Flowers Aren't Always A Girl's Best Friend

 

Here’s the thing about me and flowers: we don’t exactly get along.

I know, I know—“everyone” loves flowers. Well, I guess I don’t belong to that club called “everyone.” Sure, there are a few flowers that don’t bother me, like orchids and Japanese cherry blossoms, but I just don’t see the point in flowers. I don’t want a rose for Valentine’s Day (plus, I think V-Day is overrated—but that’s another story). I usually feel neutral about flowers if I get them after some kind of performance, like orchestra concerts or viola recitals. And I don’t want to carry a bouquet of flowers down the aisle.

Period.

Oh, and to answer your question: no, there won’t be a traditional bouquet toss at the wedding.

Hopefully I haven’t offended any of my dear readers (if there are any) with my bold opinions against flowers. Well, I’m not really against them. I’m just not…for them, I guess. Anyways, if you’re still reading up to this point, please stick around! I may not be a fan of flowers, but I am a fan of…well, fans…

Here’s my big idea for a bouquet alternative. You already know how much I love anything Asian, so I’ve decided that I want to walk down the aisle with an Asian-style folding fan. I haven’t really decided on the color yet, or what kind of design, etc. but I was thinking something along the lines of this:

I found this in Hong Kong and bought it for my mom as a souvenir.

But I was also thinking I could somehow include flowers with my fan. If I got a fan like the one pictured above, I guess I could hot glue small, individual flowers (not sure what kind—any suggestions?) to the fan. I wouldn’t want so many flowers that it overwhelmed the beauty of the fan itself, but maybe three or four (probably not four—that signifies bad luck in some Asian cultures) to enhance the beauty that’s already there.

If I chose a fan made with some kind of looser material (lace?), I could insert the flowers between the wooden slats of the fan. Or, I could insert the flowers between the wooden slats toward the bottom of the fan. I’m not really sure how to describe this, so I thought I would draw a picture to help you visualize what I’m imagining. Please forgive my crude drawing skills.

I don’t know—something like that. 

I also had the random idea that I could use origami flowers instead of real flowers. I love doing origami—the art of folding paper—and I thought this DIY idea would be a fun endeavor. I could use the origami flowers on the fan as well, but I'm not sure if it would look as pretty and seamless as it would with real flowers.

Or maybe, just maybe, I would be okay with just a fan. Instead of using flowers, I could tie a long silk ribbon to the fan that would hang down in front of my dress and perhaps even compliment it.

Also, here’s a link to a fan I found on Amazon.com that I’m in love with:

Japanese Silk Handheld Fan

Instead of bouquets for my bridesmaids, I was also thinking I could trade out the flowers for Asian-style parasols, kind of like this one:

 But maybe that would be too distracting from the ceremony? I’m not sure.

One last thing you flower-y people might enjoy: my mom did purchase some fake flowers on sale at Garden Ridge. She got a whole bunch of stuff for only $18. We were both excited about the sale, so we decided to take advantage of it while we could. I’m honestly not sure what we’re going to do with them yet, but we were considering using them on tables for centerpieces at the reception, or something of the sort. 

If you have any comments on this, or any ideas you’d like to suggest, please let me know. Obviously, I’m in the beginning stages of sketching out my ideas before they become reality. I need all the extra ideas and help I can get.

Ideas for next entry (vote if you wish):
-Music

-Invitations

-Photography

-My thoughts on marriage-related issues (be honest: do you really want to hear about this from me, or should I strictly stick to wedding to-dos?)

-Paige