alamodeus

I am thrilled to be planning an outdoor summer wedding for my best friend! This is not the first wedding for either her or her fiance, so they wanted to keep it simple and casual. They also decided to host the ceremony and reception at a property he owns that will likely be a construction site by the wedding date in July (the house is currently gutted for remodeling into their newlywed nest). Oh my!

I put on my event-planner cap and suggested they consider a picnic wedding. It's practical, low-key and budget-friendly. Hooray, they loved the theme and asked me to come up with some ideas. So, I built several mood boards to give them these conceptual images.


My BFF loves sundresses and her fiance is a linen trouser kind of fellow. I suggested we create a wildflower color story and decorate with summer blooms. We'll add these flowers to a hand-built canopy we'll create in a stand of trees and drape sheer fabric from the limbs for the ceremony. Throughout the lawn we'll fill galvanized tubs with fresh flowers that they can use to landscape the new yard after the wedding.


I know how much my BFF loves vintage charm. Ditto for me, too. So, it's an easy call to incorporate old wagons, wood dough bowls to hold favors (which we are making ahead with flower seeds), the seed packet favors placed in stamped, burlap bags tied with twine and old-fashioned, hand-held fans for cooling off under the summer sun.


And, who can resist a picnic? My BFF and I have been making regular rounds to thrift stores and websites, buying up vintage tablecloths to layer over the white table linens we'll use at the reception. Wildflowers in Mason jars will serve a table centerpieces. The menu includes hamburgers, hotdogs and (my favorite) ice cream cups for dessert along with multi-color, wedding cupcakes.

Woo-hoo, I just scored a rusted, antique stand (like shown above) for nada, zip, zilch! It was going to be thrown away because of a little rust. With a bit of clean up, it will make a great cupcake stand!

The last wedding I planned was a destination wedding in Jamaica, so I'm thankful that I won't have to haul two trunks of decor on an international flight this time. But, I may need a horse to transport a wagon and all the picnic supplies!

I'll take pics to share later this summer ...