5 Seed Paper Wedding Ideas, Starting With Vows You Can Plant

Most wedding paper has a short life. It gets read once, admired, and then it goes in a box or in the bin. Seed paper is different. After the day is over you put it in soil, and it comes back as flowers.

If you like the idea of a wedding that leaves something growing behind it, here are five ways to use seed paper, starting with our favorite.

1. Write your vows on paper you can plant

This is the one people remember. You write your vows on a sheet of wildflower seed paper, read them at the ceremony, and later plant the sheet together. The words you said turn into something living.

Our Lace Vow Book Set was made with this in mind. The books hold loose sheets instead of bound pages, and you can add a plantable seed paper vow sheet for each one.

A few practical tips if you do this:

• Draft on ordinary paper first. Seed paper is textured and you only want to write on it once.
• Use a ballpoint pen or pencil. Very wet inks can bleed on handmade paper.
• Photograph your vows before you plant them. Once the sheet is in the soil, the paper is gone. Keep a picture, or a typed copy tucked into the vow book.
• Pick a planting day that means something. The first morning in a new home, the first spring after the wedding, or your first anniversary all work well.

2. Give the couple a card that grows

If you are a guest, a plantable wedding card is a small gift on top of whatever else you bring. The couple reads your message, then plants the card and gets a pot of wildflowers in their first months of marriage.

May Your Love Forever Grow has two plantable seed hearts on the front, one for each of them. It suits weddings, engagements, bridal showers and vow renewals.

3. Plantable wedding favors

Favors are the part of a wedding most likely to be left on the table. A small seed paper heart or tag with a thank you note is light to carry home, costs little to post to guests who could not come, and gives people something to do with it afterward.

Add one short line telling guests what it is. Something like "Plant me and I will grow wildflowers" is enough. Without it, people may not realize the paper is alive.

We make custom seed paper favors for weddings. You can read more and get in touch on our custom favors page.

4. Place cards and table details

Names written on small seed paper cards work as place cards and as a favor at once. Guests find their seat, then take their own name home to plant. It is a quiet detail, and it means one less thing to buy.

These can be part of a custom order too.

5. Thank you notes after the wedding

The thank you note is the last piece of paper from your wedding that anyone receives. Sending it on seed paper closes things in the same spirit they started. Our plantable thank you cards are blank inside, so there is room for a real message.

What to know before you choose seed paper for a wedding

• Keep it dry until the day. Seed paper starts to wake up when it gets wet. Store it somewhere cool and dry, away from steamy bathrooms and damp garages.
• It is not waterproof. For an outdoor or beach ceremony, keep vow sheets inside a book or folder until you need them.
• Plant within a year or two. Seeds lose strength with time. An anniversary planting is fine. A tenth anniversary planting probably is not.
• Tell people how to plant it. Soak, lay on soil, cover lightly, keep damp. Our full guide is here: How to Plant Seed Paper Cards.
• Order custom pieces early. Custom favors and place cards take time to make, so get in touch well ahead of your date.

Quick answers

Can we plant our vows in a pot instead of a garden?

Yes. A pot on a sunny windowsill or balcony works well, and it means the flowers can move with you.

Does seed paper actually grow?

It does. We tested one of our own cards by accident and wrote about it here: I Left a Seed Paper Card in Water for a Week. It Sprouted Anyway.

Is seed paper only for rustic weddings?

No. Handmade paper has a soft, natural texture that sits just as well with a simple modern table as it does with a garden or beach setting.

Do you take custom wedding orders?

Yes. Tell us your date and what you have in mind through the custom favors page, and we will get back to you.

Start with one piece

You do not need to make the whole wedding plantable. One meaningful piece is enough, and for most couples that piece is the vows. You can see our vow books and wedding cards in the wedding collection.