9
Dressing the Setting

While a bare hall may call for extensive accessorizing, an outdoor wedding setting may need no embellishment at all. Any decorations you do decide to introduce should enhance and not detract from the site’s beauty, while providing the functionality you need to ensure the comfort of your guests. Carefully think through the logistics of how you will set up your event, keeping in mind that your collaborator is the artistic yet somewhat moody Mother Nature.

Outdoor Wedding Design

Do you need flowers in a garden wedding? This is a rhetorical question posed to jog your thinking about how you will dress up any outdoor wedding setting. Decorating an outdoor spot is a bit like moving into a furnished apartment. The basics are already in place, and any personal touches you add must coordinate well with the existing décor. Allowing nature to take the lead in furnishing the layout and design for your event has the potential advantage of saving you money. It’s also a perfect solution if design is not your particular forte. However, if you have a strong sense of style, you may face a few challenges as you attempt to execute your own ideas within a setting that essentially needs no enhancement.

Don’t Compete with Mother Nature

By deciding to wed outdoors, you have already given a nod to nature’s ability to arrange an appealing backdrop. As you begin to consider the overall look, feel, and setup of your event, make a pact to respect nature’s talents and to be a collaborator, not a competitor. Take cues from the environment as you select colors, textures, and styles. As you map out the location of everything from the buffet line and the dance floor to your sweetheart table for two, look for natural opportunities to fit these elements into the scene. Use trees, bushes, and other natural camouflage to hide such unsightly add-ons as portable toilets or amplification equipment.

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It can sometimes be tough to visualize just how everything will look once it is in place. Photographs of other events at the site can aid tremendously as you design your own special day. Don’t hesitate to borrow ideas and layouts that you find particularly striking.

Lessons in Design

Couples marry at all stages of life. Some brides and grooms have already had ample opportunity to develop a well-defined individual and joint sense of style. Others have only dorm-room, studio-apartment, or bachelor-pad decorating to their credit. If you have never really given much thought to your tastes and preferences, planning a wedding and setting up a new home together can be a prime opportunity for self-discovery. Though you may not become a decorating expert, you will learn to recognize what does and does not appeal to your own sense of aesthetics.

You have probably already started a clipping file of magazine and newspaper articles that depict cakes, bouquets, gowns, tuxedos, and other wedding ideas that have caught your eye. As you plan your wedding, you should also immerse yourself in publications and television programs that focus on home design and interior renovation. As you cut out images of rooms and spaces that appeal to you both, you will learn much about your style as individuals and as a team. Do your tastes run toward formal or casual? Classic or trendy? Bold or neutral? Busy or streamlined?

Honing in on your notion of a comfortable and inviting place can help immensely as you work with individual vendors or a wedding consultant to create a wedding event that is a reflection of you. You can apply many good principles of design to your arrangement of your outdoor celebration space, such as the following:

One intriguing design concept you may want to learn more about as you sketch out the plan for your wedding space is feng shui. Many modern books, articles, and practitioners now teach this ancient Chinese design philosophy as feng shui and other ancient teachings from the East have attracted new interest in the Western world. In brief, feng shui posits that the placement of objects within a space, such as a home or office, determines the flow of energy and the fortunes of its inhabitants. You may not create the perfect environment, with the power to keep estranged family members from squabbling and to ensure there won’t be a moment of strife in your wedded lives. Still, feng shui may spark some interesting ideas that help you to create a balanced and pleasing configuration.

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FYI International Locations and Events, with offices in Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Palm Springs, Las Vegas, New York, and Indiana, offers “Wedding Feng Shui” as one of its event-planning services. Learn more about this company’s use of this ancient art at its Web site (at www.fleureveryours.bigstep.com).

Arches and Other Architectural Elements

An outdoor environment need not be entirely the product of nature’s handiwork. In fact, architectural elements in the landscape can provide visual variety and serve as natural focal points for your ceremony and other wedding activities. Some architectural features are large and obvious, such as lighthouses, gazebos, covered bridges, or barns. Other more subtle structures, such as brick or stone walls, ornate gates, fences, doorways, columns, and footbridges can also lend visual interest and play a role as a backdrop for proceedings and photographs.

Many outdoor wedding sites already boast some architectural embellishments. If yours does, it will be up to you to determine how best to incorporate these decorative constructions. A high stone wall or trellised row of roses might provide the perfect curtain from behind which the bride makes a dramatic entrance. An arched wooden bridge over a fragrant lily pond may be the perfect pulpit, where your officiant will pronounce you husband and wife.

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Make sure that if you rent an arch, it is not so heavy, so firmly anchored, or decorated so precariously that it cannot be relocated. That way, if you must move undercover in the event of inclement weather, your beautiful arch can go with you.

One key decision you will have to make is whether to decorate these structures. Many will be lovely unadorned. Some may become even more festive with the addition of silk or fresh flowers, greenery, tulle, ribbons, bows, white lights, or even leaves and corn stalks for an autumn affair. Your florist can be recruited to dress up arches, fences, lampposts, and other structures to your liking, or you can do it yourself. Try not to overdo, though, and to ensure that decorations are in keeping with your overall theme.

If your site is not blessed with any unique architectural elements, there is always the possibility of purchasing, borrowing, or renting decorative pieces. An arch is probably the most common structure imported for an outdoor celebration, as it can serve as an enchanting frame for your ceremony. Arches can be composed of wood, metal, or even balloons. Most rental companies offer a number of styles for your consideration.

Seating

You may view seating as more of a practical consideration than an opportunity to be creative. It is possible, however, to conceive of something different than rented folding chairs aligned in a row. In fact, an outdoor space provides unparalleled freedom when it comes to selecting and arranging resting places for guests.

Alternative Seating Arrangements

The tradition of seating friends and family members in rows, bride’s side on the left, groom’s side on the right, is frequently replicated at wedding ceremonies held in the great outdoors. Sticking with tradition is perfectly acceptable. However, you may find that an open-air setting is conducive to a different arrangement.

One alternative is to actually forego seating in favor of having guests stand. A standing-room only arrangement can raise the energy and involvement level of those who have assembled to witness your exchange of promises. However, if you decide to keep guests on their feet, you must also keep your ceremony short and sweet. It is also crucial to have a few chairs available for any guests who can’t stand.

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Though your ceremony and even a cocktail and hors d’oeuvre hour can be staged sans seating, if you will be sharing a meal with guests, you really should provide them not only with chairs or other seating but with tables. Plates balanced on laps are prone to mishaps.

A circular seating arrangement can be particularly effective in an outdoor environment. If you have ever attended a concert or theater performance “in the round,” you know this setup can make an event feel more intimate and powerful. A distinct advantage of this layout is that it places all guests closer to the center of action. It also concentrates their attention on you, which can be particularly beneficial if the surroundings are potentially distracting. As your ceremony unfolds, you will be able to gaze in any direction and see the supportive smiles of those who surround you.

Chairs and Beyond

The white folding chairs that seem to be ubiquitous at outdoor weddings have some advantages. For starters, they are probably readily available from any rental company. They are lightweight and can easily be moved from the ceremony location to the dining area, meaning fewer chairs to rent. They can also be dressed up with drapes and bows to match just about any decorating scheme, if desired.

Before you sign on the dotted line to have dozens of folding chairs delivered, however, there are a few other options you might consider. For starters, does the venue have any chairs, benches, bleachers, or other seating available? You may save some money by using what’s there, even if you must cover mismatched chairs or agree to return anything you borrow to its original location.

If you definitely must bring in seating, consider some possible alternatives to folding chairs that complement your wedding theme, including these:

A few guests may have difficulty getting in and out of chairs or other seats that sit low to the ground. As a courtesy, you may want to make a few sturdy chairs with arms available.

The Aisle and Altar

When determining the exact spot where your ceremony will occur, you may want to take advantage of the property’s existing natural or structural features. A garden path, pebbled walkway, wood-plank boardwalk, tree-lined driveway, or stone staircase, for example, might serve nicely as the aisle. For the altar, you might consider the backdrop of a gazebo, latticed arch, courtyard fountain, stone wall, floating dock, or curved hedge. If the site you have selected is an open expanse of beach, meadow, field, or mountainside, however, you may want to employ some creative touches to indicate the path of your processional and to set apart the space in which you will wed.

For your aisle, a plastic runner may not be the prettiest option, but it can certainly prove a godsend if the ground is damp or dusty. You can create an aisle simply via the placement of chairs, or you can mark your route to the altar with ribbons, potted plants, or floral garlands. For weddings planned for late in the day, illuminate the way with strings of lights or evenly spaced tea lights or luminaries.

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Whether your aisle follows a natural path or one of your own creation, make sure it is wide enough so the bride’s gown won’t get snagged on a plant, chair, or worse—a candle.

If your aisle leads to a spectacular scenic overlook, your work may be done. Otherwise, you might consider renting an arch, chuppah, platform, podium, or table to position at the ceremony site. If you have marked your aisle with candles, potted plants, or garlands, the same items might be arranged in a ring to mark off the altar. Brainstorm other possibilities based on your location and theme, such as these examples:

Keep in mind that all of your ceremony photos will be taken against the backdrop you select or create, so you must be pleased with the appearance of the scene from a variety of angles. You may want to discuss your ideas for decorating the altar space with your photographer in advance.

Where’s the Sun?

Worrying about whether the sun will shine at all is a common pastime for those who intend to marry outside. The absence of sun is not the only potential pitfall, however. Sunlight will be your primary source of illumination, and while natural light can be most flattering, your only real influence over the sun’s position and intensity is timing.

Outdoor weddings are almost exclusively planned for daylight hours. While most couples choose the time of their wedding based on convenience, travel requirements, and site availability, those planning outdoor celebrations should also carefully consider the location of the sun. At high noon, for example, the sun’s light can be harsh and shadows pronounced—not optimal conditions for photography. As the sun rises and sets, it can also cast its intense beams in such a way as to blind you and your guests.

The muted, warm glow of sunrise can provide lovely lighting, but an early morning celebration allows little time for preparation and can result in bleary-eyed, unenthused guests. Sunset, with its rosy purple skies, can provide equally striking illumination without the early wake-up call. Your location will influence your timing decision, too. Water can intensify the sun’s glare. A mountain face may appear sharp and majestic when front-lit by morning’s rays but hazy and less impressive as the sun falls below its peaks.

Daylight hours and the sun’s trajectory vary based on the time of year. If you are planning your special day far enough in advance, your best bet is to visit the site at about the same time of year as your wedding date at the time of day you hope to schedule your event. Try to get a feel for the sun’s position, shadow patterns, and intensity of glare under a variety of conditions—full sun, partly cloudy, and overcast. Consult your photographer, too, for tips on when to hold your event at this particular spot.

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At www.sunrisesunset.com, you can determine the exact time of sunrise and sunset for any date at any location in the world, even if you are planning your wedding years in advance. Your free custom sunrise and sunset calendar can also include information on moon phases and twilight and moonrise times.

Seasons Change

There are a few places on Earth where the climate is temperate year-round and the foliage stays relatively static. Most locales, however, experience some degree of seasonal variation. The season you select for your outdoor wedding affects more than weather and temperature conditions. It can have a defining impact on the appearance of the setting and thus requires a bit of deference when it comes to selecting coordinating décor.

Mother Nature, the Ultimate Decorator

Home redecorating reality shows have become popular television fare, but one need only gaze out the window on successive days in most parts of the world to watch one of the best decorators of all time at work on a really big project. Mother Nature has a knack for making subtle yet constant and perceptible changes to the landscape. Of course, she is more ambitious about undertaking major remodeling projects in some regions than others. Any area that experiences four distinct seasons presents the greatest challenges for those arranging an outdoor affair.

Any wedding is best planned a year or more in advance. For an outdoor wedding, it can be critical to get an impression of the site at the exact time of year when you intend to marry there. Take a camera along so that you need not rely on your memory for details about what colors were predominant and which backdrops were most lush. While a beach setting may be mostly blue and beige year-round, it is important not to assume that the lovely rose garden you visited in June will be as abundantly colorful come the dog days of August; the clear, still pond you loved in summer might be choked with leaves and weeds in the fall. When it is impossible to visit the site a year before the wedding, try to see photos taken at close to the same time of year as your expected wedding date.

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It’s a good idea to visit your wedding site a year in advance to get a sense of seasonal coloration and conditions. You should also make a point of revisiting the venue a month or two before your event to ensure there have been no unexpected changes due to natural or human forces.

As with other elements of the setting that will shape your decorating decisions, the season should be allowed to inspire the colors and types of embellishments you choose. Gravitate toward pastel shades in the spring; feel free to embrace bolder colors when summer blazes; or shift toward a palette of warm, rich tones in the autumn. Be careful to picture decorative elements against the anticipated seasonal backdrop. An arch entwined with vibrant fuchsia flowers might look gorgeous at the florist’s but sadly out of place against a landscape painted with the oranges, golds, and reds of fall.

Seasonal Hazards

Mother Nature doesn’t always do a very good job of cleaning up after herself when she undertakes a remodeling project. In some places, there are spring days when the whole world seems coated in fine green pollen dust. Come fall, tree debris, including leaves, pinecones, and acorns, can be found scattered far and wide.

While you can’t change nature’s untidy ways, you can take a few precautions to ensure that guests aren’t sitting on sappy seats, picking seed pods out of their hair, or making excuses about why they really don’t want a piece of cake. Here are a few strategies to employ for combating seasonal hazards:

If your chosen site has an on-site grounds manager, be sure to discuss site preparation responsibilities such as who will rake leaves or collect grass clippings. If you’ll be left to your own devices to clean up your wedding scene, be sure to enlist the aid of a volunteer brigade that will scout and prepare the property a few hours before your event is slated to commence.

Embracing Natural Elements

From Web sites to catalogs to bridal boutiques, there are plenty of places to shop for favors, decorations, and other miscellaneous wedding supplies. If you want to give your day a one-of-a-kind look, however, nature offers some attractive—and less expensive—alternatives. Though the diversity of items offered by wedding suppliers is impressive these days, natural elements collected from your outdoor wedding site, combined with a bit of your own ingenuity, can help you create an event that is truly distinctive.

Gathering Decorations

What items can you gather from the outdoors to incorporate into your wedding decorating projects? Sand, seashells, starfish, herbs, flowers, petals, stones, leaves, ferns, palm fronds, vines, driftwood, corn stalks, acorns, pinecones, feathers, seeds, berries, and pumpkins are some of the many possibilities. Before you grab a pail and head for the beach or set out into the forest with a collection bag, try to accurately assess just how much natural material your projects and decorating schemes will require.

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If you are planning your wedding far enough in advance, you can save money on decorations and craft supplies by shopping at post-season sales. Pick up strings of white lights when they are discounted after Christmas. Scoop up deals on faux foliage as fall fades.

Whether you hope to procure materials from your actual wedding site or another outdoor spot, it is important to obtain approval from the property’s private owner or to inquire about any regulations against removing objects from a public place. While you’re not likely to raise eyebrows if you collect shells at the beach or pick up brilliant autumn leaves that have drifted to the ground, it is another matter entirely to take your pruning shears into a public garden without permission. If you do receive an okay to gather live plant materials, be sure you know correct techniques for clipping and cutting so that you won’t cause permanent damage to bushes, plants, and trees.

When creating keepsakes, you may prefer to incorporate artificial rather than natural elements. Craft and party stores stock a variety of outdoor-inspired items such as silk leaves and flowers, plastic fruits, dried herbs, and Styrofoam topiary trees. Whether you intend to search for your decorating and craft supplies indoors or out, remember that different seasons influence not only what nature produces but what stores have in stock. If you need pressed or silk fall leaves for your September wedding, for example, you should shop for them about a year in advance, as you will be hard-pressed to find them in January or even June.

Ten Crafty Ideas

If you have ample time and a bit of artistic talent, do-it-yourself projects are a perfect way to really make your wedding your own creation. There are entire magazines, books, and Web sites devoted to wedding crafts. Here is a sampling of creative ideas that incorporate natural elements to spark your imagination:

1 Use glitter-sprinkled pinecones as place-card holders, or fill bowls with cinnamon-scented pinecones to use as table accents.

2 Write guests’ names and table numbers on clamshells with a paint marker.

3 Press leaves or flowers by placing them between sheets of white paper and tucking them into a book. Pile other heavy books on top and allow several days for flattening and drying. Pressed leaves and petals can be glued to placecards, arranged in the shape of a heart inside a glass frame, or laminated to create bookmark favors.

4 Use seasonal foliage and flowers to create garlands to drape along your head table, wrap around tent poles, or festoon your path to the altar.

5 Make colorful centerpieces by using hollowed-out pumpkins as vases. Your best bet is to insert a container inside the pumpkin to hold water or dampened floral foam.

6 For a beach wedding, fill Ball jars two-thirds full with sand tinted with food coloring, and then insert a votive candle in the center. These twinkling sand candles can illuminate walkways at dusk or provide romantic table lighting.

7 Place leaves, ferns, or starfish, textured side up, under paper and use a peeled crayon to create a rubbing. Use these hand-decorated papers as the pages of your guest book, or imprint or inscribe them with your program or menu. This simple technique can also be used to create unique thank-you notes.

8 For garden or floral-themed affairs, create custom seed packets so that guests will be able to cultivate a reminder of your special day. Type “seed packet template” into an online search engine, and you will find several packet designs that can be printed, personalized, folded, and assembled.

9 Create unique favors by purchasing a glycerin soap-making kit at a craft store. You can mold soaps into shapes that complement your theme, such as butterflies, sunflowers, fish, or apples. You can also dip silk rose petals in clear soap or embed seashells or other surprises within clear bars.

10 Dry flowers, herbs, and leaves you collect and make your own signature potpourri. Fill small, decorative boxes or silk bags with the fragrant mix to use as favors, or create centerpieces with potpourri-filled baskets or glass bowls.

If you prefer to work solo, that’s fine. Otherwise, plan a fun and sociable afternoon of crafting with a few close friends or family members. Even younger relatives may enjoy helping with basic assembly tasks. This will help make your event a family affair, from start to finish.