I think we should move more often.
I'm constantly trying to keep our home from being overloaded with clutter and I thought I did a pretty good job, but judging by how many boxes and bags of stuff I've thrown out or put in the garage sale pile in the past two days, I think I have a long way to go. Something about having to pack and move it makes it seem easier to toss it, I guess.
I even threw out my wedding bouquet yesterday. I know, I know, probably some of you fellow clutter-busters are horrified I would categorize myself as such if I still have my wedding bouquet. It's almost been four years since the wedding and I just hadn't been able to part with it yet, but yesterday, out the door it went. Whee! that felt good. After all, it looks so much prettier in our wedding pictures anyway, I don't know why I hung onto it so long.
ETA: I forgot to mention that my bouquet was made of fresh flowers - not artificial. If it were artificial, I would probably have hung onto it and found some pretty way to display it in our home as opposed to the now-dried and rather dead-looking once beautiful mass of cascading white roses which, until yesterday, adorned the top of our living room bookshelf. I don't know, all those dried flowers just didn't give a really good picture of the very alive and radiant marriage we have. I guess that's one good reason, and I would venture to say, about the only good reason to go with artificial flowers. But, I would never get married with artificial flowers unless we were really strapped for money. Call me picky, but I think most artificial flowers, especially personal flowers in weddings, look cheesy and tacky. That was one of the few areas we "splurged" on in our otherwise very frugal wedding. Seriously, we made all of the dresses for under $100 but our flowers cost four times that much. The only unreal flowers we used were in a few of our decorations and for the reception since someone gave me bags full of high quality artificial flowers which matched our colors and I couldn't stand to see those go to waste.
Just another piece of history from Crystal's past that I'm sure you all were dying to know.
And since I'm kind of otherwise preoccupied with moving and not full of brilliant discussion ideas for my blog, here's a simple question for the day: Fresh flowers or fake (ahem, artificial)? Did you save your bouquet?
A lovely vase of roses from ProFlowers on our dining room table. I love fresh flowers!
I even threw out my wedding bouquet yesterday. I know, I know, probably some of you fellow clutter-busters are horrified I would categorize myself as such if I still have my wedding bouquet. It's almost been four years since the wedding and I just hadn't been able to part with it yet, but yesterday, out the door it went. Whee! that felt good. After all, it looks so much prettier in our wedding pictures anyway, I don't know why I hung onto it so long.
ETA: I forgot to mention that my bouquet was made of fresh flowers - not artificial. If it were artificial, I would probably have hung onto it and found some pretty way to display it in our home as opposed to the now-dried and rather dead-looking once beautiful mass of cascading white roses which, until yesterday, adorned the top of our living room bookshelf. I don't know, all those dried flowers just didn't give a really good picture of the very alive and radiant marriage we have. I guess that's one good reason, and I would venture to say, about the only good reason to go with artificial flowers. But, I would never get married with artificial flowers unless we were really strapped for money. Call me picky, but I think most artificial flowers, especially personal flowers in weddings, look cheesy and tacky. That was one of the few areas we "splurged" on in our otherwise very frugal wedding. Seriously, we made all of the dresses for under $100 but our flowers cost four times that much. The only unreal flowers we used were in a few of our decorations and for the reception since someone gave me bags full of high quality artificial flowers which matched our colors and I couldn't stand to see those go to waste.
Just another piece of history from Crystal's past that I'm sure you all were dying to know.
And since I'm kind of otherwise preoccupied with moving and not full of brilliant discussion ideas for my blog, here's a simple question for the day: Fresh flowers or fake (ahem, artificial)? Did you save your bouquet?
A lovely vase of roses from ProFlowers on our dining room table. I love fresh flowers!
posted by Crystal Paine at 7:00 AM
48 Comments:
Moving is the best way to declutter. Growing up we moved every two years or more often (my dad was in the military) and so we developed a very ruthless ability to declutter! This is characterized in my family as "not moving boxes of rocks" because when we lived in New Hampshire (I was 5, my brother was 3) and were packing up to move to Illinois, my dad found that my brother and I were trying to save shoe boxes full of gravel we had collected. He sat us down and very sternly said, "Children, we are NOT MOVING BOXES OF ROCKS."
I am a neat freak and fellow clutter buster and yet I still have my wedding bouquet! I just can't seem to part with it- even after 3+ years of marriage! :)
Hi Crystal,
I praise God that you are blessed with so much more energy to move. God does strenghten us for all tasks that we need to accomplish!
George and I have spent the last few days decluttering and getting stuff ready for a yard sale this spring. It truely is a blessing to get rid of stuff that we do not need.
Trixie
My first wedding bouquet got ruined in a fire, but when hubby and I renewed our vows last year I kept this bouquet. It's sitting on top of my fridge and I will admit, it looked prettier in pictures and I can't part with it yet.
I have a whole bunch of stuff to sell as well and I am debating about getting an EBAY account or not...I dont know. I don't really have many options...
But yes, I 2nd with trixie on the energy thing, I am so glad God gave you most of your energy back to be able to accomplish this..dont over do it though, take lots of breaks and always replenish with water. ;0)
I don't even know what happened to my bouquet.
Awww, I'm sorry you threw away your bouquet - Kathrynne might've liked to have it one day. I know I would love to have my mom's wedding bouquet. But I'm a pack rat anyway. ;)
I'm glad the moving is going well.
I hate to move, but I do like that I get rid of all kinds of stuff when I do move! I hate moving stuff from place to place! One thing I found though that makes moving harder is having more children, you need more stuff...not stuff you never use, but there is more clothes, more blankets, more coats, more boots, more shoes, more pictures, and more food. I think the thing I hated moving the most was food. I have so many beans, but I don't want to get rid of them as you know I eat them, but how many beans can one family eat? Yet, if you are as poor as I have been, you save food because you may not have money to buy anymore!
My husband and I have been married for seven years and are living in our sixth home. I'm proud to say that we have less stuff now (despite having two children) than we did when we got married. It's been a long, slow process but we're now ruthless about what we keep. We're currently going through books and CDs again to get rid of those that we just really don't need. Amazing how much money we've invested in those things!
Okay, you win! ;) I'm not giving up my bouquet. It looks just like it did on my wedding day, and it's the one "decoration" we have in our bedroom, besides a few wall hangings. :D
Yes, moving makes you realize how much stuff you really have. I'm so glad everything is going so well for you all!
I was married less than a year ago, and I *still* have my bouquet. It was all white roses and I dried it and then took the buds off and put them in a pretty glass vase that we received as a wedding gift. I'm sure I'll part with it eventually, but it's been less than a year so I don't feel too inclined just yet :)
Crystal,
Since you asked, yes I did keep my bouquet of REAL purple and white roses made from roses ordered online a few days before the wedding. After it was all said and done(actually quite a while after it was all said and done) I packed my bouquet, wedding dress, guest book, tiara, veil etc into a box and it was carefully put away.
Some of my flowers were fake and some were real. Most of the ones that were worn or carried were real. Like you, we only used nice artificial ones. Wow, can it really be 2 1/2 years already?! It's amazing how fast time flies.
Thanks so much for the time and effort you put into your blog. I LOVE reading it.
~Jennifer
I had a fake flowers and it was BIG! I wanted to keep it and the best way I found was to take it apart and put it on a vine wreath above my bed. It looks really neat! :o)
I'm moving in a month or two, and am so slowly going through all of my stuff and donating it or exhanging the books or giving it away. You never realise how much stuff you have until you have to move it.
The funny thing is I moved only about 7 months ago!
Yes... I saved my but only because I felt obliged to. :) I have never understand the need to save once live, now dead flowers because like you said, they are not at all representative of their original occasion!
I did have my mom make my bridesmaids bouquets out of nice artificial flowers, and they looked quite nice (still do!!!). Originally, she made me a bouquet of fake flowers that was really pretty, but then she surprised me with one made with real flowers on my wedding day. The real flowers were much more beautiful, but I wish I would have been able to save the "first" bouquet - that one, I would have displayed!
I LOVE decluttering but my son and husband don't. LOL!! Fortunately, we have company coming today and that ALWAYS motivates them to declutter!!
His,
Mrs. U
I am so with you on the real flowers for weddings thing, Crystal! I mostly hate artificial flowers, especially for weddings. Almost as much as I hate carnations. : )
I used real flowers for my wedding...I used to work for a wedding florist, so when I got married, she ordered the flowers for me through her wholesaler, so I was able to buy them at wholesale cost. Then the day before the wedding, my bridesmaids and I got together and made our bouquets.
Theirs were orange roses and mine was made of white roses. I think my mom dried the bouquet in her basement...not sure if it's still there. As my parents are getting ready to move from Missouri to Texas, I imagine if she still has it, it will be thrown out soon!
We honeymooned on the east coast and at the end of our honeymoon before we returned to the midwest, my mother-in-law did a reception for us in Rhode Island so my husband's family and friends who weren't able to attend our wedding could celebrate with us. She made a silk flower bouquet for me that matched my wedding bouquet, which was really sweet of her! (We put our wedding clothes on again for the reception) I still have that silk bouquet - it's in a crystal vase in my dining room.
We had fresh flowers at our wedding. However in the middle of a very hot Australian summer, by the end of the day my bouquet was very wilted. Mine was simple though - not really a bouquet. My sister and I just carried two roses tied together with a long trailing ribbon. Mine were white, hers red. Simple and yet very pretty and just what I wanted. No, I didn't try to keep them.
I had real flowers pink roses and white lilies. I got married in October and the best price was ordering then in bulk from Sam's Club. I threw my orgional bouquet and my flower girl caught it.
I had white and soft pink REAL roses. I "don't do" fake flowers :op My mom tried to dry them for me using a special solution that was supposed to preserve their color. Well...apparently it turned the bouquet an ugly brown color. (I didn't see it...I was on my honeymoon:op ) My mom was able to salvage some of the rosebuds from the center of the bouquet, which she dried naturally and arranged in a shadow box for me along with one of our wedding invitations. I have it sitting on a shelf in our bedroom, and it still looks very nice almost 3 1/2 yrs later!
oooohh...I hung on to my bouquet for like, 2 weeks. Then I threw it out. Call me insensitive, but I didn't see the point in keeping something like that. I spent an arm and a leg on flowers too, but just didn't see the point. :(
One of our friends had hers preserved and placed under a glass dome. While it is pretty, I know I'd personally get sick of that lying around after a while.
You keep the bouquet? That's a new one to me. Mine was gerberas which don't keep anyway so it was finished the next day. Looks lovely in the pictures though. I have actually never experienced a de-cluttering as I am a "NO CLUTTER" freak and don't allow any in the house. The one exception is hubby's desk where he keeps a massive pile of "stuff" that I don't touch. He needs his spot of man stuff I think :-)
Fresh- because fake is just... ew.
Wedding bouquet- I got married in 1982. My was a dozen long stemmed red roses and I saved the petals in a jar of homemade potpourri for years. The jar was topped by a pretty piece of cross-stitching somebody made for me that first year of marriage.
It broke in a move (I think one of hte more recent moves, so in the last six years or so). I was sad at the time, but it doesn't mean so much now. After all, I still have the groom.=)
We got married earlier this year, and I couldn't have had anything but fresh flowers. I gave my bouquet to my Mum at the end of the day, and she has kept it, dried (roses) on display. I don't think I would have kept it, but I like that she still enjoys it...
Thanks for your blog!
My flowers were fake... and now displayed in a beautiful case (that used to hold one of Hubby's autographed basketballs). Any 'display' flowers were real. I figured no one would look at my flowers, really, but me :-).
I'm getting married in June, and I'm pretty sure I'll go with a real bouquet. I've been told that if you want to keep your wedding flowers, you can freeze them and they'll stay pretty forever...I think that would be expensive, though!
I had a bouquet of real roses (ivory, bound w/ white satin ribbon), and I have to admit that I still have it, over 7 years later! My plan is to put it in a shadow box, along with my veil and one of our invitations. I just have to find a big enough shadow box, or see if hubby can make one!
I had a real bouquet, but it fell apart swiftly(not very hard flowers), however the wreath of flowers that I wore atop my veil are still intact...and yes I've kept them :-)
Sommer
Flowers were our one wedding splurge too. My aunt and mom are both fabulous flower arrangers (my aunt does weddings and parties professionally) and so my aunt got the flowers wholesale and my mom and aunt did all the flowers themselves. They were absolutely gorgeous and I love looking at the pictures even now. My mom dried the roses from my bouquet (they were mixed with other things) and I have them in a box in case I ever decide to do something like potpourri with them. I do really love the pictures of my wedding flowers, in which they still look great, not dead. :)
I don't do fake flowers in general, but mostly because I'm not ever sure how to make them look not fake and tacky. Some people are good at that, and I've seen some great things done with fake flowers, but I just don't have that ability!
My flowers were real. I bought them wholesale and put the bouquets together with my bridesmaids. Here's a tip if you want to cut the floral cost of your wedding: Buy all you corsages and boutineers (sp?) from a grocery store florist! They will be just as nice and run you about a third of the cost of a florist.
Have you ever posted your wedding pictures? I think it would be lovely if you did.
I didn't save my wedding flower. I can't say bouquet b/c I carried a single white rose.
I second you Biancabelle!
I've been anixious to see them since I read their Courtship story!
Would you please post them when you have time?
My bouquet was gerberra daisies, so I did not intend to save it since there's no way to keep them looking even halfway nice, but I discovered yesterday that my mother in law did save the bouquet and it's hanging on one of her dining room chairs! :)
BTW, this post brought back such fond memories of the lovely gathering for your wedding. Such a blessed time, and you were a beautiful bride. ~Lacey (Callahan) Walker
Hi Crystal,
Mine were fake but they were the really good fake ones from Garden Ridge. The kind that you had to actually feel to know they were fake.
I do still have them, they are long stemed peace lillies and they get moved around the house often, currently they are on my dresser.
Oh, how I wish we were moving. I am so jealous... Enjoy clearing out that clutter! :)
We've been married for 6 yrs.We used real peach roses from a local rose farm, which my talented hubby & a lady from our church made into bouquets.
I was determined to keep mine & as much as I hated to admit it, it eventually looked awful once dried out. It ended up being tied to the handle bars of my exercise bike,which I couldn't use anyway due to a knee problem, so when the bike went, so did the bouquet!!
For our wedding we had fake flowers. I know everyone is saying ewww, gross. It was a December wedding with velvet dresses and the poinsettas were fake. I still thought they looked very pretty. We were extremely pinched on money - I had to pay for the wedding myself so I went cheap on everything but photographs-I wanted professional sophisticated pictures and I am ever so happy with them that the fake flowers don't bother me. Everyone is different though. Phallin
Phall and others with fake flowers - don't worry, I'll still love you. :) I know flowers are not a big deal to some people. For me, my dress was not a big deal and pictures were not a big deal - I wore my mom's dress and veil and we went the cheapest route we could on pictures. That's us and it worked for us and we were thoroughly happy with how everything turned out.
I think the wedding should be YOU and should be uniquely YOU, not someone else. My sister and I had our wedding/reception at the same venue (a few years apart) and yet, each wedding was completely different because we are both completely different. She decided to go really cheap on flowers (though the actually turned out pretty nice for the price she paid) and had nicer dresses and much nicer photography. Jesse and I had a formal evening wedding in the Winter, she and her husband had a much more casual afternoon Summer wedding. We had very traditional colors - blue, silver, white. She chose bright colors - hot pink, turquoise, orange, lime green. It was so fun to see our personalities so distinctly in our individual weddings!
We used artificial flowers. I love the idea of using real flowers but I couldn't stand the thought of watching them die :)! I'm entirely too sentimental ;)...and yes I still have it. Them, actually, because we've also renewed our vows since then. I'm not very good at the decluttering yet but with four children in our little home I'm starting to learn the importance of it!.
I don't like clutter but I'm also a little bit of a pack rat. Can that happen? Married almost 15 years ago, I still have my dried bouquet. No, it's not pretty, but to me, it's precious to look at. I would like to encourage women on both sides of the clutter fence to try and strike a balance. In your zest for "cleanliness", you might regret your lack of tolerance someday and wish you had spared a few things. It's not the worst thing in the world to have a few boxes tucked away with some hidden treasures inside.
Yeah -- I moved into a house that needed to be restored. We stored stuff for 2 years... then threw it away. ha ha haaa...
Jennifer
I so enjoy the flowers God hath made(they can become potpourri or be tucked in drawer sachets) but don't mind artificial as long as they look fairly realistic. Have one particular arrangement made with flowers of a paper base found in a discount store that has fared well with time. Tried to dry my wedding flowers arranged(white carnations and red roses) but they browned ugly so went to the trash without considering use in sachets. :-(
My wedding I was really sick so forgot about things like flowers, someone ran and got me a beautiful bouquet of white roses right before! I did save them, dried them, and I think I got rid of them unless my mom has them still floating around her house.
It is fun to read of everyone's different wedding flowers!!! Me and my husband got a kick over the differences in you and your sister's wedding Crystal. Today me and my husband are celebrating five years together. I know we were crazy for getting married 4 days after Christmas. ;-) It is a lot of fun to look back on those wedding memories. Thanks for the fun topic Crystal! Blessings on your move as well.
I love Joanne's idea of carrying only a couple roses tied with a long trailing ribbon. It sounds so pretty! Very simple yet very elegant. I hope to have a simple outdoor wedding in the countryside, so I think a "bouquet" like that (if it can even be called a bouquet!") would be just perfect! I shall keep that in mind...
As far as fake flowers go, using them for a wedding never had even crossed my mind! I've never seen it done, and I had no idea anyone would even *consider* it! lol.
Crystal, your wedding must have been beautiful. It is so wonderful that your wedding could reflect YOU and Brigette's wedding reflected her! I never felt comfortable with the traditional "this-is-how-it-must-absolutely-go" type of mindset. I think each couple should plan their wedding to be meaninful to them. I personally would not do well with all the formality of many weddings, so an outdoor wedding would suit me much better. I say forget most of the ceremony even... just have that part as short as possible, include the portions that are neccessary and/or mean a you. The rest of it should be a joyous celebration with your family and friends. Forget the cake, too. Just a lot of money for something that in my mind doesn't taste very great anyways. ;-) What about a bunch of hot fruit cobblers with ice cream? That would be so much more "me"! It's so fun to hear how vastly different everyone's personalities (and weddings!) are.
I had fake flowers at my wedding. My sister-in-law was getting married shortly before us and bought TONS of fake flowers. She ended up eloping and gave everything ahe had to us. The only real flowers were the single roses the bridesmaids carried. I still have my bouquet in a box somewhere.
I forgot to plan for a throw-away bouquet, so I threw my wedding bouquet during the reception and haven't seen it since. :-) I'm glad though because I didn't really want to save it.
There is actually a place in Topeka, KS that will preserve your boquet for you and it looks the same the day you got married- seriously. I had mine framed and it is hanging in our living room. I think the name of the place is Marcella's. A little home business that is usally at the bridal fairs in Topeka for any new brides out there.
Fresh. A close friend of my husband's runs a greenhouse with his parents and they did all our flowers for very little. The day of our outdoor wedding it rained and he showed up in a van with all these potted plants to stick in the garden since the flowers growing there were ruined in the rain. Anyway, back to your question. His mother dried my flowers and made them into a wreath. But that was 10 years ago now and it wasn't looking all that good anymore...so I threw it out the week before Christmas when I was cleaning. Like you said, I have memories and pictures of them when they were beautiful. I don't need dead flowers!
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