I've featured lots of alternatives to the standard "clump of flowers" bouquet (check out all my non-floral bouquet posts) but this photo may feature the ultimate alternative: gorgeous feather fans.
Now, this may not be an option for the vegans & vegetarians in the house … but for a hot summer wedding, can you picture the loveliness of all these fans in motion? The fluttering of feathers and little breezes of air in the bridesmaids hair as they stand at the altar? Why, it's positively cinematic!
(Thanks to bethany_bezdecheck for the photo.)
Comments on "Peacock Feather Fans, the ultimate bouquet alternative"
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melisande
January 24th, 2009 · 12:16 PM · #
Actually, even thought I am a vegan, we're featuring peacock feathers at our wedding! Maybe I'm a hypocrite, but they are SO gorgeous, and I am under the impression that the peacocks are not killed to get their tail feathers…
Anyway, the plan is to use peacock feathers in the bouquets in place of greenery/filler.
So rather than in lieu of bouquets, we'll be using peacock feathers to jazz ours up.
I'm so excited about them. It'll be a DIY kinda thing, and we'll be sure to post pics.
Kathleen
January 24th, 2009 · 12:20 PM · #
Those are gorgeous!
TippyLooHoo
January 24th, 2009 · 4:49 PM · #
I bought one of these fans in orange to use instead of a bouquet. I was really sad when it came and the orange was WAY different than the orange in my dress. They just looked wrong together. I think I'm going to try and use it somewhere in the reception instead because I really do think they are AWESOME!!!
amber aka akaisha
January 24th, 2009 · 6:57 PM · #
whatabout faux feathers for the veggies and vegans (i'm veggie, so no snark here). this are gorgeous.
Rykie
January 24th, 2009 · 7:13 PM · #
I really wanted fans, but considering it'll be the dead of winter, we decided against it.
Eowyn
January 25th, 2009 · 5:40 AM · #
So beautiful! I am using this website that has AMAZING reproduction feather fans and jewelry for my August 09 wedding. (not sure if Ariel allows it in the comments)
http://www.sapphireandsage.com/featherfans.html
On a side note to the vegan/veg group. The plastics used to create faux feather and leather remain in land fills for literally hundreds of years and never breakdown. Think carefully before purchasing plastics as they are made from toxic chemicals and are more damaging to wildlife, fish, fragile ecosystems, etc. than many animal products. Research your sources carefully.
Emily
January 25th, 2009 · 6:15 AM · #
All birds shed their feathers naturally, at least once a year, every year. So I'm pretty sure that no peacocks were harmed to get the feathers! They were probably just collected as they were dropped… If you had a bunch of peacocks, you wouldn't want to kill them since they will grow new feathers each year!
Marissa Coon
January 25th, 2009 · 6:47 AM · #
Swoon…….
Christina
January 26th, 2009 · 5:08 AM · #
Emily is right, peacocks aren't harmed for their feathers. At least everything I read about when I used them in my own wedding (after facing the wrath of someone who thought I was endorsing murder or something) said that they are actually treated quite well to get the best feathers possible. So, vegetarians can rest easy, none of the birdies get killed.
Still haven't found any information about the quality of life they have on the farms in general though, but I'm sure if that's a concern there are farms one can look at in their own state, and there's definitely sources for organic farms on the internet.
Missy
January 26th, 2009 · 11:01 AM · #
These are pretty dang cool!
Bethany
January 26th, 2009 · 8:27 PM · #
Aw! I'm so glad you all like the fans (I'm the bride in the picture)!
I didn't see how I was going to shell out the money for floral bouquets for myself and my girls, so I came up with this alternative.
I'm not a huge flower fan anyway, so I ended up being glad I was forced to get creative.
I have a little article about them on my blog as well for anyone who would like to know where to find something similar.
Thanks for posting, Offbeat Bride!
Aurora
January 27th, 2009 · 7:44 AM · #
I'm vegan as well, and the thought of using peacock feathers was tempting but still bothered me. I thought that maybe the branches of a tin Christmas tree (you know, those old silver trees like they had in Charlie Brown) would be a good combination between Christmas ornament bouquets and peacock feathers, since they have a feather-y look. I'm sure the crafty OBBs could come up with an eco-friendly way to make fake peacock feathers that would also last longer (the real thing gets so dusty so quickly!).
Sa-chan
January 28th, 2009 · 5:52 AM · #
My boss has a peacock farm — they tend to shed a good number of feathers on their own.
I think this is an interesting idea, but remember to check with your wedding party that no one has allergies to bird dander or dust!
Jaimee
January 29th, 2009 · 10:54 PM · #
I'm having a summer wedding, and a huge 1880's gown, so was thinking fans would be ideal as bouquet replacements, and these are the most gorgeous I've ever seen!
Sara
February 28th, 2009 · 2:59 PM · #
Peacocks can remain unharmed by the loss of their tail feathers. My grandmother has a HUGE collection of feathers that some neighborhood-roaming peacocks simply shed in her back yard. (I'm going to try to convince her to at least let me use them for centerpieces.)
That may not be the case for purchasing large quantities of feathers, but if it's only tail feathers, maybe the birds weren't harmed. Just do some research… Good luck.
Offbeat Bride | 17 wedding bouquet alternatives for fearless brides
March 5th, 2009 · 8:28 AM · #
[...] Fans… the ultimate alternative? [...]
Lacey
April 7th, 2009 · 10:33 AM · #
I'm having my wedding on holloween with a masque ball theme. I love the idea of fans instead of flowers. I think it goes great with my theme. I just can see spending that much money on flowers when they only last for that day. Thanks for the great idea.
Brad Crawford
September 17th, 2009 · 6:42 PM · #
Be cautious about this. Export of peacock feathers from India, where peacocks are native, is banned under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species: "The peacock sheds its feathers, but the peacock does not shed its feathers enough for a trade to continue. There is no doubt that the peacock is trapped, killed and then its feathers are plucked out and sent to the shops and trading centres. If it becomes difficult, then mass poisoning takes place."
http://www.indiatravelogue.com/envi/envi51.html
Since they're indigenous to India, locals might well be eager to scratch out a living by tapping into wild populations and not sustainably harvesting feathers from their private stock. I expect U.S. farms don't have that problem, but then you need to be certain of your source.
Everything's a tradeoff, but I'm not convinced that using fake, plastic peacock feathers isn't less damaging than the real thing. Probably better all around to opt for local, responsibly grown, in-season flowers, even if they aren't offbeat and "exotic."
Chandler
September 17th, 2009 · 7:14 PM · #
What an awesome idea! These are so much nicer than flowers! Hopefully these are feathers that are naturally shed – I'd hate to think these were plucked off some poor bird!