12 Ways to Use Lavender in Your Wedding
by Ginna Gemmell

Chris and I just celebrated our 41st  Wedding Anniversary. It seems as though we've been together for our entire lives and it feels as though we have just fallen in love. A paradox! We were married in 1969 on our family farm, which is now LavenderGreen. Our wedding was simple in ceremony and music and yet lush with 300 guests, great food cooked outdoors, and lots of love! There were flowers and fragrance everywhere as I remember.

We celebrate every wedding anniversary and mentally renew our vows at every wedding we attend. My wedding dress is carefully packed away and I can still slip into it, which I did on our 25th anniversary.

One of our many passions is the growing of lavender, which has historically represented love and fidelity. Our website; lavendergreen.com features a number of home, travel, and wedding gifts hand sewn and crafted at the farm.

Our most delightful customers are Brides, planning their own weddings and planning to use lavender in unique ways to add fragrance to the celebration. They look to us to provide dried lavender for their own creations, or keepsakes from our wedding line or recipes for food or drink. We raise a number of different kinds of lavender and guide them on what would work the best in their own wedding.

Here are twelve of the most popular ways to use lavender in your wedding:

For the Ceremony itself:

1. Dried lavender buds for the flower girl to strew down the aisle fills the space with scent. As the bridesmaids follow, stepping on the buds releases even more fragrance to last the ceremony. (No one ever objects to the lingering scent of dried lavender in the vacuum cleaner)

2. Lavender buds in the ring bearers pillow scent the ceremony for the Bride, Groom and wedding party--it can be very heady and romantic and memorable. The pillow fragrance will last forever and can find a place on your bed to hold the memory and freshen your linens.

3. Bunches of dried lavender tied with big bows at each pew or row of chairs. Dried lavender stems can be cut to any length and made just the right size to work with the bow.

4. Consider a Unity or Promise Candle made with lavender and soy wax to light at the wedding and anniversaries everafter.

5. Fresh lavender in the Bridal and Bridesmaids bouquet for color and fragrance. We also make a dried Keepsake Bouquet of roses and dried lavender with a legend of the meaning of each flower especially for weddings.

6. As a wedding toss, dried lavender in little net bags can be given to each guest to toss at the departing Bride and Groom. It is a soft and fragrant toss that will not offend humans or birds. We suggest the dried French variety because it is less expensive than our organic varieties.

For the Reception

7. Dried lavender mini-bouquets to attach to place cards give a rush of lavender scent as your guests arrive and also become an inexpensive keepsake.  Layer the natural fragrance with lavender stems in table arrangements from bud vase size to large arrangements.  Add soy and lavender essential oil wedding shot glass candles for 5 hours of burn to add more fragrance to the celebration.  You can buy the mini-bouquets made by us, or order stems to make them yourself with our instructions.

8. Lavender (our organic Munstead variety) can enhance the food and beverage served at the Reception. Many delicious recipes are available to make lavender scented Cakes, ice cream, cookies and punch. A sprig of lavender in a glass of champagne makes a wonderful aperitif, for example.

Special Gifts for the Bride and Groom and the Wedding Party

9. Brides have purchased items from our wedding and travel lines such as scented hangers and sachets to give as gifts to the wedding party. Mothers of the Bride especially appreciate a wedding keepsake. For a unique gift, give "Celebrate" an aromatherapy blend designed to keep the bridal party smiling. http://www.lavendergreen.com/bodyandsoul_aromatherapy.php  

After the Wedding

10. Store your wedding gown in a cloth bag or a large box with acid free paper and tuck in a lavender sachet to keep mustiness and moths away. A young woman of the future may want to wear your dress! Tuck lavender scented shoe stuffers into your shoes to keep them looking new and fresh.

11. Enjoy a bath with soothing lavender bubble bath, followed by a lavender massage to totally relax and    enjoy some time together.  Take a nap with a silky eye pillow filled with flax to reduce puffiness and lavender to ensure restful sleep and sweet dreams. Or tuck a Battenburg sleep envelope into your pillowcase for a long night's sleep.

12.  Send guests a thank you note with our pressed lavender stems applied to stationary, or consider ordering pressed lavender to decorate your invitations, programs and thank yous.

Lavender is one of the most beloved herbs and scents in the world and is equally enjoyed by men and women so use it liberally and experiment with your own creations! We would love to hear stories of how you brought lavender into your wedding!

All the Best,
Ginna Gemmell
www.lavendergreen.com

.· See the Lavender Green Wedding Collection