With the exorbitant price of onions these days, an Ilongga bride chose practicality over aesthetics when she carried an onion bouquet when she walked down the aisle instead of the traditional collection of dainty white or colorful flowers.

April Lyka Biorrey-Nobis, in an interview with the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Tuesday, said she didn’t mind carrying four to five kilos of an onion bouquet, which she said was practical and unique, for her Jan. 21 wedding day to her boyfriend of five years.

April Lyka, 28 from Bingawan in Iloilo, said at first they planned to use flowers but she got the idea of having onions with a touch of flowers for her bouquet while browsing through social media.

“I accidentally saw a bouquet made of onions with a touch of flowers. I immediately contacted our coordinator who said that we can use the concept for our wedding,” she said in vernacular in a phone interview.

She asked permission from her groom, Erwin Nobis, 35 years old from Estancia, Iloilo, to use the concept and he readily agreed.

April Lyka said flowers would only be for display after the wedding and once withered would just be thrown away.

Onions are practical since they can still be used after the wedding, she added.

Their coordinator immediately ordered online from a supplier in La Union since there is none in Iloilo. Four days before their wedding day, a sack of onions arrived.

The bride said the price of one sack of onions at PHP8,000 is even lower than the price of traditional flowers, for which they originally set aside PHP15,000.

“After the wedding, the onions were given to our godparents and bridesmaid so they have with them onions for souvenirs. I also gave my bouquet to our relatives for their everyday use,” she added.

However, they skipped the traditional throwing of bouquets to prevent any injury, she added. (PNA)