Repurposing flowers in your wedding is a strategy to use your ceremony flowers a second time in your reception. Seems simple enough right? Wrong! If your goal is to maximize your usage then plan accordingly and choose floral elements that lend themselves to repurposing. Here are some tips and tricks when it comes to repurposing wedding flowers in your wedding.

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Bridal Bouquet

Do not plan on repurposing. Instead have a plan for what you will do with it after the ceremony and golden hour photos. Have your bouquet vase nearby and full of water and designate one of your bridesmaids to be in charge of making sure your bridal bouquet gets put back in water before the reception starts. That way you won’t have a dead bouquet sitting on a random table at the end of the night. Instead you can send your beautiful bouquet off to be preserved and keep it forever!

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Bridesmaid Bouquets

Maybe repurpose. Many brides come to me hoping to repurpose their bridesmaid bouquets as table centerpieces. This is not something I suggest because of the differences in how bouquets and centerpieces are built. You also run into scale issues because a standard bridesmaid bouquet size is much too small to look full on a reception table. Instead I suggest using bridesmaid bouquets on your cocktail hour high tops. But this also comes with a caveat. You have to do a first look and knock out all your wedding party pictures before the ceremony to repurpose the bridesmaid bouquets during cocktail hour otherwise your girls will need their bouquets for photos.

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Chair Swags

Do not plan on repurposing. These small bunches of flowers that hang from the outside of the aisle chairs are not repurposable. First of all they are built to be one sided so as to hang flush on your chair. Second of all they are usually attached to your chairs a couple of hours before the ceremony so by the end of your I Do’s these flowers have been out of water for at least 3 hours and are going to be looking a little worse for wear.

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Aisle Meadows

Definitely can repurpose. These organic growing meadows that run down the aisle are perfect for repurposing in the reception. It can take more than 20 to create that full meadow effect with no breaks but you can also opt for a more airy scattered look. Depending on how many aisle meadows you have, we like to place them in front of the band stage, the cake table, and/or the sweetheart table. These are our top suggestions if we have couples who are looking to repurpose as many of their ceremony flowers as possible.

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Arbor

Do not plan on repurposing. Arbors are a big investment when it comes to ceremony flowers but we do not suggest repurposing them in any way. If you were thinking the whole arbor and flowers can just be moved behind your head table or sweetheart table, we do not recommend it. At most venues the only path to get from ceremony to reception is right through cocktail hour. So your repurposing team would have to interrupt your guests’ experience, hopefully not step on anyone’s toes, and barge through with a very heavy arbor to get it into reception. If you were thinking the flowers alone can be repurposed, the way we build arbors usually involves chicken wire, water reservoirs, water tubes, vines, branches, and flowers which cannot be easily removed from the arbor. Even if your florist is building your arbor flowers in floral foam, when it gets cut off the arbor the wet side would be faced down on your table, staining your linens which your rental company will charge you for.

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Pedestal Arrangements

Definitely can repurpose. Pedestal arrangements are a great option for couples planning on repurposing their flowers. They create a beautiful backdrop for your ceremony either up at the altar or at the beginning of the aisle and then can be placed on either side of the bar, the DJ table, or sweetheart table.

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If your goal is to repurpose wedding flowers from ceremony to reception, it is all about making smart choices. You also have to plan for who is going to be doing that work and *ahem ahem* it shouldn’t be any of your guests or wedding party. These pieces will be heavy, full of water, and wanting to spill as you carry them. Instead ask your florist and wedding planner about who on their teams can help. Usually that means paying for their set up staff to stay a couple extra hours through the ceremony so they can be on hand to repurpose your flowers. Repurposing your flowers is a great way to extend your enjoyment of your ceremony flowers but it is not always possible. It is always smart to consult with your florist and planner to be sure you are setting yourself up for success!