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Wedding Planning: EcoFlower Review, DIY Centerpieces & Invite Hack

posted in: Wedding
August 23, 2017

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve updated you all with my wedding planning, and the truth is… I hadn’t been doing much planning in the past few months. Everything took a back seat while we went through the process of buying our first house, then moving in and settling down. But now that’s behind us, and I’m jumping back into wedding planning head first.

EcoFlower Review

Curious about using a fake flower bouquet for your wedding? Check out this review of Ecoflower to see if it's the right choice for you. | Slashed Beauty

First of all, I received my delivery from EcoFlower with my bouquets and boutonnieres. They’re all from their Marsala line, which features ivory and blush flowers with accents of wine red— our main wedding color. The flowers are made of recycled materials that are biodegradable but can also be saved for years with proper care. Upon first researching florists, I was flabbergasted with how much our bouquets would cost, and they’d be wilting by the next day! EcoFlower was not only priced more affordably than the real thing, but my bridesmaids and I get to keep our bouquets as a favor to remember the big day.

Curious about using a fake flower bouquet for your wedding? Check out this review of Ecoflower to see if it's the right choice for you. | Slashed Beauty

I got two different packages— one with our boutonnieres and the other with our bouquets. They were all wrapped individually in bubble wrap and placed carefully. I was ecstatic unwrapping each bouquet. They looked better in person than I could have imagined. They were full, round, and actually looked pretty real. I had my reservations, thinking they might look shiny or gaudy, but they are elegant and downright gorgeous.

Curious about using a fake flower bouquet for your wedding? Check out this review of Ecoflower to see if it's the right choice for you. | Slashed Beauty

The bouquets are wrapped in twine and lace, adding a really beautiful rustic touch that will work well with my woodsy wedding. Some green sprigs also shoot out of the bouquet to add a little more texture and color.

There are a few things I want to point out if you’re thinking of trying EcoFlower. First of all, you may remember me saying that I ordered these in March. Their wedding orders are prioritized by your wedding day, so you won’t get them right away. With that said, I put my wedding date as August 15th when ordering for the sole purpose of getting the order early enough to share my thoughts with you. The boutonniere order arrived on the 10th and the bouquets arrived on the morning of the 15th. If that was my actual wedding date, this wouldn’t have been acceptable. Especially if you’re having a destination wedding, or like to have things ahead of time in general, I would have been ripping my hair out had the delivery been that close. So, I do suggest to put in a date way ahead of your actual wedding if you want to be sure they arrive in time.

Other than that, the only other thing to keep in mind is that the flowers are actually very fragile. They aren’t flexible like real flowers— so they are prone to holes or tears if you drop them, bump them, etc. I accidentally poked a hole through one of the flowers on the boutonnieres when putting the pin through the back. I’m glad I ordered a couple extra “emergency” boutonnieres because I know we’re going to end up with at least one person breaking theirs. Also, the green foliage does tend to shed as I take the bouquets in and out of their bubble wrap, so just be careful of that while unwrapping them. Overall I’m extremely in love with my bouquets and am so glad I went this route.

DIY Wine Bottle Centerpiece

This DIY wedding centerpiece is easy to make from old wine bottles! Watch the tutorial. | Slashed Beauty

As you may have seen on my YouTube channel, I’ve also started working on my centerpieces. I decided to DIY them because, again, the florist quoted me a ridiculous number to rent some. We’re also saving money by having the florist create aisle pieces for the ceremony that can be transferred into these vases for the reception.

Paying homage to our love of wine, I’m taking wine bottles and spray painting them to match our color scheme. We’ll have gold, burgundy and twine-wrapped bottles at every table. I have until the end of September to finish this project, since I’ll be handing them off to my mom next time I see her. She’ll take it from there in terms of getting them to the venue.

The hardest part of the project was actually figuring out how to remove wine bottle labels. The cheap stuff had labels that would come off easily, but I was putting in serious elbow grease with most of them. I found out that lemon oil basically makes the paper and residue wipe right off. Watch the video above to see the full tutorial on how I’m making these from start to finish.

Sending our Invites

These gold foil wedding invites from Minted are the perfect balance of modern and classic. Take a closer look & learn an invite hack so people don't bring extra guests to your wedding! | Slashed Beauty

Finally, we sent out our formal invitations over the weekend. Wow, that makes it real, doesn’t it?! As I mentioned in previous wedding planning updates, we received our invitations from Minted, which carries so many beautiful and unique designs from independent artists. Ours have embossed gold foil detail which really make them pop, while the rest of the design is quite simple and elegant.

These gold foil wedding invites from Minted are the perfect balance of modern and classic. Take a closer look & learn an invite hack so people don't bring extra guests to your wedding! | Slashed Beauty

The invites came with free printed envelopes, however we have had several friends who have moved since we got them made. So we did have to hand address a few ourselves. We also had to fill in the guest count on the back of all the invites. This was a little hack I learned on reddit that doesn’t leave any room for confusion. We printed “__ seats have been reserved in your honor” for us to fill in depending on whether they are welcome to bring their family, a plus one, or just themselves. We’re saving money by having them RSVP online via our wedding website, so no worrying about RSVP cards or return envelopes!

For the next couple months, it’s all about nailing down details. Check out below what we still have yet to do.

Venue
Food
Alcohol
Hotel Room Blocks
DJ
Photographer
Rehearsal Diner Venue
Night-Of Accommodations
Registry
Save the Dates + Invites
Wedding Website
Dress
Bridesmaids Dresses
Bouquets
Bachelorette Party
Decor
Bridal Shower
Cake Bakery
Dress Fitting
Party Favors
Photo Booth

Anything I should add to my last minute checklist?

14 Responses

  1. deb
    | Reply

    Wherever you are spending your wedding night, there’s something you’ll want to do ahead of time: When you book your room, pre-order room service to deliver some food half an hour or so after you arrive. Go for a cheese & veggie tray, a bowl of fruit, a sandwich to share, and some cold bottled water – because you won’t be eating much at your reception ( brides & grooms rarely do) and will have had a lot of champagne. Add to that the fact that you’ll both be tired, hungry, over-emotional and excited. Taking time to eat something light but healthy will recharge you for a special evening

    • Miranda Mendoza
      | Reply

      The resort is delivering an extra wedding meal for each of us for after the wedding to our room 🙂

  2. Polarbelle
    | Reply

    Your flowers are so beautiful and they work so well with your dark hair and your skintone. Amazing choices

    • Miranda Mendoza
      | Reply

      I totally agree! Thank you!

  3. Kathryne
    | Reply

    You’re almost finished with all the major details. So excited for your wedding

  4. Cindy Ingalls
    | Reply

    The bouquets are gorgeous! I love the idea that they won’t wilt and can become keepsakes for the wedding party!

    • Miranda Mendoza
      | Reply

      Same!! I want to put mine on display afterwards.

  5. glamorable
    | Reply

    I love your invitations, they are so gorgeous!

    • Miranda Mendoza
      | Reply

      Thank you! I wanted something simple but also with a bit of flash. I think I got them!

  6. MarciaF
    | Reply

    It does seem real now with the invitations out. I love how many companies helped you out with your special day. I think the bouquets are beautiful. And I think it’s a great that you fill in the number of people yourself. I know that can be a huge problem.

  7. Erika
    | Reply

    You’re nearly there! Eco Flowers look amazing. I need to see about getting some.

  8. mybeautyjunction
    | Reply

    Those bouquets are gorgeous (as also the shoes nearby)! I had no idea that lemon oil would dissolve the glue – thanks for the tip!

    • Miranda Mendoza
      | Reply

      Yessss those are my Badgley Mischkas 🙂

  9. NeverSayDieBeauty
    | Reply

    Wow, your date is getting close! I have read about Ecoflowers in the past, and they are indeed an interesting alternative

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