Couple goes viral on TikTok for planting their own wedding flowers, expert offers tips for DIY approach
Wedding planning is a journey full of important but creative decisions.
Each choice you make for your big day can saddle you with expenses or be a quick bill you pay on the spot.
Today, more brides are saving money by making their own unique wedding display items.
One DIY wedding trend on the rise is growing wedding flowers and putting together bouquets. Not only could the method save you thousands, but it also allows couples to bring a piece of home to their wedding day.
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The process of growing your own flowers for your wedding day is also something you and your future spouse take on together.
A couple from Knoxville, Tennessee, took this DIY approach for their July 2023 wedding.
Taylor Weikel posted multiple videos on her TikTok page, highlighting the couple's path to growing their own flowers. A few of the TikTok videos went viral, including one that has amassed over 15 million views.
Weikel shared with Fox News Digital in a phone interview that it was her husband Jeff who really led the effort to plant flowers.
She said that while money was part of the reason they went this route, they also enjoy the outdoors.
Weikel said growing their wedding flowers was the first time they had ever planted from seeds, though they have a vegetable garden.
"I wouldn't say we're experts by any means," Weikel said.
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After a short six-month engagement, the couple featured a combination of their homegrown flowers and some from a professional florist on their wedding day.
Their own flowers were displayed around the venue and in bud vases on tables, but Weikel's bouquet, which she wanted to be all white, was made by a professional.
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"Everything else from the tables and just the mantel pieces and random stuff we had with our flowers," Weikel told Fox News Digital.
She said they also bought greenery from Trader Joe's and had to buy baby's breath, since theirs didn't grow in time to be part of the wedding.
Laura Mewbourn, owner of Feast & Flora in Charleston, South Carolina, shared with Fox News Digital in a phone interview that couples taking care of the flowers for bud vases plus a florist covering the personal bouquets is very common.
"That's a DIY I recommend to couples all the time. It saves a pile of money because it's so easy to stick two to three stems in a bud vase and stick it in the middle of the table," Mewbourn said.
"Of all the things to tackle for a wedding, I think that particular setup is among the easiest, even if you're trying to grow them, because you have so much more room for error and flexibility," Mewbourn said.
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"If a couple wants to DIY any part of the florals, whether it's growing or not, if they can find somebody, even if it's an online forum, find somebody who can sort of walk them through the process of actually using the flowers once they're done, that's going to be helpful because each flower has its own needs," Mewbourn added.
"Not just when it's in the ground. They all have their own individual fertilizing means and light means, but once they're cut, they each have their own way they prefer to be cut and the way they prefer to be handled once they're cut."
Budget is a driving factor for many couples taking a DIY approach. Weikel said she and her husband estimate that they spent around $300 to grow their flowers themselves.
Weikel said she had to buy things like soil for the yard in addition to the seed packets, but other things, like a rototiller, they were able to borrow from a neighbor.
"Really try to be resourceful, and you can make it pretty affordable for yourself to do it," Weikel told Fox News Digital.
After Weikel posted about her experience on TikTok, she received an unexpected viral response to her and her husband's story.
"When I post on TikTok or social media, it's more so just because I like doing content creation for myself, but definitely was not expecting the response of that and clearly people are very interested," Weikel said.
Weikel said her comments section is full of people tagging their fiancés, writing that they should try to grow their own flowers or an individual saying they took the same approach to their own wedding day.
"It was really cool to see the community of people coming together," Weikel said.
While there is an increasing interest in growing wedding flowers yourself, the process can be tricky. Something to be aware of, suggested the Feast & Flora owner, is timing, since the weather is going to have a huge impact on how flowers grow.
Also, keep in mind the size of the wedding.
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"I would say, one of my main concerns, maybe from a gardener perspective, is how big the wedding is," Mewbourn noted.
"If it's an intimate family affair in the backyard, or at a smaller venue, then I feel a little bit better about couples who are trying to DIY any part of their wedding."
She added, "But, if it's a 200-person [event] at one of the big venues, then that's probably not something you're going to want to tackle, and that's because so much of what you have to do with flowers, even if you're the ones growing them, happens at the very last minute," the florist continued.
"So the week of your wedding would be cutting your flowers and harvesting and storing your flowers. There's already so much that happens at the last minute for a wedding. This is a major thing to take on, to handle in that last week. So if they're going to do it, they need to go in with a plan and then a backup plan."
Mewbourn also mentioned the "vibe" a couple is looking to achieve for their big day makes a difference to whether growing their own flowers is a realistic option.
"If it's like that lush sort of garden style that's full of roses and stuff, that is not something I would tackle," Mewbourn said.
An approach leaning more toward the "wildflower" type aesthetic is one Mewbourn said is a bit more attainable for beginner gardeners, with flowers like vinca, cosmos and sunflowers.
"If that's the kind of vibe they're going for, this is a lot more manageable. Still difficult, but just a much more laid-back casual feel, and that's a lot easier to achieve with homegrown flowers," the florist said.
Even though there are challenges to growing your own flowers, Weikel expressed delight that she and her husband were able to grow so many of their wedding flowers on their own.
"Don't be intimidated. The flowers, they're so forgiving. We went away on a week-long trip to visit family, we came back, and they were perfectly fine," Weikel said.
"I would say do it, you don't have anything to lose," she continued. "It's really not a lot of money to put into it. We did a pretty large lot, I would say. Ours was five feet by 50 feet, roughly, but you really don't even need to do that much. We had way more than we needed. So I say go for it, give it a try, and the worst that can happen is you have a beautiful yard or garden of flowers."
Weikel and her husband's love for gardening has only grown from their experience. She told Fox News Digital that she is planting daises now for the first time, and she feels a lot less pressure this time around, without a wedding countdown.
"Seeing some of [the flowers] pop up this year, it brings back a lot of special memories," Weikel said. "We're going to be able to look back and tell our kids that this is what we did for our wedding. It was super special to us. It's just the memory behind it, but we also love being outside and now we're trying new things."
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