Hands down, the most unique - and my favorite - aspect of the wedding is having live native Wisconsin wildflowers for our guests to take home after the wedding. I abhorred the idea of scrapped flowers once the party was over, so I did some research to see if this idea was even feasible.
I happened upon a "Wisconsin Native Plant Sources" pdf that contained a directory of native plant vendors in the state and called Lacewing Gardening & Consulting Services, based in Milwaukee. After I gingerly presented my idea to the landscape architect, Dianne Olson Schmidt, she approved, saying this would be her first green wedding but was up for the challenge. After months of planning, Dianne has masterfully created a plan in which eco-pots will house hundreds of wildflowers from Prairie Nursery which will line our pavilion ceremony area and highlight our tables as centerpieces. Post-wedding, local guests will take the flowers home and plant them in their yards, contributing to the local ecosystems. Potted Wild Geraniums and herbs will supplement the centerpiece wildflowers as well, and these also can be taken home by guests for home or culinary use.
Wisconsin has a wonderful variety of prairie and woodland wildflowers - Dan and I can't wait to see what blooms for us in May! These are among the showiest on the list:
Columbine
The "Little Lanterns" variety of this flower will be displayed as centerpieces.
Shooting Star
This is another centerpiece flower, one of which I found in my parent's woodlot when growing up.
Prairie Smoke
One of Dan's favorites, this wispy bloom will beautify the ceremony area.
Wild Bleeding Heart
I've always loved bleeding hearts, so having the variety indigenous to Wisconsin will be superb.
Large-flowered Trillium
This wildflower often associated with mayapples would a treat to have, provided it blooms through the end of May. My fingers are crossed.
No comments:
Post a Comment