Want a country-style wedding with rusticity and charm by the bucketful? Envisioning a glorious ride for two around the hayfield? See yourself gliding down the aisle in a fresh-as-summer cotton eyelet gown?
Then you've found the right place to help you pull off that special event you've always dreamed of!
Back to the Land
Start with a palette of earthy tones: yellows and golds, tans and umbers, sage and russet, celadon and cinnamon.
Then, try building the theme around your favorite rustic flower (like sunflowers, black-eyed susans or daisies), or a carefree member of the insect world, such as bees, butterflies or dragonflies.
For a venue, try a cornfield or a wheatfield, barn or cabin. Tents can travel to all kinds of charming spots. Call around for camps and lodges that lightly booked and eager for business (though be aware that really remote locales may pose challenges for grandparents in the Lincoln Town Car ... not to mention tricky logistics involving electricity, catering, DJs and so on).
A Touch of Country
Fancy up wedding arches, rafters and other focal spots with branches, bundles of corn stalks and sheaves of wheat. If you're lucky enough to be holding your event in a barn or a lodge, wrap any rafters and pillars in elegant twinkle lights.
More great accents: ears of dried corn, grapevine wreaths, hanging lanterns, and gourds and pumpkins (carve out your monogram, then give them some glow with a votive or a battery-powered light).
To jazz up personal focal points like favors and place settings, start with raffia ties and cinnamon sticks, individual wheat stalks or lavender springs, or Mason jars, burlap bags and small pots of jam or honey.
Country-Style Centerpieces
It's simple to set the table with a little down-home glory. Candles are inherently rustic, so start there: tealights floating in water-filled mason jars, for example. Or tuck pillar candles into terra cotta pots, or place in glass cylinders filled with popcorn, dried peas or coffee beans.
Casual flowers make a big, joyous statement at a reasonable price. Try massing cheerful sunflowers in galvanized pails or watering cans. (You can even use a sunflower's enormous, friendly face as your ring pillow.) Or instead of sunflowers, try sprays of shasta daisies, lupine and viburnum mixed in with small green apples wired to birch branches, or stuck to dowels. Another popular choice: group colorful Gerber daisies into simple mason jars.
Speaking of birch branches, elegant bare-branch centerpieces can be set in any pot and anchored with Quik-Crete for sturdiness. They look especially lovely when lit with hanging votives. Then, warm up those dark corners and windowsills with evocative punched tin lanterns.
More Ways to Make it Country
Give your guest an adorable first impression by hanging escort cards from wooden clothespins on a clothesline strung near the entrance.
Want some drama when it's time to walk back down the aisle as husband and wife? Equip your best men with the goods to create an arch of pitchforks!
Finally, once it's time to eat, dress up the chair backs at the sweetheart table with dramatic sheaves of wheat tied off with russet ribbons or roses. And if your main meal's held outside, you could set the stage with homey touches like buffet or serving tables made from planks set on hay bales and sawhorses. As for the guests, set up picnic-style seating with checkered, gingham or eyelet linens.
Galvanized washtubs look gorgeous filled with ice and drinks in vintage-style bottles (think: Stewart's Sodas — and ask your local suppliers about their best-tasting microbrews.) Don't forget the oversized jars filled with fresh iced tea and cold apple cider.
Treat your guests to home-cooked soul food like pot roast and pulled pork, fritters and cornbread, apple cider donuts and fruit pies.
As for cake, try any of the Autumn-style flavors on for size (spice or carrot, apple or pumpkin ...). Decorate with your favorite fresh flowers, making sure they're unsprayed and organic.
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Hi Kathy, what kind of pictures are you thinking of? Anyway, NO, definitely not tacky. Are you thinking ‘trash the dress’ style photos or some kind of arty wedding dress shots? Or did you just want some bridal portraits to remember?
Brides do this a lot for various reasons. Some want portraits before the big day but don’t want to risk sullying the main dress. And like I said, Trash the Dress shots are increasingly popular and SO much fun to look at, just like a magazine spread. Then, there are the brides who wear a second dress to the reception, and so on … it’s completely up to you!
Would it be too tacky for me to take pictures in another dress than the one I got married in? I bought a dress for my store and it’s exactly what I wanted but didn’t get. Let me know what you think.
I wish I would have found this website before I got married! I had a disaster of a wedding. I had a homemade dress, that looked nothing like I wanted, flowers that were just plain ugly, a cake that looked like it had legs and then there was my hair, it looked like I didn’t even care. Good luck everyone. I wish you better than what happened to me.
tashina,
i think sage green and brown will look great. i hope they dont clash they are my wedding colors for june 2008. chocolate brown tuxes and bridesmaid dresses. green flowers. green hydrangeas, cymbidium orchids and jade roses.
OK, a few more pics. First is a wheat-theme wedding cake …
Second, some wheat decorations for a bridal shower. They’re low-key obviously… but it’s not hard to imagine how lovely those really simple CPs would look if you tucked some red roses around the mouth of the cylinders (in a wreath shape) and scattered red rose petals around the base.
Third … you can’t really see what’s going on here, but this couple is pouring wheat grains from two smaller jars into a larger one. A “unity grain” ceremony. I think that’s touching and creative for this kind of wedding.
Hi Jessika, Giselle!
I love that CP, Giselle, thanks for posting it.
Here are a few bouquet pics … after this I found a few more general wedding ones.
Jessika,
I found one…not bad…
Jessika,
I love your idea of wheat and red roses, if you don’t mind…I might borrow this. Now I have seen a variety of decorations with wheat, where…I don’t remember. You can try good old Marth Stewart, I recall some items there for table decorations. I recall stacks of wheat about 1 foot high tied with ribbon in a fan type of fashion. Sorry but it is really hard to describe. I will keep my eye open as I search for my own ideas. Good luck
i really want to add lots of wheat into my decorations and favors and even flower boquets- however i am having a hard time finding any pictures of decorations with wheat- does anybody have any ideas? we are also going to be using a lot of red- so picture red roses and wheat- country and elegent!
Susie, I believe those are very cleverly made with some double-sided tape, painted tires and large garbage bags. But if anyone knows where to get pre-made ones, please post …
Where do I get the hay bil bride and groom outfits?
Christin,
I have the same dilemma to a degree as yours. We have decided to have our guests walk over to the town hall after the church ceremony for refreshments and bites to tide them over before the reception on our home farm in the barn. This will give us time to take pictures and be on site in time to greet our guests back at home. If you are certain this is where you would like your events to take place I would keep it as is and come up with additional plans. You can have folks meet at destination close to the church to give you time to get there and perhaps to take of other things. And having a 5:00 dinner might be called for instead. I think this is acceptable by any means. You can create some interesting points along your travel route, signs, posters etc…just to provide an extra something. Our town church is about 15 minutes from our home and this is also an appropriate amount of time to expect guests to drive. We also plan to do some car pooling just to help out here. The church to the hall is only a few minutes walking distance. I will plan to have umbrellas available should the weather turn on us this day. Good luck.
We are having a catholic wedding in our church. However, the ceremony can be no latter than 2. I want to have a early evening, 6ish reception in a barn. Our church is in downtown and where I want to have our reception is close to 30 minutes from our church. Any ideas? Or should I switch ideas all together?
Thanks!
i’m having a john deere themed wedding, and i need ideas. it’s going to be inside, and i need ideas for the tables and what goes on them. also in the church there’s not really to much room for decor, so i only have a few windows that i can decorate or set something in them. also i need favor ideas. i thought about green and yellow colored popcorn kernels in a mason jar with john deere fabric at the top.
adding a few ideas originally sent to candice
tiki torches lining the aisle for an evening ceremony!
lots of blankets, sunscreen and bug spray/lotion if outside
also big on gourment BBQ ideas - nice apple smoked sausages, bison burgers and my favorite cheese (blue cheese in particular)! Potato salad, roasted corn on the cob
I love the idea of having a brownie ‘wedding cake’ - precut with icing or cupcakes decorated with leaves, pinecones, flowers
Idea from candice in case she isnt reading this anymore - personalized flashlights as favors. My favor idea was for camping cutlery (the three piece set on a ring).
Also thought setting up your invitation like a camping brochure would be fun. Include everything on a 8.5 x 11 with a map on the back. Easy to set up on your computer for a really casual event.
OK, here are a couple of camping theme ideas, but please add yours since these are only a few!
Food: shish kebab, barbeque, or gourmet hot dogs. There are some truly outstanding hot dogs, especially from the east coast: offer people gourmet mustards and cheese to combine them with, carmelized onions, etc. … try to get your guests to stay over and do a pancake breakfast the next morning with bacon and OJ.
Decor: lanterns like you said, leaves are nice here, birch branches (you can use these in centerpieces or lash them to a wedding arch). There are some beautiful rustic invitations that use twigs. Moss is a great material for “campifying” centerpieces.
If you can get an attractive canoe prop it up and fill it with ice buckets and drinks (or if a really old canoe, fill the whole thing with ice, it will look great). Also see a Fishing Theme wedding.
For favors, there are these little gourmet s’more tins you can hand out (not sure where to get these). Or put gourmet trail mix in small cello or organza bags. Here is a decadent type of trail mix, or you can make your own from fine chocolate, macadamia nuts, whatever floats your boat. bird nest holders for Jordan almonds are a classic for ‘rustic.’ For the kids, put gummi worms and gummi fish in little bags.
A camping wedding is a great excuse to have gourmet s’mores over a campfire. Homemade marshmallows are really a revelation, one that most people might not ever experience otherwise. Upgrade to gourmet chocolate. You can make available all kinds of other toppings too like caramel squares, raspberry sauce, peanut butter. There’s an entire (fun) book dedicated to gourmet s’mores by Lisa Adam at Amazon. Hope this helps!
Nice to know I’m not the only one having a camping/coutry outdoor wedding. I was beginning to feel like I was out of this world. Keeping it simple and cozy. Any ideas on favors? I have lanterns as centerpieces
I just wanted to through this out there. While looking for decorations and items that had a country/rustic feel, I cam across this website that had many wonderfull items. The website is http://www.collectionsetc.com
Also, the items are inexpensive but great. There is nothing over $20.00. I ordered a couple of wagons and quilt racks and love them. You would never guess they were so cheap by the quality. There are lots of items and lots of seasonal items but it is worth the time it take to go through the items. Hope this can help someone.
Crystal
I’m thinking of having a camping themed wedding…anyone have any ideas please email me at candice_wade_16 [PUT 'AT' HERE] hotmail.com with the subject line reading “camping wedding ideas”
Thanks for your help!!
Giselle, I know a lot of people use plastic cutlery and paper plate for informal-style meals like a pig roast, even at a wedding. Sometimes even at garden weddings.
Of course you can go fancier if you want to, but if you don’t, you’ll have plenty of company.
Also, you’re right about not wanting guests to pitch in and work. Teens are cheap and glad for the work! If you can hire two or three for the afternoon it will be SO much easier to serve the food, keep the beverages stocked and keep people moving. They can also help you with set-up and tear-down. It will make a big difference.