Throwing rice or confetti on your wedding day can be a fun and gorgeous tradition that lets all of your guests celebrate with you as you leave your ceremony as husband and wife for the first time.

The tradition may hark back to the representation of prosperity and fertility for a couple, but now it’s used more for a great celebratory photo op.

While grains of rice or wheat made way for paper confetti, many couples are now looking for more eco-friendly options that don’t necessarily involve so much mess.

Bio-degradable paper options, bubbles, sparklers and ribbon wands are all popular alternatives for couples wanting to have that celebration with their guests still, however they’re still artificially made. So if you’re not afraid of the mess and are looking at having a more natural substitute to confetti options at your weddings, here are a few ideas.

Lavender

Not only does lavender smell delicious but it can also make really sweet confetti for your wedding day. The small lavender buds are the perfect size for throwing up in the air, and they’re not heavy either so nothing is going to hit the couple too hard!

You also usually get several stems on a lavender bush, so you should be able to quite a few lavender buds for confetti without too many issues. Lavender most popularly grows in gorgeous shades of purple, but you can also get a more cream-coloured lavender if you’re looking for something to match the feel of your white wedding theme.

Different types of herbs

Herbs are another option that will not only work well as confetti, but also smell delicious. More woody leaves such as rosemary or thyme will work well here, and again they can grow in abundance. These woody herbs are also more likely to be able withstand different temperatures and be available all year round, making them even easier to access.

You could have your herbs in traditional confetti cones or have baskets around the ceremony that your guests can access.

I get that throwing the rice is tradition, but it seems like it could be spiced up a little. With everyone doing sparklers these days for grand exits, it’s refreshing to see some other ways brides and grooms can mix it up. There’s a lot more options in the article itself, it’s definitely worth looking into!