This is a perfect time of year to start planning a fall wedding. A year gives you ample time to research, plan and make reservations. Here are a few ideas and details from my fall wedding. I began my planning with a theme and overall vision of how I wanted my special day to look. I was imagining fall, warmth, pops of color, rustic, vineyard, Michael Chiarelloesq (like drinking good wine with friends while eating roasted veggies in balsamic overlooking Napa Valley in the fall). This may sound silly, but it does not matter where you get your inspiration, because it is inspiration.
For the ceremony itself, I went extremely simple with the decor. I chose to use cornucopias over flowers or bows for the pews. We filled them with fall fruits like, apples, pears, and pomegranates.
For flowers, I wanted a nice pop of color that would tie everything together. The florist did an excellent job at bringing my vision to life. I wanted something clean and basic in the boutonnieres, so they used a small spring of greenery, some kangaroo foot, and hypernicum berries. All of which were in the bridal party bouquets.
I decided to let my bridesmaids choose their own dresses, my only request was that they were black. I thought this would be a dramatic backdrop for the pops of color that made up the bouquets. Some bought new dresses, some reused previous bridesmaid dresses, and some already had a black dress in their closets.
For the flower girl dress I went with a burnt orange over white or ivory, and I made my own ring bearer pillow out of the same fabric.
I wanted a different look that what I was finding in the stores and online, so I ordered some extra fabric when we ordered the dress. I found some embellished black ribbon and edged the box pillow with it.
Between the ceremony and the reception, we selected a third location to take photographs. The location was Graue Mill in Oakbrook, IL. Considering the time of year, the changing leaves, water mill, and old buildings, I thought it would be a perfect spot for the look I was going for.
Upon entering the cocktail hour of our reception, guests were asked to sign out version of a guest book. I cut out a ton of quilt squares and placed them near a sign that asked everyone to write a message on one with the fabric pens we laid out. Eventually, I will decorative stitch over every one's messages to make them permanent and sew all of the squares into a large quilt. Note, I wrote eventually, because I have yet to get around to do this, but someday it will happen! Having a large blanket to keep us warm is something meaningful that we will use everyday. It will remind us of this special day.
Instead of using a cage or a big satin box to hold cards from our guests, I cut a slit in the top of a wine crate, stained it, and nailed it shut. It went well with my vineyard/Napa vision.
For place card holders, we tied three corks together with thin black ribbon. I saw many ideas on the web that used only one and turned it sideways with a slit in it, but all of my prototypes failed. I came up with this instead. Granted, it took three times as many corks, but between friends, family, and local restaurants, I met my goal.
How To:
Per holder-
3 corks
18" (roughly) of 1/4" wide ribbon
Place card
2 sets of hands (ideally)
Have someone hold 3 corks together as you wrap the ribbon around them. Tie the ribbon in a bow to finish off and trim ends if needed. Put the place card between the front center cork and the two back corks. I found that flipping the card back a bit helped balance the holder.
A money saving tip for your big day is to reuse decorations from the ceremony. We reused the alter floral arrangements for the cocktail hour/entry to reception. We also reused the pew cornucopias as decor for the head table.
Each place setting had a menu that I made. I typed them in Photoshop and printed them at Kinko's. I used and brown ink around the edges to make it look aged and added the double ribbon embellishment with tape squares. Then, I backed the entire thing in linen style black card stock. It was inexpensive, because I made them myself, but they added a nice touch of detail to the tables. On the back of one menu per table, I placed a special marking. During the reception, an announcement was made that the holder of the special marked menu was the lucky guest to take home the centerpiece from their table. The guests loved it!
The florist wanted something like $7 to "rent" a glass vase for each centerpiece. So I decided to wait until Hobby Lobby had 50% off of metal vases and bought my own. I paid less for each than renting a plain glass vessel from the florist. Each container was an aged bronze look that went well with my overall theme. I took the metal containers to the florist and they had no problem filling my own vessels.
To keep with the vineyard idea, I decided to name the tables after wines. Again, creating them in Photoshop, I printed two per table. One for each side of the sign. I framed a nice map of the room so the guests had an easier time finding their tables.
My cake. Simple, clean, and elegant. Made by my mother, which made it extra special. You can't go wrong with white icing and flowers to match your wedding decor.
One last quick idea. At the rehearsal dinner we presented our wedding party with gifts as a small thank you for participating in our special day. With some brown paper wrapping, bags, raffia, silk leaves, glue and Sharpies I was able to customize each gift wrap for a very low cost.
I hope you enjoy these ideas and can find some inspiration in the details!
Until next time,
Blair
