Deborah Chan
Wedding flowers are a testament to the months of planning that go into an unforgettable event. But what happens to them after the big day? With the average couple spending thousands on wedding flowers, it can be hard to stomach the idea of simply throwing them away. Luckily, there are many ways to recycle, repurpose, and donate your wedding flowers. From creating home decor pieces to donating them to organisations that repurpose flowers for those in need, you can give your wedding flowers a second life and bring joy to others.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Donate flowers | To hospitals, nursing homes, shelters, youth organizations, or charities |
| Repurpose flowers | Create potpourri, dried bouquets, flower crowns, wreaths, cards, home decor pieces, holiday decorations, or floral keepsakes |
| Recycle flower packaging | Reuse or recycle packaging where possible |
| Reduce waste | Source flowers locally, focus on foliage, grow your own flowers, or use faux flowers |
| Reuse flowers | Allow guests to keep their flowers or donate them to organizations that repurpose them |
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What You'll Learn
Donate to hospitals, nursing homes, and shelters
Donating your wedding flowers to hospitals, nursing homes, and shelters is a great way to spread joy and put a smile on people's faces. It's an excellent option for recycling your flowers and giving them a second life. Here are some tips and organizations to consider:
Organizations to Consider:
- Random Acts of Flowers (RAF Knoxville): This nonprofit organization improves the emotional health and well-being of individuals in healthcare facilities by delivering recycled flowers and moments of kindness. They collect donated flowers from weddings and other events, repurpose them into beautiful bouquets, and deliver them to patients in hospitals, assisted living homes, hospice centers, and community health organizations. You can support RAF Knoxville by visiting their website or following them on social media.
- The Reflower Project: Based in the South Shore and Boston area, this volunteer-run organization picks up, repurposes, and delivers event flowers to community centers, including nursing homes, shelters, elder centers, and cancer centers. They work directly with wedding parties interested in donating their flowers and schedule a convenient time for pickup at the venue.
- Floral Angels: If you're based in London, Floral Angels is a voluntary organization that recycles event flowers and donates them to those in need in the community.
- Petals With Purpose: This organization will pick up your flowers and deliver them to hospitals, nursing homes, shelters, and youth organizations, spreading joy to those who need it.
Tips for Donating:
- Contact Organizations in Advance: Reach out to your chosen organization about six weeks before your wedding to secure their help in picking up and distributing the flowers.
- Preserve the Flowers: To ensure your donations last, consider preserving the flowers by drying them or creating dried bouquets. This simple technique will extend the lifespan of your flowers, allowing them to bring joy to others for a more extended period.
- Upcycling: Upcycling involves giving your flowers to an organization or person who can make better use of them. Hospitals and nursing homes are ideal recipients, as the flowers can brighten up common areas and private rooms, benefiting both the residents and staff.
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Repurpose into home decor pieces
Repurpose wedding flowers into home decor pieces to preserve the magic of your ceremony. There are several ways to do this.
Firstly, you can make floral wreaths to hang on your doors or walls. These dried wreaths can add a touch of charm and nostalgia to your home, reminding you of your special day.
Secondly, you can create centrepieces for your dining or coffee tables. Arrange the dried flowers in vases or decorative bowls to create stunning displays that highlight the beauty of your wedding flowers.
Thirdly, you can press and frame individual flowers to create lasting floral art. This method of bouquet drying turns your flowers into unique home decor that preserves the memories of your wedding day.
Additionally, you can embed flowers in resin to make one-of-a-kind jewellery pieces. This approach allows you to carry a wearable keepsake with you, blending beauty with emotional value.
Finally, you can repurpose your flowers for future events, such as anniversary parties, baby showers, or christenings. Create new dried flower arrangements, floral wall hangings, floral terrariums, or dried flower garlands to complement your original wedding bouquet and bring back memories of your special day.
By repurposing your wedding flowers into home decor, you can keep the beauty and joy of your wedding alive long after the ceremony.
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Give bouquets and corsages to guests
Wedding flowers can be expensive, so it's understandable that you'd want to recycle them. One way to do this is to give bouquets and corsages to guests. This can be done in several ways.
Firstly, you could give the flowers to the bridesmaids and groomsmen who wore them. This way, they will have a beautiful memento of the ceremony and a thoughtful gift from the happy couple.
Another option is to give the flowers to guests as favours, especially those who helped with the clean-up or DIY decorations. This is a lovely way to thank them for their help and provide them with a keepsake of the day. If you don't want to give away the larger pieces, you can repurpose the flowers into miniature bouquets or arrangements to send out later.
If you are hosting a post-wedding brunch, you can repurpose the flowers as decorations and then encourage guests to take an arrangement with them when they leave. Alternatively, you can ask the DJ or band leader to make an announcement inviting guests to take an arrangement as they leave the venue.
Finally, if you don't want to keep the flowers yourself, you could pass them on to friends and family. This could be done by transferring the flowers to jars and giving them as gifts or, if you're based in London, contacting the voluntary organisation Floral Angels, who will recycle the flowers and give them to those in need in the community.
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Grow your own flowers
Growing your own wedding flowers can be a daunting task, but it is possible and can save you money. It is a good idea to ask friends and family for help. You can enlist people to help you grow the flowers, and you can forage from their gardens, too.
If you are growing your own flowers, it is a good idea to have a backup plan in case your flowers are not blooming or get damaged as your wedding date approaches. You can contact local flower farms to supplement your own flowers, or check with neighbours and family members to see if you can forage from their gardens.
When planning to grow your own flowers, it is important to start with a lot of planning. Choose flowers that are easy to grow, such as annuals like zinnias, cosmos, celosia, and amaranthus, or perennials like sedum and hydrangeas. Dahlias are a popular choice, but they are pest magnets and can be slow to bloom, so they need to be planted early. You will also need to plan for twice the number of stems you think you will need.
To make the task more manageable, you can focus on growing flowers for just the bridal bouquet and boutonnieres. You can also grow flowers for simple table decorations, such as Mason jars full of daffodils, zinnias, or wildflowers, or buckets of peonies or sunflowers to line the aisle.
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Make potpourri
Wedding flowers can be recycled to make potpourri, a sweet-smelling bowl of dried petals that diffuses a subtle scent into the room. To make potpourri, you can use fragrant flowers such as roses, lavender, rosemary, geraniums, or jasmine flowers. You can also add dried flowers or herbs like peppermint buds from your garden.
First, remove the petals from your flowers and leave them to dry in a warm cupboard or cabinet. Avoid using the kitchen as it tends to have a lot of strong smells. There are several ways to dry flowers, including air drying, drying them in a microwave, or pressing them between the pages of a book. Once the flowers are dry, you can mix them with dried citrus fruit, spices, fragrant woods, pine cones, and other decorative objects. You can also add a few drops of your favourite essential oil, such as lavender, rose, or vanilla, to enhance the aroma.
Once your potpourri is ready, you can place it in a decorative bowl or sachet and put it in a space that could use some freshening up, like the bathroom or entryway. You can also top the jar with a lid and give it as a DIY housewarming gift or use it as a filler in scented sachets to keep things fresh while travelling.
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Frequently asked questions
You can donate them to organisations such as RAF Knoxville, which collects and repurposes flowers into bouquets for those in hospitals, assisted living homes, and hospice centres. You can also pass them out to your guests as favours or give them to your wedding party as gifts.
Contact your chosen organisation around six weeks in advance to secure help with picking up and distributing the flowers.
You can dry them out and use them in home decor pieces such as wreaths, flower crowns, or table centrepieces. You can also press flowers and incorporate them into cards.
You can create potpourri by drying out petals and mixing them with dried citrus fruit, spices, fragrant woods, and essential oils. You can also use them to make holiday decorations, depending on your colour scheme.
You can grow your own flowers, or rent them from companies such as Something Borrowed. You can also share flowers with another couple getting married on the next day through an online marketplace such as Bloomerent.
