If you're looking for a creative way to say thank you for coming to my wedding, then mini pumpkins is it! It is inexpensive (if you have room in your yard) and adds to the fall decor. You can easily buy a couple packs of miniture pumpkins (or gourds) and plant them in your front yard. Follow instructions on the packet. Plant two-three seeds in a small mound of dirt and leave plenty of room for vines to grow! I planted mine end of June for beginning of October, but its based on your climate for your area.
If the pumpkins are ripe and ready to pick early- then by all means pick them early! To save your pumpkins for weeks and even months, the best thing to do is place them in the sun on a hard surface (not anything moist) and let them dry for a week or two. This will harden the pumpkins. Next, you will need to put them in a cool dry place on a wooden surface. We put ours in the basement on planks of wood. Do not put them on concrete! They stayed for over a month and even after the wedding we still had pumpkins until well over Thanksgiving!
There are many ways to dress up the pumpkins to say thank you. We printed out (or you can buy) leaves and cut them out. We stamped burnt orange thank yous on each one and tied them on with brown ribbon (our colors were orange and brown). This can take time, but it saves money and if you have family and friends to help it goes quickly and adds a great touch on the tables.
Other things to consider:
-If you have a smaller wedding you can also use mini pumpkins for nametags for your guests by sticking in a pin or tying a bow on the pumpkin with the guests name and table number.
- You can use gourds or other color pumpkins for your head table or for every table!