I know we hear a lot about “going green” these days and green weddings.  Going green and using natural items doesn’t mean your wedding has to the prius of the wedding world.  (Not knocking the prius, just sayin’)  I see a lot of weddings now that are using natural and earthy elements as opposed to the bling of a glam wedding.  (We will call those the Escalades of the wedding world, still not knocking Escalades.)

Probably the single most popular natural thing I have seen are succulents.  I am not talking about, “look at that succulent pig” I mean those really cool water-retaining plants.  These guys are in bouquets, on cakes, in centerpieces and are even favors.  I don’t know if anything has made an appearance this much at weddings since Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn in “Wedding Crashers”.  They are actually really functional because they are water-retaining so they can be used without a water source in something like a lantern or sitting on top of a centerpiece.  I typically think about succulents being green, both in color and the global sense. They don’t have to be, look at this beautiful bouquet from Ruffled Blog:

I like the idea of succulents, or a plant, as a favor.  Your guests get to take home a living reminder of your wedding.  Unfortunately if that living reminder goes home with me it won’t be living too long.  I love these favors with cute love saying flags on them.  You don’t have to be in lovey dovey wedding mode to appreciate these.

Image from Justin Wright Photograph

The fruit in centerpieces thing has been around for awhile, and while I still love it I am glad to see veggies are making their way into the spotlight.  This is especially cool for all you foodies that want to subtly incorporate food into the details.  Artichokes are a good fit in a bouquet. They can have really cool natural color and add an interesting and surprising element to a design.

Image from here

Another really cool thing making it’s way into decor is cotton.  It can be the fabric of your boutineers, not just your lives.  (I am on a roll with my cheesy cliches today.)  It is not huge and feminine so your groom can have a pinworthy bout while still having a more manly feel.

Image from Southern Weddings

The royal wedding had trees.  Yep, bit ole trees in a church.  You aren’t limited now with just having nature outside or just having beautiful vintage doors inside.  Well, if your church or venue vetoes the trees you are limited, so ask first.  It is fun to bring indoor element out and outdoor elements in.

Photo from Preston Bailey

I love the doors and pews outside.  I think it is the best of both worlds.  You get the beauty of nature while still having some of the beauty of being in a church.  As long as you don’t get rain everybody wins.

Image from Divine Images

So whether green is your thing or yoga is about as close to nature as you get, go out there and channel your inner hippie and add a little something earthy to your big day.