In my family, foraging for DIY wedding flowers has become a tradition. It started when my mom had the idea to grow potted centerpieces for her big day. Great idea, but when the flowers arrived nothing was in bloom—hardly the "explosive fiesta of colors" my mother was after.
To save the day, Aunt Sheila and I headed to the local grocery store and bought as many sunflowers and dahlias as we could. Then, to give the arrangements more texture and a bit of local flavor, we headed into the woods to gather feathery goldenrod and stems of purple pokeberries. The results were bright, bold, and utterly unique. The cost of 14 centerpieces? A mere $100. But the best part was how much fun we had.
Today the foraged look is so popular that even the best professional floral designers are cultivating it. With outside-the-box greens such as grasses and vines or local and seasonal elements (fruit and berries), they conjure expressive, wild arrangements, evocative of both time and place.
To make your own foraged (or semi-foraged) wedding bouquet or centerpiece is easier than you think. Just follow some of these lessons from the experts.
Keep It Simple
Above: Oh My Hand conjured a simply stunning bouquet with generous bunches of maidenhair ferns, roses, and a single vine. Photograph by We Are Wildwood via Fly Away Bride.
In this piece I will present a number of ways to create individual botanicals. But before you get carried away, I must stress one overriding principle. Edit, edit, edit. The reason professional florists are so adept at creating wild and woolly arrangements that don't seem overgrown is because they set limits. It might be that they use a lot of texture, but a single shade, or maybe they create jewel-toned abundance with almost no greenery.
When in doubt as to the direction you want to take, it's okay to gather many things. But after you get to the arranging table, cull.
Start With What's In...
Above: New Zealand-based designers at Natalia from Leaf and Honey, created a cascading homage to spring with seasonal lilacs and wisteria, as well as with a bit of grass and vine. Photograph by Greta Kenyon via Magnolia Rouge.
In season, that is. If lilacs are your thing but your wedding is in the fall, consider a centerpiece of crab apples instead. Winter weddings? Evergreens, pinecones, privet, or winter berries are lovely.
Of course, you don't have to forage your whole bouquet. Specimens from the local florist or garden paired with wild greens mean you can still use your favorite blooms to wild effect.
And remember: don't stress. Even if you carry nothing more than a single apple branch or a dewy bunch of ferns down the aisle, it will make a statement.
Above: Brooklyn floral designer Tara Douglas grew her own bulbs for her Missouri wedding (See Tara Getting married: DIY Wedding Flowers...and the Big Day.) To these she added foraged elements from her grandmother's farm, including dogwood and may apple (the big leaves).
...And Add An Element Of Surprise
Above: From Cornwall, England, Susanne of The Blue Carrot employed wild flowering dill, grasses, and lamb's ear to create a surprisingly textured bouquet.
Be adventurous. Foraging for wedding florals is not just picking wild flowers. There's a whole range of design elements outside your door. Consider the gnarled branch, the pine cone, feather, the reed, bunch of grass—even a piece of moss. If it fits the theme, it's a go. Leafy branches, evergreens, vines, and berries, as we shall see, are great too. But remember, just one element of surprise. Too many will take your bouquet from unusual to unruly.
Below are some favorite surprising elements.
Splendor in the Grass
Above: In this stunning arrangement, designer Petra Müller Blumen employed simple, wild grasses to dramatic effect. Note how the arrangement responds to the blustery Bavarian setting. Photograph by Birgit Hart via Magnolia Rouge.
Dutch garden designer Piet Oudulf has more than demonstrated the expressive splendor of grass. Abundant grasses are also easy and affecting in a foraged bouquet. They add texture and movement as well as a soft, airy quality that is perfect for weddings.
Above: Sarah Winward of Honey of a Thousand Flowers is a master of employing simple, foraged greens to create a dramatic effect. Here, by pairing feathery phragmites and other grasses with a simple ribbon, she created a soft complement to the bride's dress. Photograph by Jessica Peterson via Ruffled.
Merry Berries
Above: A bouquet from a Portland wedding employs several of the principles we've been talking about here, including the use of an unexpected element (succulents), as well as berries. Photograph by Emily G Photography via Ruffled Blog.
Berries, like the purple privet and juniper shown here, are a wonderful way to add texture and a sense of place to your arrangement. Other favorites include raspberries (thorns removed); winter berry; honeysuckle (like privet, its shades range from bright green to aubergine); bittersweet (embrace an old enemy); rose hips, poke berries—even bay berries.
Above: Sarah Winward used both apples and raspberries in this bouquet. Photograph by Jessica Peterson.
Branch Out
Above: Designer Sarah Winward was so taken with some snowberries she discovered one fall day that she designed a whole floral scheme around them (see A Whisper and a Breath). Here, she paired the berry branches with roses and Queen Anne's Lace.
Whether you use an abundance of saplings to create a forested feel or unloose your inner-ikebana with just one, solitary stick, branches really can make a statement at a wedding. Lash long cuttings together to create a wedding arbor. Lay them flat to create a centerpiece that runs the length of the table. Or add them to a bouquet to give it a dramatic, fresh-from-the-forest feel.
Above: Erin Boyle used foraged apple branches and Queen Anne's Lace from a nearby field to form a sweet, simple centerpiece.
The Flavor of Fruit
Above: Bay Area floral designer Louesa Roebuck is a champion of the foraged arrangement (see Louesa Roebuck's Wild (and Edible) Bouquets). Here she uses no flowers at all, instead employing branches laden with wild apples, grapevines, and thyme to give her composition color and texture.
Nothing says seasonal like fruit still on the branches. For outdoor weddings, they're also perfect for weighing down anything that might blow away.
Savor the Moment
Above: Designer Cynthia Meza-Jaquez created an entire herbed themed wedding for the Wedding Chicks, including this rustic bouquet with wild flowers, apples and sage. Photograph by Johnny Jaquez.
Herbs from the garden not only add a savory element to your arrangement, they also have symbolic meaning. Rosemary represents remembrance, fidelity, and love. Sage: wisdom, virtue, and long life. Thyme stands for courage, while parsley symbolizes joy. Other favorites include lavender, dill, mustard flowers, mint, basiel, and feverfew.
Above: Designer Asako Hana used mint and dill to add texture and a savory smell to this monochromatic arrangement. Photograph by Meg Smith via Snippet and Ink.
Vine and Dine
Above: Tuscan wedding planners SposiamoVi conjured the region's bounty with a simple centerpiece of grapevines, olive branches, and lemons. Photograph by Lisa Poggi via Ruffled.
My Aunt Sheila's October wedding featured long tables laid together in a U-shape. For an easy, autumnal centerpiece that ran the entire length, we used winding, yellowing vines and purple honeysuckle berries, all foraged from the groom's ancestral home by the sea. The takeaway: vines are just about the easiest, most versatile, and most economical wedding decoration there is. Not only can you lay them across the table, you also can drape them as easy garlands, encircle them to make a bridal wreath, even wind them around the cake.
Above: What could be more simple than Sarah Winward's vine-entwined cake?
Want more easy and foraged DIYs? See:
- DIY: Foraging for a Midsummer Botanical Tabletop.
- Marry Me: 10 Tips to Plan a Simple Outdoor Wedding.
- Bride on A Budget: DIY Wedding Flowers for $20.
- Secrets of Growing Your Own Wedding Flowers.
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