably have a mix of mums and whatever else hasn’t died from the first frost. The only flowers that I would be responsible for are those in the boutonnieres and bouquets.

My first real inspiration with flowers came from walking around boulder fields earlier this year. Whether you call them—ankle biters, burr balls, monkey balls, pinkelponkers, or, as I call them, gumballs—it all means the same thing.

Image via Garden Naturally

I think they are awesome and beautiful. So I’m planning on making these bad boys into boutonnieres and possibly placing them in the ladies’ bouquets. I’m also thinking, for our junior bridesmaid, I might make a pomander out of these. I’m hoping it all looks unique and not too “torture device.”

As far as actual flowers with color and petals go, I was originally thinking I’d go to the local Ingles on Friday morning, pick up a bunch of their $10 bouquets, and figure something out a la Mrs. Jam. Since I’m not partial to any specific flower or look, I think this would go over well.

However, indecisiveness kicked in this summer when I started a part-time job. I work for a bakery and take their bread and pastries to local farmers’ markets. Through the markets, I’ve met some awesome vendors, including the lovely Paula Guilbeau of Heirloom Gardens.

Image via Heirloom Gardens on Facebook

I knew she had beautiful tomatoes and other veggies, but one day I got home from market to find a gorgeous bouquet on my counter. My fiance had snuck down to market and bought some flowers to surprise me. Now, I must confess, one reason I’m impartial to flowers is my disgust with their smell. I’ve been to more than my fair share of funerals, and the overpowering smell of flowers always makes me nauseous because of the associations I make with it. I had back surgery when I was 16, and when I woke up in the hospital, so many flowers had been delivered to my room I thought I had died. Once I was convinced otherwise, I promptly threw up. Needless to say, a strong flower smell is a big no-no, but with Heirloom Gardens’ flowers, she mixes in herbs that give the flowers an amazingly unique scent.

So during one of our slower markets, I went to talk to Paula. Basically, most of their flowers are grown outside and are therefore at the risk of frost. Our wedding is the first week of November and, if history repeats itself, the first frost will occur mid-October. In that case, Paula could offer me whatever flowers she might have left growing in the greenhouse. However, if it looks like the frost might come later, closer to the date, she said she’d keep an eye on things and bring some flowers into the greenhouse for me. Isn’t that just awesome? Either way, I won’t really have any idea about what the flowers will look like until a couple days before the wedding. I like it ’cause it’s one less thing I have to choose.

Image via Heirloom Gardens on Facebook

Anyone else going casual with their flowers?