Sea Salted Bee: Succulent box centerpieces

Today's installment of wedding goodness: CENTERPIECES!!!!!!

When designing our wedding I was very sure of a few things. The colors needed to be navy and hunter, I would wear a flower crown instead of a veil, and that I would be doing my own succulent center pieces.

I have always LOVED SUCCULENTS (despite my ability to keep them alive for more than a couple of months...I've been told that I over water, but I like to call it over-loving). The colors, the depth and texture, their organic and hearty look, all so seductive, especially at a wedding.

I knew for sure that I wanted to make each centerpiece a stand alone garden, that didn't require a lot of other decor or fuss in order to make the guest tables look "finished". Because we were in a barn, I had my heart set on distressed wood vessels to plant them in. Trying to be as economical as possible, my mom and I scoured the internet to find boxes. However finding 15-20 large planter boxes was proving to be more difficult than we had anticipated. Ultimately, my uncle, kindly offered to build them custom for us, which was more than generous. They came out gorgeous at 30 inches x 8 inches x 6 inches, BIG BOXES!

Back in January, my mom offered to grow all of the succulents herself for the wedding, and I absolutely LOVED that idea. After my mom passed away in April, I wanted to make sure to honor our collective vision for these centerpieces, but knew that with work, a cross-country move and other wedding plans without her, growing the succulents myself in time for the wedding was impossible.

So my father and I decided to buy them instead and plant them together in her honor. So we set out to IKEA to get the bulk of the plants. Next I stopped at Winston's garden center in Newton, MA, for their upscale and stunningly beautiful inventory. Each box would have 6 small various succulents from the IKEA selection, one aloe plant from IKEA (for height) and one stunner from the Winston's selections.

For bottom drainage we used recycled Styrofoam (lighter than rocks) and soil from our yard. Because the boxes were so long, and we couldn't stack them, we now needed a much larger vehicle in order to transport the centerpieces from Boston to New Hampshire. So we rented a suburban and loaded her up!

Friday before the wedding we finished off the boxes bu adding some decorative moss to hide the soil. I chose to use 3 contrasting colors of moss to add depth to the look on the tables. My father did a beautiful job finishing them off, and I was absolutely thrilled with how they came out.

At the end of the night, we gave most of them away to guests, who took them home to decorate their own homes. It makes me so happy when one of our beloved wedding guests sends me a photo of their box, now weeks after the wedding. I love that they were not wasted and they are living on!

1. Start with your favorite selection of succulents from your local garden store (tip: Ikea and Home Depot have some really nice ones for a great price point ~ $2.50 each)

2. Pick your vessel: We used long rectangular distressed wooden boxes. But use your imagination! I also really like the idea of using funky vintage mugs (li ke my darling friend Sonal uses for her gorgeous succulent babies!) milk glass candy dishes, glass globes and of course, mason jars!

The succulent babies ready to be planted in their new homes!

3. Before planting, make sure to fill the base of your vessel with drainage (we used styrofoam here to keep the boxes from being too heavy, but you could also use pebbles or gravel). Fill with soil and then carefully transfer your succulents into the soil. Make sure to soak them well after planting to help them acclimate to their new home :)