Bentley Seed Co. Blog

Bentley Seed Gift guide to shopping for Christmas and the holiday season and Black Friday Shopping. Includes ideas for gardeners.

Great gifts for Mom- 5 great ideas for gardening gifts.

So you’ve made the decision to tie the knot—congratulations! As a major supplier of custom seed packets for weddings and bridal showers, we have the privilege of talking regularly with brides and grooms in the midst of planning their weddings, giving us a bird’s eye view into current trends shaping the industry. Even though we’ve been doing this for a while, we continue to be impressed by how wedding celebrations are evolving and becoming more and more personalized to reflect the wedding couple’s values. For example, these days, many couples are designing their wedding celebrations to reflect their passion for healthy living, sustainability, and the environment. Here are some really cool green wedding trends we’ve witnessed: In general, there is increasing interest in reducing the environmental impact of wedding celebrations, in any way possible. Many couples are choosing to serve locally sourced food, with vegetarian courses figuring prominently on the menu. Increasingly, brides are forgoing traditional bouquets consisting of exotic flowers from some far-flung source and substituting them with native, seasonal varieties instead. Some brides are eschewing fancy, white dresses, mass produced overseas, for something simpler and more sustainably made. More and more weddings are being held during the day, outdoors and/or in rustic settings in order to use less energy. Similarly, couples are endeavoring to keep waste generated by the event to a minimum by using biodegradable service ware and composting leftovers. Traditional cut floral centerpieces and decorations are being replaced by locally sourced live plants that can be transplanted into the ground sometime after the wedding festivities are over. Couples are opting for personalized, unique, earth-friendly wedding favors. Custom seed packets are given to guests as a special memento and are often included in a gift bag, as part of each table setting or mailed with a thank you note, to cite a few examples. Speaking of seeds, another current trend is to ask for plants beneficial to the environment, In lieu of traditional material goods such as china, appliances or furniture. Alternatively, many couples are encouraging well-wishers to donate to a cause, such as the Sierra Club, about which they are passionate. We really love hearing about these great ideas and appreciate the sentiment behind them: an overriding concern for the environment. After all, what better time to be looking forward than on your wedding day?