Grow Wedding Flowers for Your Wedding

Think that you can't grow flowers for your own wedding? Think again! We actually grew this zinnia flower (and more like it) from seeds as decoration for my sister's wedding. And the wedding was at the end of September to boot!

Read on to find tips for growing your own wedding flowers. Although time and season can be limiting factors, you'll be surprised at how many options there are. Your only limit is your imagination! With a bit of work, gorgeous flowers like this one can be yours.

... Featured Prominently in my Sister's Wedding!

Here you see celosia, zinnia, and amaranth being used as the backdrop for the wedding ceremony, underneath a draped tulle decoration.

Having plants in pots ready to be arranged really helped to simplify the decorating process. The only thing I wish I'd thought of before was finding some prettier pots to put them in!

You can even supplement with a few store-bought planters; we purchased a few pots of white mums for a great wedding-y look. (Don't worry, I won't tell!)

One thing to keep in mind when growing your own wedding flowers is that more flowers is always better. Our flowers were just starting to come out when W-Day rolled around, so we decided to purchase some extra flowers to fill out the vases.

Here are some things you might be wondering about if you want to grow wedding flowers.

1. Do they have to match my wedding colors? No! My sister's colors were light and dark blue, and the reds and oranges of the flowers complimented them nicely. Plus, it's better to try a bunch of different types of flowers, because you never know which will work out best.
2. When should I start my flowers? Our flowers took about 2.5 to 3 months to bloom. If you have extra time, I suggest planting a few batches, so you'll know that some will be ready.
3. What kind of flowers should I plant? Now is a great time to experiment! We basically planted all the seeds we could find that said they bloomed in late summer or fall. The zinnias turned out to be my favorite, and I didn't even know about them before.
4. For the wedding, should I cut the flowers or keep them in pots? If you have enough, do both. Especially since some flowers don't do very well in vases of water.
5. Will I have to buy flowers, as well? Plants can be fickle; I wouldn't suggest that you rely 100% on your own flowers, unless flowers aren't that important to you, or you have a lot of experience growing them.

We started these seeds in the middle of July. Here are the plants, racing to be ready to flower by the end of September!

Thriving Flower Plants

Once our seedlings grew to the appropriate size (usually a few inches tall), we transferred them to larger pots. We weren't too worried about overcrowding, so we placed several seedlings in each container. We used hanging containers in addition to free-standing containers, so we'd have a variety of options when wedding time came.

If your climate doesn't support having your plants outside, try placing them in a sunny window. Special growing lights can help to give sun-loving plants an extra boost, if needed.

In fact, after you've put so much work into your flowers, you might not want to cut them at all!

The ageratum pictured here didn't bloom in time for the wedding. Still, they provided some nice greenery, and we appreciated them later in the fall!

Or just stop by and say hello! Anyone can leave their mark :)