DIY Garden Wedding: Bring a Vintage Vibe to Your Big Day
A beautiful garden wedding made by hand can save you money while being memorable and meaningful
We can’t all afford a celebrity wedding planner and a no-expenses-spared reception. But getting married out in the garden can be just as special, and all the more meaningful, if it reflects the bride’s and groom’s personalities and how they feel about each other. A theme that gives your big day a handmade or vintage vibe, or both, can be humble and beautiful, and as delightful for guests as it is for those celebrating their union. Here are some ideas to get you thinking about the possibilities for your own wedding or one you’re planning for someone else.
Photo by Liz Ham
Arrange seating in a way that lets guests move around and mingle. Getting stuck sitting at a table for hours gets old fast. At this wedding — for interior designer Luci Dibley and her husband — guests sat on hay bales beneath market umbrellas kept upright with giant spools.
Arrange seating in a way that lets guests move around and mingle. Getting stuck sitting at a table for hours gets old fast. At this wedding — for interior designer Luci Dibley and her husband — guests sat on hay bales beneath market umbrellas kept upright with giant spools.
If hay bales are too casual (or prickly) for your liking, you can set up small tables with chairs, or even a shaded shelter complete with comfortable couches where guests can put up their feet.
If you opt to have a color theme — floral centerpieces that match your bouquet or the bridesmaids’ dresses, for example — bring in a vintage touch by displaying them in a can wrapped in lace and string.
8 steps to a perfectly set table
8 steps to a perfectly set table
Photo by Liz Ham
Mix and Match
If you don’t want a cookie-cutter wedding that will soon fade from peoples’ memories, do it differently. Details like mismatched plates, teacups and glasses add a quirky vintage touch, and it can be fun poking through secondhand shops to find old plates for your collection.
Mix and Match
If you don’t want a cookie-cutter wedding that will soon fade from peoples’ memories, do it differently. Details like mismatched plates, teacups and glasses add a quirky vintage touch, and it can be fun poking through secondhand shops to find old plates for your collection.
Layer It Up
The beauty of a small wedding is the ability to personalize it without going to huge expense. The starched white tablecloths gracing the tables of formal weddings can bring a sense of occasion, but so can something a little more colorful. Layers of hemmed fabric — even if only over the cake or gift table — will pretty up any venue, inside or out.
The beauty of a small wedding is the ability to personalize it without going to huge expense. The starched white tablecloths gracing the tables of formal weddings can bring a sense of occasion, but so can something a little more colorful. Layers of hemmed fabric — even if only over the cake or gift table — will pretty up any venue, inside or out.
Make Every Guest Feel Special
Setting each place with care sends a message of gratitude — not just that the guests have come to your wedding, but also for the role they play in your life. A little gift or wedding favor that guests can take home with them is customary, but one that’s homemade will be all the more meaningful. A jar of jam with a thank-you label, a handful of cookies in a sturdy paper bag tied up with string, handmade soap in a cellophane wrapper — you get the idea.
Setting each place with care sends a message of gratitude — not just that the guests have come to your wedding, but also for the role they play in your life. A little gift or wedding favor that guests can take home with them is customary, but one that’s homemade will be all the more meaningful. A jar of jam with a thank-you label, a handful of cookies in a sturdy paper bag tied up with string, handmade soap in a cellophane wrapper — you get the idea.
Make It Magical
If your celebration is likely to linger into the night, use plenty of candles to set the scene. Floating candles in glasses of water on the tables, tea lights in paper bags weighed down with sand lining pathways or garden beds, lanterns hung from trees or all the above. Assign one of the guests to keep an eye on the candles and to replace them if they burn down or go out.
If your celebration is likely to linger into the night, use plenty of candles to set the scene. Floating candles in glasses of water on the tables, tea lights in paper bags weighed down with sand lining pathways or garden beds, lanterns hung from trees or all the above. Assign one of the guests to keep an eye on the candles and to replace them if they burn down or go out.
A set-and-forget alternative is the plug-in kind. A string of lights down the center of each table (or just the bridal table, if you prefer) and strung up in trees can make for a magical setting.
Have a Little Fun
If you’re not jetting off to an exotic island in a sea of confetti when your wedding day draws to a close, why not surprise your exhausted partner with some bedroom humor? Assign a guest to the task so that you don’t have to sneak away during the reception.
If you’re not jetting off to an exotic island in a sea of confetti when your wedding day draws to a close, why not surprise your exhausted partner with some bedroom humor? Assign a guest to the task so that you don’t have to sneak away during the reception.
Let It Linger On
Photos of your big day need not be hidden away in your wedding album. Print some of you, your new spouse and your guests having a good time to keep those memories alive.
Your turn: Have you had a garden wedding? Share your tips and stories from the big day in the Comments below.
More: Say ‘I Do’ to Beautiful Wedding Memory Displays
Photos of your big day need not be hidden away in your wedding album. Print some of you, your new spouse and your guests having a good time to keep those memories alive.
Your turn: Have you had a garden wedding? Share your tips and stories from the big day in the Comments below.
More: Say ‘I Do’ to Beautiful Wedding Memory Displays
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Keep It Casual
Part of the joy of getting married is watching the friends and family you’ve chosen to invite enjoying themselves and sharing in your happiness. A garden wedding with limited space gives you the perfect excuse to invite only those people you truly want at your wedding — not that long-lost uncle who gave you nightmares as a child, or the colleague you’ll never see again once you leave your place of employment.