One of the very first products we added to The Rosemary House shelves in 1968 was Wedding Rice. The beautiful artwork created for the wedding rice package was designed and hand drawn by artist Marj. Reppert and it features herbal symbolism and bridal themes as a frame for the wedding portrait of our maternal grandparents, Ottylie Elgert and Gustav Peplau, who were wed on February 12, 1907.
Wedding Rice was a mixture of white and pink rice (dyed pink by dear old dad) combined with Rose petals for Love and Rosemary for Remembrance. Rice was traditionally thrown and symbolizes fruitfulness, or fertility.
This mixture would be sold in bulk or packaged in individual small tulle favors for flower girls to pass out after the ceremony. Rice dyes nicely with food coloring and we would even create a custom color to match your wedding colors. When it was no longer popular to toss rice, we created "Bride Seed" which was a blend of Bird Seed, Rosemary and Rosebuds. Now we remember this product from day's gone by as a once clever idea but no longer popular at today's bridal celebrations.
Speaking of weddings, Happy 20th Anniversary to Susanna and David! A memorable wedding took place at Peace Church followed by a celebratory reception in the gardens of The Rosemary House and Sweet Remembrances. Stroll down memory lane with this blog post!
Happy anniversary to Susanna and David. Wedding rice sounds so clever. Glad rice isn't tossed any longer, but what fun it must have been with rose petals and rosemary.
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