More and more, brides are requesting to reduce waste and host a more environmentally friendly wedding. When it comes to your wedding flowers, there are several options for sustainable flowers, but each option will come with some restrictions, so let’s talk through the options to choose which works best for you.
- Donating your flowers – The first thing that brides typically request when it comes to sustainable floristry is to donate their flowers. If this is your wish, you’ll need to keep in mind that flowers only last for so long out of water, so your flowers absolutely must have a water source on the day of your wedding if you want to donate them the day after. If you are using loose greenery or greenery garland, we can’t donate these. If your flowers are going to sit outside on a summer day in Tennessee, we won’t be able to donate these flowers. If you are committed to donating your flowers, then I’m going to recommend that you go with more traditional centerpieces in vases of water, which will be collected at the end of the night, disassembled, recut, and repurposed into smaller arrangements to donate. Gifting flowers to nursing homes has been more difficult since covid-19, but there are several other options. Local church visitation groups often visit shut-ins on Sunday afternoon, which is the perfect option for delivering flowers from your Saturday wedding. There are also several elderly communities in Nashville that would love to receive your flowers!
2. Composting your flowers – If you don’t believe your flowers will last long enough to donate them, another option is to compost the flowers. One thing to consider about this is that organic compost to use on vegetable gardens will require that the flowers also be grown organically, with no pesticides. The only way we can accomplish this is to use locally-grown flowers. Any flowers that have traveled from outside of the USA will have been exposed to pesticides. Did you know that roses are literally dipped in pesticides in order to make it through customs?? There will be fewer options for your flowers if you will require organically grown flowers.
3. Foam-free – This is perhaps the easiest request that you can make! Did you know that Kelsey Gray Events already tries to avoid flower foam whenever possible?! The green flower foam that you see used by traditional florists is toxic to the environment, and although it breaks into tiny pieces, it does not actually break down entirely. Right now we’re at about 85% of all arrangements at floral foam free, and if you are willing to make some minor accommodations, we can do your wedding 100% foam free.
4. Locally-grown flowers – Using locally sourced flowers supports American farmers and reduces shipping costs. This leads to less fuel waste. I love using local flowers, but in Tennessee our climate does limit the growing season and the types of flowers that can be grown. If you are willing to work within those limitations, great! If not, we can source more options from California and at least save on overseas shipping. And if you happen to have your wedding in August or September, then you might just get some dahlias out of my very own garden.
5. Living centerpieces – A “living” centerpiece means that we use plants with the roots still attached rather than cut flowers. Centerpieces will be planted in pots or some other container suitable for growing the plant. Some brides choose to keep the plants in these containers, while others will transplant to their garden. This is a wonderful option for preventing waste, but keep in mind that we will be limited to what is available in garden centers at the time of your wedding. We can also special-order some plants and miniature trees to use as centerpieces, as well. Surprisingly this option is often not any more expensive than a traditional centerpiece of cut flowers.
6. Send flowers home with your guests – If all else fails, send your flowers home with your wedding guests and allow them to enjoy the flowers for longer than you would otherwise be able to do. Most brides are leaving on their honeymoon right after the wedding, so they don’t think about keeping the flowers, but many guests would love to take them home. As your florist I can arrive 30 minutes prior to the end of the event to disassemble flowers and wrap them up into bouquets for guests to take home.
If you are interested in sustainable floristry options for your Nashville wedding, Kelsey Gray Events would love to help! Fill out my contact form below to see if your date is available!
