I'm having an outdoor wedding on my Uncle's ranch in Texas near San Marcos in late April to Early May. My colors will be bluebonnet blue and white with a hint of red. My wedding site has very large oak trees around it and a river on one side, however it is mostly hidden by trees. My reception is taking place in a civil war-era mansion that has a large hallway running all the way through the first floor of the house from front door to back door. Both the front and back doors are french doors that lead out onto covered patio/porches. The hallway ends at a large stone floored and walled living room which has the french doors in it and has it's left hand wall covered in shelving. There is a fireplace on the other wall. I'm thinking about doing a sunset wedding… or a little sooner, to capture the beautiful Texas sunsets, therefore the reception will be at night and I'm probably going to use candles for a lot of the lighting. Any ideas on how to decorate this reception and wedding rustic but elegant? I'm looking for unique and tried and true ideas… I wish I had pictures but do your best with what I described :).
What you are starting with (the location itself) is already very romantic and beautiful. I don't think paper lanters or Christmas lights or tiki torches will do it justice lol! Stick with natural elements like fire (candles) and fresh flowers, like the first person said. You can seriously create a very classy romantic atmosphere free of anything obvious. Skip the crepe paper, paper lanterns, etc and go with natural elements and metals. It'll be awesome!!!
Good luck!
January 20th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
Since the setting lends itself ot beauty, go with simple. Lots of fresh flower arrangements, either mixed or made up of one certain flower arranged in different ways. You can do fresh flower garland on the veranda railings and large floral wreaths or floral monograms on the doors, hung by wide ribbon in the color of your choice. Silver is a great accent if you can display the silver, a tea service, or candelabras (either in use or not) that will add some elegance. A lovely runner through the hallway, but not covering the entire floor to show the (I assume) wide wodd plank flooring original to the house. You really don't need much! Play on the assets of the setting and make everything more lively with plenty of fresh flowers. If you'd like you can make a display of photographs of the two of you and/or your families in an area in the house in gold, silver, pewter and other aged metallic frames to add a touch of personalization.
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January 20th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
You can get tea light lanterns from Ikea for $5 each, they come in bronze and silver. Also, we used white christmas lights and wrapped them all around the oak trees. It made the whole setting VERY romantic! Since its outdoors, decorations can be minimal. Our centerpieces were floating candles on mirrors. The candles were inside a large vase so the flames didn't blow out.
Our florist decorated our pergola with greenery and a few flowers for just $80. Greenery is inexpensive and beautiful. We tied white candles in votives with white ribbon and hung them from the pergola.
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This was my wedding:
http://jimrichard.com/NewHome8-7-02/wed%20collages/Matt&Katie.htm
January 20th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
For the out doors I would use a large trellis decorated with greenery and a few traditional flowers, also use gardening
torches for light either around the edge or to mark walk ways
hope this will give you a start All my best
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January 20th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
Stay simple and elegant. white lights (Christmas lights, you might still be able to get on clearance) would be perfect to add a hint of romance without over doing it. Also you could even create pompoms by martha stewart in whatever color you want, got with the blue white and red. You could also make paper lanterns that would add a soft glow to the environment.
Here is the link to see the pompoms http://www.marthastewartcrafts.com/detail.php?p=58378 of course in whatever color you want and you wouldn't have to buy the kit. Navigate around her website and you can find the step by step instructions on how to make them.
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January 20th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
Darned if I wouldn't have used yellow for the yellow rose of Texas, lol.
You didn't say whether there was anything in the book cases or not but this might be a place to do something with lighting and flowers. Also to warm for the fireplace to be used. but a large floor stand of candles and greenery on either side might help here. with maybe some votive candles in candelabras in the fireplace might work if it is empty of logs .
http://www.ashfordoaks.com the gallery may give you some ideas.
stumpsprom.com has columns, fountains,chandeliers etc. and fabric that may help.
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January 20th, 2009 at 4:43 pm
ok-that just sounds Beautiful!!!! I would say YES!!! do the sunset! We did and the pictures turned out wonderfully!! happy planning
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January 20th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
If you are looking to see great decor , flower , color ideas for your wedding
check out http://www.sensationalbrides.com
The site is filled with galleries of photos of every aspect of wedding decorations and colors. Hope this helps
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January 20th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
What you are starting with (the location itself) is already very romantic and beautiful. I don't think paper lanters or Christmas lights or tiki torches will do it justice lol! Stick with natural elements like fire (candles) and fresh flowers, like the first person said. You can seriously create a very classy romantic atmosphere free of anything obvious. Skip the crepe paper, paper lanterns, etc and go with natural elements and metals. It'll be awesome!!!
Good luck!
References :