Garden Weddings | Botanical Garden Weddings Well of course you want to hold your wedding or reception in a garden! I may be just a tad biased, but I do think that a garden beats all but the most beautiful churches and for an elegant environment it’s leagues above a ballroom, hands down. Here is how you can plan and save on your garden wedding A Theme and a Plan Let’s face it, it’s easy to get carried away. When you know a wedding or rehearsal dinner will be taking place on your property, it’s easy to make a variety of purchases in advance because “it will look good for the wedding.” Some impulse buys might provide the perfect wedding décor, but others could just make you over spend. In order to avoid gathering a closet full of miscellaneous junk, it’s smart to start out with a theme and a plan. The theme of a wedding can be a color, location, season, flower, or the special interests of the bride and groom. While weddings of the past were usually all white affairs, today anything goes. Most couples want to have a celebration and ceremony that is personal to them. This approach provides the overall theme for many weddings. Use this, along with your preferences about color, flowers, etc., to guide your choice of embellishments. In addition to having a general plan, keep in mind that time and energy will be stretched to the limits on the big day. Some ornamentation of the wedding site can be done ahead of time, but other items must be added at the last minute. Wrapping a tree trunk with small white lights can be accomplished the weekend before the wedding, for example, but hanging paper lanterns is best done the day of the event. Lights From small tea lights to large paper lanterns, lights alone can define a party. Lights can be used to decorate everything – from the entry pathway coming off the street to the reception tables. Battery operated tea-lights are especially useful because they can illuminate a variety of objects and spaces. Tea-lights can be placed in vases, paper bags, and flower arrangements, or they can be used in the landscape as is. These small LED lights come with white or yellow-tinted “flames” that are either steady or flickering. Most LED tea-lights last longer than 48 hours, allowing you to set them in place early in the day and turn them on before the festivities start. As night falls they will already be making their magic. Use the majority of these lights in areas where people will be walking or gathered after dark. Although it’s possible to find strings of small white lights that are battery operated, most “fairy lights” use electricity. Plan on using the majority of this type of lighting where an extension cord can provide the power. Because these lights are most abundant and inexpensive at Christmas time, smart wedding planners will buy them by the dozen in early December – even when planning for an August event. Local craft stores or online sources offer artificial branches that are lit by battery powered LED lights. Plastic or paper orbs are available as well; these can be placed around the garden or along paths. They are illuminated with vase lighting, and can be remotely programed to glow in a range of different colors. Paper Lanterns, Fans, and Parasols Battery run LED lights are especially useful for making paper lanterns, fans, and parasols glow. These decorations can also be lit with traditional large or small string lights. They can be and hung as cascading groups (each placed at a different height), and positioned in clusters or in rows. Lanterns, fans, or parasols can be used in tents, on porches, under arbors, or hung from the branches of trees. Candles Although LED lights are convenient and safe, some people find that nothing matches the magic created by real candles. Large pillar candles can be placed as is in a garden, or held above the plants on candelabras. Tea lights in votive candleholders can be beautiful as well. Be sure to position all real candles carefully to avoid catching mulch, plants, or clothing on fire. A Sense of Place Use flower pots to hold candles, or place a grouping of terracotta pots upside down to elevate candles among plants in the garden. Fill the birdbath with flowers, seashells, or other items that are meaningful to the bride and groom. Hang watering cans from ribbons tied to a large arbor instead of hanging bells or flowers. In fact, those watering cans could contain flower arrangements so that blossoms spill from the hanging cans. You could do the same thing by placing the cans on patios, decks, or porches. Insect Control Another task on your last minute list will be mosquito or insect control. This doesn’t mean fogging the entire property with hazardous insecticides. Fortunately there are organic and least-toxic products that are very effective. Mosquito repellants are usually available at local garden centers, but should your retail outlets not carry them they can be ordered from the Internet. Companies such as Gardener’s Supply carry repellants that are highly effective. Creative Containers and Beautiful Baskets Containers filled with flowers aren’t just beautiful: for a garden wedding they can be functional as well. Urns of flowers or branches can be used to create a frame around, or archway over, the bride and groom. Large pots and urns can be used to attractively block areas where you don’t want guests to walk, drive, or park. Pots can also delineate paths, cover tripping hazards, and decorate the entrance to Porta-Potties. Plant the Furniture. Birdbaths are lovely when planted with flowering plants or fresh greenery. Even lawn or garden furniture can be filled. This can be a delightful way to handle chairs or benches that might look charming in the garden but aren’t structurally suitable for actual sitting. To turn a chair, bench, or small table into an instant planter, find a cardboard box that fits nicely on the seat or tabletop. Cut the sides down to five inches tall and line the inside with a plastic garbage bag. Cover the outer sides with sheet moss (available at any store that sells craft or floral supplies) glued onto the cardboard. Arches, Arbors, and Chuppahs Bamboo or birch poles lashed together with waxed cord can be used to form the canopy. An Internet search for “birch wedding chuppah poles” and “lashing cord for bamboo” will lead to sources for these materials. It’s easy to hide the supporting base and pole ends set in cement-filled pots. On the wedding day simply wet a block (or appropriately sized amount) of Oasis floral foam and place it on top of the pots. Next add fresh flowers arranged to hide the cement. Anita Gonzales - You can find me on About.me, also stay in touch with me on Instagram, Flickr
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