Flower bridal bouquets are traditional and beautiful, but they aren’t the only type of bouquet you can make yourself. For a truly unique arrangement, you need to try a vegetable and herb DIY bridal bouquet. If this sounds weird to you, take a moment to think about just how gorgeous veggies and herbs can be. Then read on to learn how to make your own!
An edible bridal bouquet is a fun alternative to flowers, and incorporates fruit, peppers, and garden-grown veggies and herbs. These often include:
- Kale
- Artichokes
- Sage
- Rosemary
- Mint
- Pea shoots
- Berries
The best part about using fruits, veggies, and herbs is that they’re hardier than most blooms. As a result, you can create the bouquet and other wedding arrangements earlier. This allows you to stop stressing over décor during the final days leading up to your wedding.
Store your creations in the fridge, and they’ll stay fresh for up to 5 days. You can also ensure your wedding arrangements stand out from the crowd, without breaking the bank.
In this article, I’ll show you how to make a veggie-licious DIY bridal bouquet, and suggest various vegetables and herbs you can include.
How to Pick the Right Elements for a DIY Bridal Bouquet
Consider the following vital factors before you begin.
Budget
Before you can get started, you must figure out your budget. Weddings are expensive, and a DIY bridal bouquet can save you tons of money if you do it right. Think about the type of bouquet you would like and consider how many elements you may need to collect. Whatever you decide, stay within the budget you set for yourself.
Suppliers
Growing your own edible bouquet is ideal. However, many crops take time to plant and harvest. If you don’t know anyone who’s already growing a veggie or herb you’d like to include, and don’t have time to grow your own, you’ll need to find a supplier. Shop around for discounted rates from various places to save the most.
You can find options from:
- Local flower and produce markets
- Online wholesalers
- Grocery stores: Costco, Sam’s Club, and Trader Joe’s are known to offer cheap prices
Seasonality
This is a common term in the flower industry. Basically, you select blooms, veggies, and herbs that are in season for discounts. Because every plant has different growing patterns, consider which varieties will be in season during the month of your wedding. Seasonal options are the highest quality as well.
Evergreens, for example, are great for winter weddings. In contrast, colorful leaves are often incorporated for autumn weddings. June, the most common wedding month, has fruit and vegetable options in season like:
- Beets
- Blueberries
- Black cherries
- Cherries
- Strawberries
- Raspberries
- Asparagus
- Chard
- Carrots
- Green beans
- Lettuce
- Rhubarb
- Kale
- Spinach
- Tomatoes
- Peas
- Radishes
- Dandelions
June is also the biggest time of year for an herb garden. Flowering herbs are the ideal for a bridal bouquet because they don’t require additional blooms at all to smell amazing. However, you can use any type of herbs. Those that are in season in June include:
- Basil
- Mint
- Dill
- Chives
- Green onions
- Thyme
- Oregano
- Rosemary
- Parsley
- Cilantro
- Scented geraniums
- Sage
Color
To find the right vegetables and herbs, consider your wedding’s color scheme. Nearly all fruits and veggies are great for a DIY bridal bouquet, but you need to consider which hues compliment one another as well. If you add in fruit, stick with lightweight options like berries, small citrus, or mini peppers. For example, if you want to use orange-colored fruit, consider using tiny kumquats or ground cherries instead.
As an example, my bridal bouquet was a mix of greens, blues, and yellows, because the wedding colors were shades of blue.
How to Make a Bridal Bouquet
After you’ve planned which flowers, vegetables, and herbs to include in your bridal bouquet, start putting it together as close to the wedding as possible. A kitchen counter or patio space is ideal for easy clean up later. You want the plants to remain fresh and gorgeous, so don’t start too early. Within a day of the ceremony is best.
Equipment You Need
Before you can start making a bridal bouquet, you need to collect a few things such as:
- Gardening shears
- Floral tape
- Floral wire
- Bouquet pins
- Bouquet wrapping or ribbon of your color choice
- The flowers, vegetable, and herbs you plan to include
- A bucket
- Water
- Stem stripper (optional)
Step-By-Step Instructions for a DIY Bridal Bouquet
Use the following step-by-step instructions to learn how to make your bouquet.
Step 1: Prep the Flowers
Use either your hand or a stem stripper to remove the foliage from the stems of the blooms and greenery alike. Take out any thorns, and ensure the stems are around the same length. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect, as you can always trim the stems later as well. This step creates a designated place you can hold the bouquet.
Step 2: Prep the Fruit, Veggies, and Herbs
Not all fruit, vegetable, and herbs have a stem that’s easy to work with. In this case, you must create and attach a stem of your own. Create a stem using stiff floral wire, which supports the weight of most elements with ease.
Twist the end of the floral wire into a spiral, gently placing the wire into the edible element to hold it in place. You can add more than one small option on a single wire to make a cluster, which fills in the gaps on an arrangement nicely.
Step 3: Create a Base
Leafy greens make the perfect base for a veggie and herb bridal bouquet. Just make sure the greens you select are hardy enough to last and won’t wilt quickly. Savory cabbage leaves or kale work well, for example. However, if you don’t want to add green into your color scheme, try using other leafy veggies such as white or red cabbage, or rainbow Swiss chard.
You can arrange the leafy greens in a circle, wrapping the floral tape loosely to keep the shape and allow you to create the centerpiece (next step).
Step 4: Create the Centerpiece
Arrange the vegetables and herbs you want to use around a couple of flowers, or exclude the blooms altogether in favor of fruit or peppers to add a pop of color. Select 2-3 veggies or large blooms for the center (or base) of the bouquet and wrap the bunch with floral tape to keep it in place.
Around 1 to 1.5 inches of the stem should remain visible where you wrap the tape, leaving at least 4-5 inches of stems showing from the bottom.
If you incorporated a leafy base, you should push the centerpiece into the center of it. Pay attention to where you place each element and attempt to evenly space out each item.
I suggest including a single large flower for the centerpiece, with a stunning bloom that commands attention. In my own bridal bouquet, I used a large sunflower for this purpose, because my husband and I were born in the state of Kansas. Succulents, fruit, or larger vegetables also work nicely.
Step 5: Put Everything Together
Wrap the rest of the vegetables, herbs, and flowers around your anchored centerpiece. Bunch the stems together and play around with the placement of each element. Many people like to add in a few more leafy greens to the base after the centerpiece to fill empty space and provide more body.
Make sure you don’t go too large, and be sure to mix and match colors or textures to create an interesting focal point.
Use the floral tape continuously to keep each element in place, which also creates support. Push the stems and wires into the center of the bouquet and pay attention to the appearance of the bouquet on all sides. When the arrangement appears full, fill the last bits of the bouquet with small herbs like rosemary, lavender, or thyme.
Step 6: Wrap It Up
Once you have everything where you want, wrap the stems from around an inch below the bouquet until no more than 4 inches from the bottom of the stem. Personal preference is key here, as the amount of space you leave depends on how much handhold space you need and how you want the bouquet to appear.
After it’s completely wrapped a final time with floral tape, you can wrap your ribbon horizontally around the bouquet. Pin the ribbon horizontally, with the ribbon parallel to the floral tape for the best results. The ribbon should cover 100% of the floral tape. If you prefer not to use ribbon, any fabric will also work.
Simply cover the base tightly with the fabric as you would any other floral bouquet.
A Final Tip
For an added aesthetic gorgeous wedding, try incorporating the same elements into the entire wedding. For example, the boutonnieres should use the same veggies, herbs, and flowers. However, you should keep it up with the table centerpieces at the reception, cake decorations, and overall wedding décor.
Encourage your guests to eat the centerpieces as appetizers or snacks so you don’t wind up wasting all the produce! Complimentary dips might help to inspire them dig in, so be sure to offer them on each table.
