Succulents Are The Best Wedding Flowers – Here’s Why
For winter weddings, you can't beat using succulents as part of your wedding florals. They come in a variety of cool tones and are available year-round. Plus, you can repurpose them after the wedding to create a beautiful garden. This is true of rooted and cut succulents, which means they are a great option to use in bouquets and boutonnieres, as well as for centerpieces and gifts.
That’s just one reason they are great though. Succulents are also making a statement these days with their sturdy leaves, bright colors, and unique textures and shapes. They just look different than other flowers.
Where to Use Succulents
Succulents can make an appearance anywhere you plan to use flowers for your wedding. This includes, but is certainly not limited to:
- Bridal Bouquet
- Bridesmaids Bouquets
- Boutonnieres
- Corsages
- Headbands, crowns, or hair flowers
- Wedding Cake Flowers
- Table Centerpieces
- Archways, Aisle Runners, Pew Markers, Chair Decor
- Guest Book or Entry Table Decor
- Thank You Favors
Save Them To Enjoy Later
My favorite thing about using succulents in a wedding bouquet is you can save the succulents and plant them! You get to have a beautiful garden and memory of your special day that will grow for years to come.
Breaking Tradition In The Best Way
Succulents have a very modern look and feel and they’re a bit non-traditional. While they have a rosette shape like more common wedding flowers such as roses or peonies, succulents definitely stand out and enhance any arrangement they are in.
This post will provide inspiration for how to use succulents for your wedding, as well as provide tutorials and instructions for how to incorporate these amazing plants into your big day.
There’s certainly a lot to consider, and succulents will be a great addition to any area. Depending on where you want to use succulents you’ll need a variety of different sizes.
Succulent Bouquet
A bridal bouquet filled with succulents is bound to draw some attention. In fact, this is one of the things that first got me hooked on succulents! You can use succulents as an accent or use them for the whole thing!
Combine With Other Flowers
While using exclusively succulents for a bouquet is fun and looks amazing, most brides (and florists) find they like the combination of succulents and other flowers.
Most succulents are quite rigid so it takes some finessing to get them to fit together just right. Using other flowers or greenery will allow you to fill in the spaces between the succulents for a softer and more filled-in bouquet.
While you can hire a regular florist to create a bouquet with succulents, there are also some amazing succulent florists online who can create a succulent masterpiece for you.
Make sure you order several months in advance to ensure the artist has openings and can ensure your bouquet is delivered in time for your special day.
Succulent Boutonnieres
If you’re going to DIY something with succulents for your wedding, boutonnieres are a great option. They are easy to make even if you haven’t done anything like it before.
The awesome thing about boutonnieres is you can easily make them all a little different! Since men aren’t always keen on matching, this is a fun way to change things up a bit.
Use Cuttings Rather Than Rooted Plants
If you're making your own boutonnieres, succulent cuttings are going to be a great option. You can cut or order them days in advance and they'll still look fresh for the big day. If you do find they look a bit limp, you can spritz them with water to help give them a little boost.
Order In Advance
For my sister-in-law’s wedding, we ordered all the boutonnieres and corsages from Eucca on Etsy. They were absolutely amazing! I was extremely impressed with the quality, and everything arrived in plenty of time for the wedding.
Even though we got them a few days before, they still looked great on the big day! That’s the beauty of using succulents!
There are lots of vendors on Etsy who make succulent boutonnieres. The Succulent Source also sells them through their site.
Succulent Corsages
The women also need some succulents for the wedding! There are a lot of different ways you can do the corsage, so have some fun with it!
One of my favorite ways is to create a succulent cuff. Rather than create the wristlet with wire or ribbon, simply glue succulents onto a decorative cuff. This is a really simple approach and very quick and easy to do.
Of course, you can always buy them ready to go too! The Succulent Source creates them as well as several vendors on Etsy. You can really go wild with these!
A more traditional corsage is also a great approach and there are plenty of options to be had, too. We ordered corsages from Eucca for my sister-in-law’s wedding and, just like the boutonnieres, they were amazing!
Tie On Or Bracelet Options
We got a few that were a wire bracelet, and the rest tied on with ribbon. While I liked the look of the ribbons with the corsage, the wedding party definitely preferred the bracelet option as they were easier to put on and didn’t slip or need to be adjusted.
A traditional succulent corsage like this is a little bit trickier to DIY than a boutonniere, but still a pretty simple project. You’ll follow the same approach in creating the wire stem for the succulents, but wrap the wires together and form a circle, rather than bunching them all together.
And of course, the succulent cuttings from The Succulent Source are great options if you want to take the DIY approach.
Make sure to let your bridesmaids know they can take their corsage apart and plant the succulents when the wedding is over, just like with the bouquet.
Succulent Hair Pieces
A really unique way to use succulents for bridesmaids, or even the bride, is by doing succulent hair pieces. Succulent artists make some really amazing combs and crowns.
To do this yourself, you could use the same creation process as a boutonniere or corsage but make the whole thing longer and form it into a crown.
Succulent Hair Comb
If you are taking the DIY approach, it’s easy enough to glue succulents to a hair comb. Start with a comb you know will work well with the hairstyle of the person wearing it. Also, be sure to find a comb with a large enough end that succulents and moss can be glued on without taking over the spines of the comb.
Succulent Wedding Centerpieces
There are so many creative ideas for incorporating succulents into your wedding centerpieces. And, as always, you can keep the succulents when you’re done to have a reminder of this special day!
A more formal approach to centerpieces is to use a potted arrangement. Simply plant succulents in pots that coordinate with the wedding colors, and voila!
This is what we did for my sister-in-law, using terracotta pots to keep things more natural and less formal. They really helped tie all the tables together and we had lots of comments from guests about how pretty they were!
If the wedding theme is a little more organic, you can simply set succulents on the table with rocks, logs, crystals, candles, or whatever else you come up with! The Idiot’s Guides: Succulents has a tutorial on how to set this up.
Entry Table Decor
Naturally you’ll want centerpieces for each of the tables where people will be sitting, but don’t forget to use succulents for the guest book table too! You may even want a small arrangement or two on the food table.
A great thing about succulent centerpieces is they can easily be given to parents, bridesmaids, or even your wedding planner as a thank-you gift after the wedding. It’s a great way to kill two birds with one stone while still giving a meaningful gift to those who helped with the occasion.
For my sister-in-law’s wedding, I made all the centerpieces beforehand using a wholesale flat of succulents from Mountain Crest Gardens. You can also purchase completed arrangements too. There are several Etsy sellers with beautiful options including Succulent Wonderland, Succulent Salon, and Succulent Art Works.
Succulent Wedding Favors
Clearly, I’m a fan of using succulents however you can for your wedding. But, if you really want to show your guests how much you love them, you’ll definitely want to give succulent wedding favors.
A lot of wedding favors have meaning for the bride and groom, but they go unused by the guests. Or, they are just little trinkets that are thrown away or forgotten after the big day.
This is not the case with succulent wedding favors! These adorable little plants will be a source of conversation for your guests and will definitely make people happy and excited to take them home.
Simple or Complex
You can do these as simple or complicated as you want, but they’ll be loved either way.
The simplest approach would be to simply tie a ribbon or piece of paper around the nursery pot the succulents come in.
Or, you can repot them in a terracotta pot, tin pail, or glass votive. The terracotta pots are my recommendation as this is a better long-term home for the succulents.
Go The Extra Mile With Care Cards
We also included printed care cards for each guest so they would know how to keep their new addition alive.
My two favorite places to purchase succulents and pots for wedding favors are Mountain Crest Gardens and The Succulent Source. Both offer different color options and a few choices for pots, pails, or votives.
Mountain Crest Gardens was kind enough to provide the succulents and terracotta pots for my sister-in-law’s wedding and they turned out great!
Plan Ahead If You're Doing It Yourself
If you go this route, you will need to repot each of the plants into the fancier pot or pail you purchased. While not difficult, this is a time-consuming process. We did 200 favors for the wedding. A friend and I sat together for 3 hours and got them all put together.
You will likely want to have some extra succulent soil on hand, as not all of the pots were completely filled with soil (very normal). You may also consider adding a top dressing to hide the soil too.
I’d recommend putting these together the week of the wedding. While you can get them further in advance, you’ll need to care for the succulents, make sure they get enough light, and ensure no one runs off with any before the big day 🙂
A week is enough time to get them done but doesn’t require you to dedicate an area of your home to care for them for weeks until the wedding.
You can easily dress up the pots with a ribbon, paint, or other decor of your choice. This will take more time together, but it’s a great way to incorporate the wedding theme.
Succulent Wedding Cake Topper
You can really go crazy with succulents on your wedding cake. The wedding cake is often a huge highlight at the wedding so it only makes sense that you’d use succulents on the cake.
While real succulents are super fun, you can also have sugar succulents made! My friend Cassidy Harrison of Flour and Flourish creates amazing sugar flowers for wedding cakes and has done a few succulents.
Real Succulents Work Too
My sister-in-law opted for a very simple cake and we did just a couple of succulents with it. I still love how it turned out!
There are a lot of really amazing succulent wedding cakes out there though, so let your imagination run wild!
You’ve likely guessed by now, but the cuttings from The Succulent Source are perfect for cake toppers.
The succulents on the wedding cake can also be planted after they are removed to keep the memory of the wedding alive.
Get Creative!
This post barely scratches the surface of possibilities for using succulents for your wedding. You can check out our Succulent Wedding Pinterest Board for even more inspiration and ideas.
Just let your imagination run wild! These plants are so amazing and can last well beyond your wedding day. They are definitely worth considering.
7 Worst Mistakes Beginners Make When Growing Succulents
Many people assume that they can take care of succulent plants however they want -- just treat them like normal house plants. The problem is succulents aren't like most other house plants. They have completely different watering needs and often need more sunlight and airflow than other plants. Find out what the most common succulent mistakes are and how to avoid them.
Get more succulents for free with this simple propagation technique
One of the best things about growing succulents is how easily they propagate (grow new baby plants). Propagating succulents from leaves is extremely fun and a rewarding way to get more plants without having to buy new ones. Learning this simple technique can be quite addicting but may help keep your plant budget on track.
Save Your Succulents With This Critical Watering Technique And Look Like A Pro
A big part of keeping succulents healthy is providing them with the right environment. You'll want to pay attention to the soil they're in, how much sunlight they're getting, and most importantly, how often you're watering them. The method and frequency of watering succulents are critical to preventing rot while encouraging lots of new growth.
What Succulent is Best for You?
There are thousands of succulent varieties and not all of them will grow well in your climate or may require more (or less) work that you want to put in. It's important to know how much light and water your succulent plants need to thrive so you can select the plant that's best suited for you.
Don't miss these important tips for planting succulents
After you purchase a new succulent, it's important that you replant it to ensure it stays alive in your home. Taking a few minutes to learn how to plant succulents will start your succulent-growing journey off on the right foot. You'll want to make sure you have the right supplies, including soil and pottery, to give your succulent (and yourself) the best chance at success.
This article originally appeared on Succulents and Sunshine.