If you’re looking to add some greenery to your wedding venue, congratulations on your good taste—every space can benefit from some leafy décor. Plants and trees can refresh the eye and add texture and scale, helping you customize your site to the size and feel of your event. Not only that, greenery can be a much more affordable alternative to flowers. Herbs, succulents and leafy garlands are right on trend.
You’ll have no trouble finding ideas online about which plants to use and how to place them. Etsy sells tiny 2-inch potted succulents, a fun idea for favors or table décor—or you can pot your own in little glass jars saved from your recycling.
If you don’t want to purchase lots of plants, consider renting them. Milmont Greenhouses in Waynesboro offers a great deal on rented plants—25 percent of retail cost. (If Milmont delivers to Charlottesville, there’s also a $40 delivery fee.) The most popular rentals are hanging ferns, ficus trees and palm trees—prices for these range from about $5 to about $18 apiece, depending on species and size, and they’re yours for the whole weekend.
Get creative
What about containers? You can get creative with ways to hide plastic pots; one Etsy vendor offers decorative wraps, or find inexpensive containers at IKEA or Anthropologie. The wedding blogosphere is full of ideas—upcycled aluminum cans making a casual arrangement of plants on a tabletop, even mini terrariums holding air plants that guests can take home. Milmont also rents ceramic containers at the same rate as plants.
You can use plants to line the aisle at your ceremony, to hide anything unsightly at the reception site or to fill in extra space if your venue is a little too big for your number of guests. Garlands can spice up everything from tabletops, to chair backs, to the ceremony aisle, to the posts holding up an outdoor reception tent. Large plants can also dress up a doorway when placed on either side, or define the spot where you’ll take your vows.
For many brides, greenery is even replacing flowers in the last bastion of tradition—the bridal bouquet. Try eucalyptus, rosemary or jasmine vine.—EH
