Ask A Planner: Help I cannot have a rose toss after the ceremony!

Q: I was so excited to book our church and cross off a huge item off our list until I realized all of the constrictions it came it with. We’re not allowed to have an aisle runner, throw petals, rice, or confetti, nor can we blow bubbles. I don’t want to sound selfish, but those were some of the things I was most looking forward to having. Any advice on what can be done?

A: First off, we want to say sorry for having to part with those ceremony items that meant a lot to you. Unfortunately, many houses of worship have their own rules for what is allowed and banned, and there is no way of getting around that. However, you can still incorporate some others fabulous ideas by thinking outside of the box. Here’s a few suggestions:

• If the church is concerned about petals staining carpet, considering using silk petals. The best thing is that they can be reused.
• If it’s a deeper concern, such as someone potentially slipping and they don’t allow any petals of any kind perhaps your flower girls can carry pomanders instead of flower baskets. Another idea is for the flower girl to start off with a bunch of stemmed flowers in her hand and then hand them off to people on the ends of the aisle as she walks down.
• If you were dreaming of the much anticipated personalized aisle runner that many brides want, consider having someone walk down the aisle with a “here comes the bride” banner. It can be customized with your colors and logo if you’d like.
• For the picture perfect moment where people throw things like roses and confetti at the Bride and Groom, consider doing bells and ribbon wands. We especially like the ribbon wands because they photograph well.

Hope these suggestions help! Good luck and congratulations on booking a major item!

*Thank you for sending in your questions to ellyB. We are making it a priority to answer them all! If you have a question you would like to ask, be sure to email us at: info@byyoursideevents.com