If a wedding isn't already a cause for tears, this bouquet will definitely make guests weep.

A Filipino bride walked down the isle recently with a bouquet of onions that weighed around 4kg as a flex.

April Lyka Biorrey-Nobis, a 28-year-old bride from Bingawan, Iloilo City, was initially going to stick to the traditional flower bouquet, before seeing a unique onion bouquet on social media.

She then proposed the newfound idea to her groom.

She told Filipino media Iloilo Metropolitan Times that flowers will wilt and eventually be thrown away, so she might as well use onions to craft her bouquet, which can be eaten after the wedding.

The onion theme did not stop there, as photos from Facebook showed her bridesmaids carrying onion wreaths.

Philippines News Agency reported that Biorrey-Nobbis ordered a sack of onions online from a supplier in La Union, which arrived four days before their wedding.

The bouquet of onions was also the most economical option.

The couple originally had set aside 15,000 pesos (around S$360) for a traditional flower bouquet.

The onion bouquet had only cost 8,000 pesos (around S$192), which meant that the couple had saved around half their allocated amount.

The couple had forgone the tradition of tossing the bouquet for safety reasons, but they gave the onions away to their guests after the wedding.

“After the wedding, the onions were given to our godparents and bridesmaid so they have with them onions for souvenirs,” the bride said.

“I also gave my bouquet to our relatives for their everyday use," Biorrey-Nobbis said.

Onion crisis

If you are wondering about the seemingly exorbitant prices of mere onions, onion prices have reached as much as 600 pesos (around S$14) per kilogram in local markets, which is higher than the Philippine's minimum daily wage.

The Guardian reported various reasons for the rising prices of onions, a kilogram of which costs more than a whole chicken.

The reasons include a lack of cold storage, to rising post-pandemic demand, smuggling, and the impact of natural disasters.

The crisis seems to be one of distribution, rather than supply, as farmers were being paid far less than what the onions were charged for.

Earlier this month, a Philippine airline crew were caught smuggling 40kg of onions into the Philippines from Dubai and Riyadh, amongst other fruits.

The total market value of the onions and fruits seized was S$330.

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Top photo via Facebook