Your Wedding Wishes delivered on the Wings of a Butterfly

Posted by Brenda Lopez, CEO & Founder - AffluentBride.com

Add a touch of nature and cultural folklore to your elegant wedding celebration with a memorable and spectacular live monarch butterfly release.

We recently had the opportunity to talk with Christopher at LiveMonarch.com about butterfly releases. It is obvious Christopher and the Live Monarch staff are passionate about these beautiful creatures. They are a not-for-profit organization, whose main objective is to protect and increase the monarch population. (Please read on…Christopher shared a neat idea with us that we discuss at the end of this entry.)

Monarchs are steeped in the cultural lore of Native Americans. It is believed that butterflies carry messages up to the heavens. They are also a symbol of regeneration and happiness - extremely appropriate symbols for a wedding celebration!

Integrating a butterfly release into your event is simple. Breeders, like LiveMonarch.com, will work closely with you and monitor the weather conditions in your area, right up to the day of shipment. They carefully ship the butterflies in a chilled, darkened container which helps slow a butterfly’s metabolism. The butterflies can survive at 50-60 degrees during shipment. Actually, these lovely creatures can “hibernate” for a few weeks.

The butterflies typically arrive the day before your wedding in glassine envelopes that allow your guests to see the butterflies. Prior to the release, you can enhance the meaning of the release by explaining the significance of butterflies. Then, have your guests ask for a wish which the butterflies will carry up to heaven.

Typically, the butterflies sent to you will be younger ones that will visit a few minutes with your guests before flying off. Christopher explained that freshly hatched butterflies tend to stay close within the release area, giving guests enough time for some spectacular photos.

An unusual way to pique the curiosity of your wedding guests, is to include a milkweed seed packet in each invitation. Monarch caterpillars feed on the leaves of this lovely plant. LiveMonarch offers seed packets for a donation. They are a non-profit and their revenues go into protecting and breeding monarchs.

Your guests will think of your wedding day each time a caterpillar or butterfly visits their garden full of milkweed plants. Now, that’s a lasting memory!

Brenda Lopez, Founder - AFFLUENT BRIDE / In Style Weddings BLOG
AffluentBride.com