By Joanna Cali
An Easter theme wedding is a wonderful celebration of love, life,
birth and rebirth. Set the stage for your springtime wedding with
shades of butter yellow, robin's egg blue, cream, pale green, pastel
pink and lilac.
Decorate and fragrance the air with tulips, daffodils, hyacinth,
lilacs, lily of the valley and blue bells. Add to your theme with
stunning Easter bonnets on bridesmaids and Easter baskets on the
arms of flower girls.
Here are some ideas for favors that would complement an Easter
theme wedding:
Mini Easter Baskets. Buy
inexpensive baskets at a craft shop or dollar store. If you can't
find white ones, spray paint plain baskets with white paint. Fill
with green or natural raffia and a selection of traditional Easter
goodies like chocolate rabbits and eggs, hard boiled and dyed Easter
eggs, and PEEPS(TM), jelly beans and M&Ms. Decorate with big
bows in the colors of your wedding.
Marshmallow PEEPS.™ PEEPS™
chicks and bunnies are available in yellow, pink, lavender, blue
and white. Peeps also come in egg and heart shapes, and they make
a giant bunny in yellow, pink and lavender.
You can use a single giant PEEPS™ bunny
for each favor, incorporate the small traditional PEEPS™
into your Easter mini basket favors, or create your own PEEPS™
place marker favor as follows:
PEEPS™ Place Marker Favor: Decorate
small terra cotta pots with paint, or simply write each guest's
name on a pot with a gold paint pan. Fill the pots with jellybeans.
Insert a popsicle stick into each PEEPS™ chick or
bunny, and plant it in the pot of jellybeans.
A Product of Just Born,
PEEPS™ is the largest selling non-chocolate
Easter candy. Just Born estimates that 700 million PEEPS™
are eaten at Easter, and produces over 1 billion a year.
If you are a fan of PEEPS™ humor, you may
want to visit PEEPS Research.
Stuffed Easter Toys. Buy
a collection of small plush bunnies and chicks. Use blank business
cards you can get at an office supply store to print your message
to your guest. Hole punch each card and use a colored ribbon to
attach it to the neck of each toy with a bow.
Blooming Paper Whites. Buy
a collection of paper white narcissus bulbs for forcing and plant
each in a small, decorated terra cotta pot. Keep them in a cool,
dry, dark place until two weeks before the weddings.
Then, plant
them in moist potting soil and return to a cool (not cold), dark
place until roots set – usually about a week. Once they have
roots (you can test by gently tugging – if there's resistance,
they've rooted), move them to a bright room. Keep them moist, but
don't over water or let them sit in a puddle. Stop watering 2 days
before the wedding. We've had great success with paper whites from
White Flower Farm.
Follow directions that accompany your bulbs if they differ from
above.
Flower Bulbs. For
an Easter wedding, choose bulbs that can be planted in the spring
(not tulip, hyacinth or daffodil, which usually require fall planting).
Dahlias (for sun) and tuberous Begonias (for shade) come in an amazing
array of colors that you can coordinate with your wedding theme
so they will remind your guests of your special day each time they
enjoy their beauty.
Put one, three or five bulbs, depending on their size and your
budget, into envelopes fashioned of burlap or tulle. Be sure to
include a card with planting instructions including when to plant,
sun or shade, and how deep to plant. You can print these from your
computer on blank business cards, or write them on blank plant markers.
Engraved Plant Markers. Buy
zinc or copper plant markers and an engraver. Engrave your names
and wedding date on each. Wrap the "legs" in burlap and
secure at the neck with raffia.
Zinc markers are available at Wayside
Gardens in packets of 10 for $5.95, and their electric engraver
is $24.95. They also have "big face" copper plant labels
for $6.95 each. Search for "labels" on their site to find
these items.
"Watch Our Love Grow" Favors.
Buy a miniature watering can for each guest –
we found them for as little as $0.80 each at
Woodcrafter
Discount Craft Supplies. Be sure the dimensions of the cans
you choose allow for seed packets to fit inside. Put a packet of
annual flower seeds in each – marigolds and zinnias are easy
even for beginning gardeners to grow. Use ribbon or raffia to attach
notes you can print from your computer onto blank business cards
(hole punch notes to attach). Your note might read, "Love Grows
Best with the Care of Family and Friends" or "Our Love
Grows Stronger Every Day."
Customized M&M's in Easter Eggs.
Buy plastic Easter eggs that can be opened to insert treats.
Fill each with customized white, light blue and cream colored M&M's
bearing your names. You can order the M&M's at the M&M's
Brand Store. Buy a large white Easter basket and decorate with
fabric and ribbons, fill it with the eggs and carry it with you
at your reception to distribute the eggs to your guests.
Porcelain Keepsake Eggs.
Porcelain keepsake eggs are available for under $2 (search
that term in Google to find some). Fill each with a truffle or jellybeans.
Can you quote me a price and or a source for a little furry yellow clip on ”chick”. not much bigger than golfball size. Want it to cllip on to my shirt, maybe even buy six of them, make me look like a ”Chick Magnet” Thanks Steve