Ideas for pews?

[mainlobster101]

Does anyone have any ideas for decorations for the end of the church pews at the ceremony? I can''t afford to do flowers and I''m not sure that I like bows. Do I have to have anything there at all?


Also, how many of your ceremony venues REQUIRED fresh flowers and banned silk ones? Will anyone really check?

 

[sarie_j]

I have seen other venues ban sillk flowers and I have seen them remove silk ones before - It all just comes down to who''s working at the time and how much of a nazi they are... If you don''t like bows then they make these really neat pew cones made from paper - you can get all colors and textures - and you could get away with just a stem or two even wildflowers from outside or ivy which you can steal from someone''s yard; you can also use them to hold rose petals for people to throw on you as you make your exit, however check and make sure that they allow real petals on the floor - if they don''t, then they can''t say anything about silks since it''s their rule --
I''m not sure how formal your ceremony is going to be or when, but lots of times you can find someone with a hydrangea or snowball bush and cut a few for each pew, or some sort of decorative grass or tree - I have seen redbuds, honeysuckle, and dogwood, although there are tons others which look absolutely lovely and oftimes can be found on the side of the road
Maybe some ideas you can think about anyway...

 

[sarie_j]

And of course if you don''t want anything there then nothing has to be there -- First and foremost it''s your day, just make sure and consider all your options before committing

 

[mainlobster101]

Thanks! The cone idea sounds really great and easy. And I am really hoping*fingers crossed* that the church won''t ban silks!

 

[sarie_j]

Yeah, I''m using them like this only they will be full of rose petals and hanging along the backs of the pews -- Got mine from ebay actually

 

[sarie_j]

Or if you want more formal, this website shows you step-by-step how to make this one --
http://www.save-on-crafts.com/pewmarkers.html
Well crap -- lol, it won''t let me add it but you can go to this website and see it with the instructions... It doesn''t look very difficult or expensice to make at all, it kinda surprised me

 

[julie_b]

Just out of curiosity, why can''t you use silk flowers? Our venue will let us use real ones inside on the alter and pews, but real petals can''t be tossed down the aisle and nothing can be tossed outside. I can see why they would have these rules, although it''s kind of a downer since they are crazy strict and nothing can be thrown outside, but I don''t really understand the silk flower deal.

 

[sarie_j]

The venues that I have dealt with that wouldn''t allow silk flowers thought them to be not classy enough and worried about their image if their location was seen in photographs with *gasp* fake flowers -
As for not allowing real petals, they could be concerned about them staining the floor and also there is a safety issue as petals are slippery when stepped on and sqooshed... Also I think they simply don''t want to clean them up --

 

[julie_b]

Oh, I see...that''s what I was thinking the reason was, but it seemed kind of trivial. Our place won''t let us use real petals inside b/c they don''t want them to stain anything and don''t want to be responsible if they stain the bottom of any of the dresses. Noting can be used outside b/c the landing and stairs right out the doors is some kind of really smooth stone, so the issue with this place is more liability. I guess I don''t blame them though, I don''t want any dresses ruined or any legs broken...would kind of ruin the day!

 

[firstbase32]

We discussed with our church about flowers and they stated that inside it had to be fake flowers because they didn''t want it to stain the carpet...and then outside it could only be bubbles, real flowers, or bird seed. They stated this was because real flowers will decompose and blow away as opposed to fake flowers simply just sitting there for a long time until someone picked it up...so I think inside we''re doing fake pedals and then outside we''re doing bubbles or bird seed

 

[ponderer]

Many churches view any floral decorations as a gift and do not allow them to be removed from the sanctuary and so they insist upon real flowers. I would not stress over end pew decorations, especially if they are not ultra important to you, and if they are not allowed to be removed or are out of budget.

My DH and I were married during lent and were not allowed any flowers or greenery in the sanctuary. No one missed it and I saved a bundle. Used the money on better/more flowers for the reception.