Trending Now: Bee-Inspired Wedding Details

By Shira Savada
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Roots of Life Photography

If you love the look of a bee-motif, incorporate it into your wedding. Here, some of the sweetest ideas we've seen.

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Roots of Life Photography

Bees are hard-working creatures that hop from flower to flower to find the pollen necessary in order to make beeswax and honey. If you ask us, their work is pretty much a metaphor for planning wedding. A great deal goes into producing it, you work with various professionals and family members, and the end result is magnificent. So, why not use bees as a theme for your big day?

Whether you feature them in a major fashion—incorporating a hexagonal hive pattern or branding all of your paper goods with an icon in their shape—or stick to something subtle and sweet, there are tons of options for bee-related wedding accents. Let's start with your stationery, where you can swap out a monogram for an illustration of the insect or combine them in a custom crest. When it's time to slip on your dress and pick up your bouquet, consider the jewelry and shoes you (and your bridal party) will accessorize with. Then carry the motif through to your rental and tabletop pieces, signage, and reception décor. And when considering potential favors, look no further than a bottle or jar of honey.

For dessert, keep it going with bee-dazzled macarons and cupcakes, and, of course, the cake. Just because you're incorporating one of Mother Nature's finest creatures into your big day doesn't mean you're restricted to an all-natural approach or a rustic aesthetic. Take this cake by Toni Patisserie & Cafe as inspiration for how to go modern and make an impression.

If you do go with a bee motif, don't forget to have some fun with it! These insects naturally lend themselves to a slew of puns that will have you and your guests laughing. Read on to uncover some bee-utiful ideas that would make any celebration totally buzzworthy.

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Heirloom Pieces

Lisa Ziesing for Abby Jiu Photography
Something Old Wedding Ideas from Real Brides

Looking for your "something old?" Check your family's jewelry collection for vintage pins, like this pair. You could also source brooches for the special women in your family or ask them to wear meaingful pieces instead of floral corsages.

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Crest to Impress

Mandy Busby
24 Illustrated Crests and Monograms That Prettied Up Invitations

When designing your stationery suite, you have the unique opportunity to brand your wedding day with a logo, monogram, or crest. It's something you'll be able to use for the rest of your married life, so why not incorporate elements that are meaningful to you? Holly Hollon wove together a wreath, the couple's initials, and the year of the wedding, then included a bee right in the middle.

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Cute Cupcakes

Justin & Mary

Ensure your big-day desserta are next-level cool with the addition of edible bees (these have wings made from sliced almonds and bodies made from striped chocolate-covered raisins!). The addition of a sweet yellow bow along the base of each wrapper makes them look like little presents. Wilton and Modestly Sweet offer pre-made ones you can use to enhance just about any sweet treat—including your wedding cake.

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Eat Them Up

Christina McNeill

Add lots of interesting touches to your table—like yellow-and-white centerpieces (Daniel James Design created these charming arrangements) and bee-printed dinner plates. Check your rental company for options, though. If they only have solid dinnerware, consider purchasing a set for your head table (or the entire room) as the price can often be comparable to renting fine china.

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Pinned On

Adam Barnes Photography
4 Stylish Ways to Wear Vintage Jewelry on Your Wedding Day

Bees love flowers and the pollen inside them. This sweet bouquet of peonies (by Rod Meek & Co.) attracted a pair of jewel-encrusted ones, which were pinned on as a finishing touch.

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A Gilded Bee

Mark Davidson

A honeycomb pattern provided the background for this three-tier cake by Erin Bakes, but a golden bee was front and center to finish things off. Sometimes having a theme in your décor (and dessert) can be as simple as one smll accent.

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Pearl and Gold Bees

Meg Smith Photography
9 Planners Share Their Best Tips for Choosing Wedding Colors and Themes You'll Love Forever

Going for a bee-theme can still be glam. Just check out these glittery Gucci pumps, which featured pearl and gold bees on the toes!

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I'll Bee at the Bar

Roots of Life Photography

This vinyl bee decal ensured a basic rental bar was unique to the bride and groom. Other elements of your décor—like the cake table or dance floor—could receive a similar upgrade.

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Sweet Favors

Chelsea Mitchell Photography

Fruitful Collaborations orchestrated these petite favor bottles of honey, which were further adorned with a hexagonal-tag that included a bee graphic.

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Dimensional Signage

Lisa Ziesing for Abby Jiu Photography
29 Creative Wedding Signs You'll Love

This wood sign was anything but basic. Anchor Point Paper Co. and Paper Birch Designs designed the bee crest for the couple's ceremony, which was then brought to life with peonies and foliage from Photosynthesis.

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Bee Mine

Cheree Berry Paper

Embrace the theme and get a little cheeky like Cheree Berry Paper did on this stationery suite, where black-and-white illustrated bees and the word "mine" created a pattern for the envelope liner. Pair that with a tiny gold-foiled one "flying across" the main invite and you're ready for your garden wedding.

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A Boozy Bee

Roots of Life Photography

These favors, which were created by Amelia Cole and Emily Rose Ink, were inspired by Gucci's iconic bee and the classic elements of a martini bar. Carrying the wax seal that first appeared on the invitation all the way through to the end of the night, the acrylic boxes were filled with chocolate olives and pearls and finished with a white-on-white seal and ribbon treatment. 

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A Gift to Grow

Julie Paisley Photography
50 Creative Wedding Favors That Will Delight Your Guests

Gifting guests seed packet wedding favors ensures your loved ones always have something to remember your day. This couple chose two designs for their parting gifts: a bee for wildflowers and a flower for poppy seeds.

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Label Your Table

Sylvie Gil Photography

These newlyweds used a bee icon to identify the sweetheart table. You could skip numbers entirely and only use illustrations, or pair the artwork with whatever digits you need to guide guests to their seats.

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A Bee-utiful Box

Erin Kunkel

A vintage box with a bee on top served as the couple's "something old" and "something blue."

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Slip Them On

Lisa Ziesing for Abby Jiu Photography
11 Essentials You Need in Your Getting-Ready Suite

Be the Queen Bee that you are and get ready in adorable slippers that show your title off—like this pair by Patricia Green.

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Top It Off

Christina McNeill
7 of the Most Popular Wedding Cake Flavors, According to Bakers

A small honey-flavored cake deserves a complementary topper. Adrienne Browning handled both in this scenario, adding a mini garland of bunting to the iced confection.

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A Buzzworthy Bouquet

Dreamlove Photography

Perhaps you have a bee brooch or pin that belonged to your grandmother, and you want to incorporate it in a special way that's meaningful but still private. Do what this bride (and Karla Cassidy Designs) did by pinning it to the ribbons wrapped around the stems of your bouquet.

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Lovely Lyrics

Flora + Fauna

The lyrics to Blake Shelton's "Honey Bee" make it a great fit for a first dance song. It also works well for a reception sign, as this couple did here.

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French Bees

Rachael Connerton Photography
How French Macarons Became a Wedding Dessert Must-Have

Ruby Lou's Cake Co. added molded edible bees covered with gold luster dust to pretty pink macarons. A lovely dessert like this would have your guests bugging out, trust us.

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Modern Save-the-Dates

Roots of Life Photography

These square save-the-dates by Emily Rose Ink were clean and modern, which meant that the bee icon in the middle of the card and the custom postage really stood out.

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The Bee's Knees

Sylvie Gil Photography
Wedding Bar Signs to Elevate Your Cocktail Hour

Serve up "The Bee's Knees" at your cocktail hour like this couple did, using vodka or gin, honey simple syrup, fresh lemon juice, and lavender water. An illustrated menu outlining the available drinks gives you an opportunity to showcase a beautiful illustration, like this one by Karina Puente Arts, which appeared throughout the wedding.

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Pinned in Place

Kimberlee Miller Photography

Bee pins held these hexagonal escort cards down in a display inspired by a specimen case.

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Buzzing About

Lisa Ziesing for Abby Jiu Photography

Photosynthesis crafted these beautiful centerpieces, then added a few boxwood pieces in the shape to make an even bolder statement. Add them to a photo booth wall to really get guests buzzing.

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A Wearable Keepsake

Marianne Chua
40 Delicate Necklaces to Wear on Your Wedding Day

Getting a piece of jewelry from your husband-to-be is special enough but having the opportunity to wear it again and again after the big day, triggering fond memories of the big day, is the type of gift that keeps on giving. This bride put on a bee necklace by Alex Monroe, who crafts several nature- and animal-inspired designs.

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On the Menu

Erin McGinn Photography

Straight from the hive, this menu featured a honeycomb motif and a few bees in action. It was a charming way to outline the meal to come.

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Honeybee There

Rachel May Photography
46 Elevated Ideas for Your Rustic Wedding Invitations

Rock Paper Scissors placed a honeybee at the top of this bride and groom's invitation as a way of introducing it as the emblem of the day. It has the same impact as a monogram and is just as easy to repurpose on things like the menus and favors.

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