Succulents, the tiny little gems currently dominating the world of botanical trends, are the ideal wedding plant in many ways. These plants keep themselves plump and beautiful by storing water in their leaves, a fact that makes them ready to use for everything from bouquets and boutonnieres to centerpieces and party favors.
Using Live Succulents
Have you ever seen tiny plants with plump green leaves arranged in flower-like rosette structures or amazing drooping trails? Chances are pretty high that you were looking at a succulent, a type of plant that thrives in hot, dry environments and has taken the home decor and wedding planning worlds by storm. These beautiful plants are incredibly charming, and their manageable size, diverse colorways and varied forms make them aesthetically captivating in nearly any setting.
In other words, succulents are an ideal choice for your wedding decor, and if you love the way they look, there are tons of different ways you can incorporate them into your event. Rosette-shaped succulents make great additions to boutonnieres and bouquets, as do trailing succulents, which add a sense of drama to dinner table centerpieces as well. If you want a dramatic look at your wedding, consider using potted live succulents with trailing stems as hanging decor along with paper lanterns to create a dreamily bohemian but ultimately elegant effect. You can even use succulents in your drinks—aloe vera is a succulent plant, and aloe juice is a delicious addition to a cocktail or alcohol-free beverage, especially for a warm summer wedding.
Succulents can also make great wedding favors; they’re small but significant items that will help guests remember your wedding with fondness. If you choose to give succulents as wedding favors, consider giving them along with a little watering can and a sheet of care instructions so your guests know what to do to keep them alive. Be sure to keep some succulents for yourself so you can have a beautiful growing symbol of the new phase in your life.
Capturing Succulent Beauty Without the Responsibility
Though succulents are technically “hard to kill,” they do still require proper care to keep alive. They can stay fresh and pretty in a bouquet for a few days, but they’ll start to wilt eventually, which means you’ll need to plant them and take care of them to keep them alive. While lots of people are up for the task (it’s ultimately not that difficult), not everyone wants to actually deal with live plants.
If you fall into this camp, that doesn’t mean you’re out of options. Succulents are beautiful even in faux form, and they also look super cute in drawings and photographs. If you choose this route, you can still use a few live succulents as decorative accents and treat them like flowers, assuming they’ll provide beauty for a while and then fade. Then, you can fill in the gaps with faux succulents and with succulent art for your stationery, place cards and even your wedding website.
