Comments on: Peacock Feather Fans, the ultimate bouquet alternative

By: Chandler

Chandler — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 19:14:07 +0000

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!

By: Brad Crawford

Brad Crawford — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:42:36 +0000

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."

By: Lacey

Lacey — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 17:33:16 +0000

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.

By: Offbeat Bride | 17 wedding bouquet alternatives for fearless brides

Offbeat Bride | 17 wedding bouquet alternatives for fearless brides — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:28:33 +0000

[...] Fans… the ultimate alternative? [...]

By: Sara

Sara — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 22:59:02 +0000

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.

By: Jaimee

Jaimee — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 06:54:10 +0000

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!

By: Sa-chan

Sa-chan — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 13:52:52 +0000

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!

By: Aurora

Aurora — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 15:44:28 +0000

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!).

By: Bethany

Bethany — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 04:27:29 +0000

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!

By: Missy

Missy — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 19:01:39 +0000

These are pretty dang cool!