This wedding has been a test of my ability to compromise and improvise. In some cases it's meant taking a step down but in others it's actually meant ramping things up and being pleasantly surprised!
One of the items that I absolutely wanted to have was to have the traditional rice toss after we were officially declared married. Also, since I'm Asian, the whole idea (I know - so corny of me) of having rice play such a role in the festivities meant even more! But in my research of rice showering/tossing, I found that we couldn't do it. Why? Because most places actually don't allow it as it 1) can be very difficult to clean up and 2) people can slip when walking over it. To say I was bummed to find out that we couldn't use rice is a serious understatement.
In an effort to find something to use that was rice-like, I came across the idea of using dried Lavender. It's wonderfully fragrant, environmentally friendly, and also resembles rice - the "wild" variety at least. And when I saw it packaged on theknot.com in little bottles - I HAD TO HAVE IT.
So I went to one of my new favorite sites for all things DIY (since wedding planning) Save-on-Crafts.com and got the following:
I ordered everything about 1.5-2 weeks ago and everything just came in this week! (I ordered the medium-grade as the only difference between it and the premium is the fact that the premium is more vibrant in color. Since I was trying to imitate a rice grain, I figured the muted color of the medium grade was closer to a wild rice variety.)
Tonight, while I had a spurt of energy (rare for me these days) I set up a mini assembly line to take everything and put it together.
I used a measuring cup, a trash bag laid out (to catch all of the loose Lavender), scissors, and a funnel (fashioned by husband2be) from a large envelope and duct tape. With both of us working together, it took a little under two hours to fill, cork, and embellish about 36 bottles.
Here is one of our first finished bottles:
I'm really pleased with how they came out. The bottles are nice and heavy and definitely larger than I had initially anticipated when I ordered them but we portioned out enough for each bottle to hold more than enough Lavender for two people to use. Also, whatever is not used can just be corked back up and taken home by our guests as they really do smell very nice, fresh, and clean. I estimate that each one came out to be about a little more than $2 in raw materials.
This was an idea that I thought I was having to compromise for something lesser but it turned out to be something that was significantly ramped up, in my opinion. I can't wait for everyone to see them as I think they will be a lovely touch that they will enjoy! I highly recommend it for anyone looking for an alternative to rice OR other "showering" options after you're officially declared married!