Reduce, REUSE, Recycle
A big topic in the flower world is getting the most bang for your buck with re-purposing your flowers. I am all for a good deal and multipurpose pieces, I am Dutch after all. There are most definitely ways to re-purpose flowers within a wedding day.
A few key things to remember when re-purposing your wedding flowers is time, manpower, logistics and mechanics. Most ceremony to reception flips have 45 to 60 minutes to happen during a cocktail hour. Truly not a lot of time to switch a whole layout especially if tables have to be set up. It is definitely doable but with the right amount of manpower. You can ask your aunts, uncles and cousins to do the flip, but then they miss your cocktail hour. Some may be absolutely fine with that. Most florists (like Sweet Pea Designs… like that plug there?:) and coordinators/planners offer ceremony to reception room flips where we can easily re-purpose flowers. Remember the more flowers we are flipping in the same short amount of time requires more manpower meaning more $$ for the flip. Just something to keep in mind when budgeting for multipurpose floral pieces. Also, keep in mind logistics. If the ceremony and reception are at the same site or even the same room, that makes logistics much easier. If the ceremony and reception are at two different places like a church and then a venue, that makes it trickier, not impossible, but more logistically challenging. Last thing to keep in mind is mechanics. Florists have to use a lot of ugly mechanics to position flowers in the most beautiful way. One day I will do a deep dive on ugly floral mechanics. But the point is, some floral pieces are hard to reuse due to the orientation of the mechanics.
Alright onto the meat of the blog here. Arch flowers. I love an arch moment. However, they are one of the hardest pieces to repurpose, without moving the entire arch, which is a heavy feat in and of itself, literally. I totally understand why you’d want to repurpose those flowers because of the price tag alone on arch arrangements. The mechanics of arch pieces (at least they way the I do them) make the flowers point straight out from the arch. So taking them down to lay on a table would show the ugly side instead of the beautiful front. It is taking a piece made on a vertical plane and putting it on a horizontal plane that it wasn’t made for. A (sort of) simple solution is to just move the arch, as long as doorways accommodate this without tilting it in any sort of way. You could also use the arch as a backdrop for a photo booth set up.
An alternative to an arch that is also much easier to repurpose is a floral garden scape. These tray arrangements create a low, semi circle shape, encompassing the couple in a gardenesque vibe that is very easily movable. This alternative is great for places that already have a large height or vertical presence. The floral garden scape can be moved from the ceremony location to in front of the head table or sweetheart table, possibly even a seating chart or welcome sign.
Speaking of the head table, a simple way to use flowers that are already in the wedding is using the bridesmaids bouquets lining the head table. At Sweet Pea Designs, all bouquets for the wedding party come in vases that have water in them. The vases are simple glass and go with any decor. If you wanted to make a statement with the vases, you could purchase some for your head table that I would pop the bouquets right into. This is such an easy way to dress up the table while not adding any extra dollar signs.
If you’re really wanting to make a statement with flowers in your wedding decor, but still need to keep a budget in mind, a great option would be a compote or low dish floral arrangements lining your aisle in the ceremony. Then, the perfectly sized arrangements could be centerpieces for your guest tables. The aisles would look like they are lined with flower clouds and they would transfer beautifully into the reception space as centerpieces.
My last suggestion would be to do 2 large statement aisle entry pieces for your ceremony and to re-purpose them in those “extra” spaces in the reception. Think welcome table, dessert table, place card or seating chart table, guest book table, remembrance table, card table or the bar. My favorite place to re-purpose these statement pieces is to use one for the bar. Statement happens at shoulder height and above. Elevating the height will really pack a punch while also serving a dual purpose in your budget.
There are lots of ways to re-purpose your wedding flowers. Some are easier than others. Always ask your florist for ways to re-purpose your flowers and the best way to go about it. Florists are more creative than you think ;)
Talk soon! NK
