On a warm summer’s day how charming it is to see dragonflies flitting across the water or butterflies with their beautiful colours resting on flowers taking in the nectar from their centres. Ladybirds are a special little beetle, colourful and utterly cute.
What a feminine and joyful touch then, for a spring or summer’s wedding held outdoors amongst shady trees, green lawns and fragrant flower beds.

Dragonfly bouquet by Michelle Rago courtesy of Brides

Use replicas of these creatures as place card holders or place in amongst your flowers on the tables. They can be added to the greenery and flowers in a floral arch that you might use as your entrance as you walk up the ‘aisle’. If butterflies have special significance to you, you might add sparkly ones, or brightly coloured ones to your bouquet. A wreath for your flower girl’s hair to which ladybirds have been added will look cute and child-like.

If you are not ethically opposed to releasing live butterflies, then Butterfly Encounters will be able to supply them for you. They will be able to direct you to people in NSW, Victoria and QLD, but they stress ‘If you plan to release butterflies please be aware that this should only be done if the species occurs naturally in your area’. They have kits available to assist you.

Cupcake by Le Cupcake

If your heart is set on this ‘nature’ theme, your cake supplier should be able to make your cake a feast for the eyes with flowers, leaves, ladybirds, or butterflies all made of sugar and coloured to match your wedding colours, or realistically to match the garden surroundings. How does a cake featuring soft coloured waterlily sugar paste flowers with dragonflies dancing in amongst them sound? Or a cake featuring mainly sugary greenery with lady bugs peering out between the leaves.

View Swallowtail Farms for inspiration. From plantable paper butterfly cutouts with wildflower seeds in them (adapt for Australia yourself at Scrub Australia or Paper Go Round), pretty iced butterfly biscuits (try gingerbread for a fun touch), mini tin pails, bags or paper boxes filled with butterfly attracting seeds to plant – perhaps adorn with an explanation and a paper butterfly – Swallowtail Farms is a mine of information about all ideas butterfly. They even have wonderful sayings and poems that could be printed on placemats, favour containers, ribbons used on your bouquet or to tie onto your favours, or even onto clay tags with your chosen creature motif on the front.

Try the Canadian, The Thankyou Company for butterfly pencils, magnets, dragonfly pins, dragonfly pewter tins, and all manner of things ladybug such as placecard holders, magnets and glass rim attachments.
Chocolates wrapped in foil to look like lady bugs are available, or buy molds of the creatures you want to feature and ask your favourite aunt to pour in the chocolate and wrap them in cellophane tied with a bow.