I thought about herbs and succulents, and picked up some practice plants at the local gardeners. When we got a heatwave, I had my answer. The herbs wilted and struggled the next few weeks. As for the succulents...you can tip them over and let them sit for a few weeks and they look exactly the same.They even flower.
I got lucky on 4 notes
1- May equals rose blooming time at GBV / in Temecula
2 - I found Stephanie at Sweet Pea Floral, who read my mind from day one, and was willing to incorporate my crazy succulent adding idea
3 - i inherited a bit of a green thumb gene from my grandparents, live in San Diego's spectacular year round gardening zone, and had the time to tend to some succulents the month prior to the wedding (this is not hard at all. the most difficult part is transporting them.)
4 - I discoverd the wholesale flower sales place on Metro Ave off of Morena. This place is amazing. I don't think I spent over $5 on any of my basic containers, and also found some other gems. Pottery barn / crate & barrel type stuff at WalMart type prices. Truly amazing store, and love the staff. I think I was there a dozen times.
The Plan - Spend about $1500 on flowers, and fill out the rest with succulents.
What Happened - Spent about $1800 on flowers, and $500 or so on succulents, including their containers.
Stephanie & the Venue worked with me to Transition the ceremony flowers to the Reception area. She had some bouquets in low jars on shepherd's hooks, and other hanging pomander balls that she placed on the tables. This created an alternating high and low flower table look as you scanned the room.
We had a few extra arrangements made for the altar and these too were moved into the reception to decorate the head, dessert, and welcome tables.
We gave the plants away as thank you gifts to the venue owners, the house owner, guests, and I'm looking forward to planting a flat of them in my maid of honor's backyard. The rest I'm keeping on my front porch & will bring them in for dinner parties.
As for the flowers, I was happy to see that they were not promptly tossed, and Christina used them to decorate GBV for Oscar the Dog's 10th birthday party the next day. Well done Christina!
