My son got married last year, and it was beautiful and perfect! While planning for the wedding, our family kept sustainability in mind. We purchased compostable cutlery and recyclable supplies, and I used my dried flowers as wedding decor as well as some things I already had around my house. To be honest, I spent less than $25 on materials (a discounted bouquet of roses for drying, a few beeswax candles and some batteries for mini lights I already had). Her family also repurposed items to help out, like candle holders, bud vases and lace for table clothes. We got many compliments on the wedding decor, and it combined exceptionally well with their outdoor wedding! You can watch a short video below:

Dried flowers as wedding decor are perfect for: diy weddings, long-lasting gifts for bridal party and family, smaller budgets, creating in advance and providing much more versatility and durability for installments and decor than fresh flowers.

From my experience preparing for my son’s wedding, the more you can have done prior to the crazy days right before the big celebration, the less stress and more energy you have for all the other things on the to-do list. So I made about a dozen flower domes from repurposed jars and dried flowers months ahead of time. We used these as centerpieces, and then the bride gifted them to friends and family. The flower domes capture the day of memories, and the glass protects the everlastings indefinitely. Another unique and sweet idea for using dried flowers as wedding decor are teardrops with dried flowers, hanging them around your venue to add enchanting pops of color and whimsy! I take custom orders to create these hanging beauties, but you can definitely create your own. Email me with any questions, I would love to help.

Two important things to remember with flower domes and teardrops: make sure all flowers and greenery are completely dry before enclosing in bottle or jar (to prevent molding) and keep them out of direct sunlight (to prevent fading).

Another great DIY idea is to create and gift mini flower domes or flower magnets (custom orders accepted) to your bridal party and guests. I use small pieces of dried flowers that break off from the bigger stems to use in the mini domes, and a toothpick and tweezers are extremely helpful when arranging the design in the bottles. I make the magnets out of polymer clay, anyone can bake them in an oven and the color choices are endless. After working the clay for a bit, shape into a pancake, then add texture if you want, bring ends together like a burrito, slightly overlapping and pressing them together. Make sure you have a hollow center for holding flowers. After baking them with the back side down, apply a strip of magnet tape with craft, super glue. Then create small bouquets out of dried flowers to stick inside. Or maybe you want to put feathers or fabric in them. You can also make these into boutonnieres by adhering a stick pin to the back instead.

What else can you do with dried flowers as wedding decor?

You can also make wreaths of any size with any colors out of dried flowers. Incorporate shells and beach glass for a beachy vibe or moss, mushrooms and pine cones for a woodsy celebration. These can be hung around the venue then gifted to family.

Dried flowers look amazing in vases too! Try using large vases with dried flowers as centerpieces, or use small vases around the larger centerpieces and in different spots around the venue to add subtle vignettes of beauty.

Don’t forget the bouquets for the bride and bridesmaids like I almost did! It was rehearsal day (the day before the wedding), and one of the bridesmaids asked if they would have bouquets to hold. After months of making decor pieces and arrangements for the wedding, not only had I forgotten to make the bridesmaids’ bouquets but also the bride’s bouquet. So, I spent that night making them and everything was fine in the end.

Finding dried flowers for your special day can sometimes be hard. Here are some sources for everlastings:

• Grow your own! You can grow and dry flowers months or even a year ahead of time, saving them for your DIY decor projects. Read this blog to learn some tips for drying flowers, whether homegrown or purchased: Drying Flowers, 3 Helpful Tips to Get Started!
• Buy fresh flowers from your local farmer’s market. If going this route, hit up your farmer’s market during the summer for the best selection of flowers that dry well. Whether you are buying or growing your own, you can learn some flowers that dry well by checking out this list from my blog: 12 Best Flowers for Drying, Plus Growing Tips! Also, sometimes you can find a farmer that specializes in and sells dried flowers.
• Save and dry flowers from special occasions throughout the year. These flowers will have an extra infusion of love in them!
• Gather and dry wildflowers from the side of the road, just remember to put your hazards on and remain highly visible to traffic while doing this. These are free and include: Queen Ann’s lace, Spirea, ferns, bachelor buttons, sorrel, teasel, clover and more.
• And you can always buy fresh bouquets (look for discounted ones) from a grocery store and dry them. Again, look for flowers that are known to dry well.

Lastly, I want to share a trend I’ve noticed lately. Even if you choose not to use dried flowers as wedding decor, there are incredible artists on Instagram that preserve couple’s wedding bouquets in different ways. I’ve seen flowers incorporated into pottery, resin, wall art and flower domes. I recently made a custom flower dome for a friend with her daughter’s wedding bouquet. My father had a huge pickle jar that was the perfect size and shape for the piece. I just had to paint the lid. See pic below!

My son’s wedding was one of the best days of my life. To see him and his beloved so happy was a true gift. They had such faith that everything would work out thru all of the challenges that come with planning. They also know that the most important thing is their love for each other. So, all of the extras that come with a wedding are just bonus. I felt truly honored to be trusted with the extras, and our family just got bigger!

Thank you for reading, and I really hope your wedding is special. Like dried flowers, may your love be everlasting!

Brigitte McBride