Paper Heart

Early on into the wedding-planning process, I decided something major: flowers. I decided not to have any (real ones, that is). I like flowers and think they are gorgeous, but I’m not a huge flower girl. (I actually prefer to receive chocolates…like the chocolate-covered strawberries I received this past Valentine’s Day!) I really couldn’t see spending so much money on something that would just die! I love the look of flowers and knew at our wedding I wanted that elegant and romantic ambiance that they create, so I decided to create my own flowers out of paper! Let’s rewind a bit. In case any of you don’t know, I absolutely love all things paper! Paper has always been my favorite medium when creating art. I love to work with my hands and find cutting sheets of card stock oh so therapeutic. For as long as I can remember, paper has always been a major part of any project that I do. You see, I love to create artists books. I love to write, so I take my tales and create illustrations on the computer (using my graphic skills) and then bind each book by hand. My dad restores old books as a hobby and actually builds his own book presses, so I have a very nice wooden one in my possession. Seeing that I have a deep love of paper, I knew that creating paper flowers for our wedding a was perfect idea! I had never created paper blooms before (how hard could it be?), so I did a bit of research online. What I discovered was there are so many varieties of flora that one can make and out of all different kinds of paper! Now I only have to figure out what type of flower and out of what type of paper… Giant paper poppy / Image via 100 Layer Cake / Photos by Ali Degraff Paper poppies / Image via Martha Stewart Weddings Paper poms / Image via Martha Stewart Crepe paper flower / Image via Martha Stewart Coffee filter peonies / Image via Design Sponge / Photo by Aunt Peaches Paper flower aisle / Image via Style Me Pretty / Photo by Dave Robbins Photography Paper flower decorations / Image via Style Me Pretty / Photo by Dave Robbins Photography Coffee filter poppies / Image via Green Wedding Shoes As you can see, there are so many possibilities with paper! I could even create a sort of hybrid flower that uses multiple techniques and materials! So many choices. I’m using paper flowers throughout the wedding (the bouquets and centerpieces), so I’m going to have a ton of buds to create! Is anyone else out there saying “yes” to paper flowers for their wedding?