Request Newsletter | Bridal Online Website | Return To Main Page

Marriage & Wedding Information


Have a Garden Theme Dream Wedding


You've found the perfect venue: old oaks, a stone wall, a gazebo, acres of fragrant jasmine and honeysuckle, and even a small, clear pond. Now it's time to take the garden wedding of your dreams a little further. Let's start with invitations.

Let's start with the invitations.

Garden Theme Invitations

The right invitation says "old world" and "hand made." Artistic? Hand-paint a flower design, scan it in to your computer and fade it into the background of your invitations. Or collect and press wildflowers and violets to include.

Accent your invitations with small brass buttons or charms. Seal the envelope with sealing wax and a seal that ties into your wedding: a seashell, a flower, a swan.

Raised lettering on your vellum overlays makes for a beautiful antique look. And no, you don't have to purchase invitations to achieve it. You can do it yourself with a printer (ideally a laser printer), embossing powder and a heat gun (or hair dryer). Learn more about this technique.

Garden Theme Decorations

Look for cozy round tables, and set a large outdoor umbrella over each one. Use several layers of linens; the bottom one a solid color (not necessarily ivory or white), and the top, a coordinating print reminiscent of chintz or calico.

Use unbleached muslin and tulle to set the stage, and avoid bridal white. Choose peach, sand and mushroom tones instead - anything that complements the sepia photographs of your forebears you'll want to set on the tables. Use tea to safely dye anything you have on hand that's just too white.

For mood lighting, you'll want pillar candles, but not the ordinary sort - the kind that's trimmed with small lampshades. Decorate the shades to suit the mood, with silk fringes and braids.

Comb thrift stores for colorful floral china (we routinely find full services there for cheap). Stack a larger, contrasting plate under a smaller. Use the most vivacious color combinations you can get away with.

Garden Theme Centerpieces

For a simple, one-minute centerpiece, gather a handful of old-fashioned spiral lollipops. Arrange loosely in mason jars.

To get a rise out of your guests, make or buy breadsticks redolent of thyme or rosemary, and display on end in a pitcher or galvanized bucket.

You'll be in good "chair" when you make these adorable centerpieces: use wrought-iron doll-sized chairs from garden stores. Lay moss or wheat grass on the seat, and twine ivy or flower garlands through the back and arms.

Great Garden Theme Eats

Concentrate on light, portable finger foods. We suggest:

Cherry, peach or lavender lemonade
Chai tea
A light, sweet wine, like Gewurstraminer

Prosciutto and melons
Deviled eggs with sundries tomatoes
Stuffed mushrooms with feta, spinach and bacon

Prosciutto/tomato panini
Curry cucumber sandwiches
Gazpacho

Strawberry cream puffs
Mini cheesecakes

Express the Inexpressible

For music at your garden wedding, almost anything goes - as long as it's live. Call your local college for some inexpensive combos. Harps and violins or flutes and guitars - it hardly matters, as long as your musicians can breathe and eat lunch.

About the Author

Blake Kritzberg is owner and proprieter of FavorIdeas.com. Stop by http://www.favorideas.com for a huge selection of wedding favors, Bridezilla's weekly adventures, and free resources for brides: save-the-date eCards, screensaver, wallpaper and web site templates.

For much more on planning your garden theme wedding, see: http://www.favorideas.com/wedding-favor-garden-theme.htm


MORE RESOURCES:

MTV.com

Speidi's 'Wedding' Bling
Extra TV - 1 hour ago
Alleged newlyweds Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag showed off their pseudo-wedding rings at the Cedars-Sinai "Road to a Cure" gala last night. ...
Speidi's Wedding Bands: "They Cost 40 Pesos" E! Online
Heidi Montag's Mom Says Marriage To Spencer Pratt Will Last 'Six ... MTV.com
HEIDI MONTAG - THE HILLS NEWLYWEDS TO TRY FOR BABY Contactmusic.com
The Gossip Girls - Fashion.ie
all 30 news articles


Winter wedding dos and don'ts
7Online.com, NY - 2 hours ago
Weddings aren't just spring and summer affairs these days. More and more couples are opting to marry during what used to be the "off season" for nuptials, ...


Best Syndication

Basic Tips to Help You Choose Your Wedding Videographer
Best Syndication, CA - 1 hour ago
Most brides spend years dreaming of their perfect wedding day. So it is not surprising if they invest countless hours picking out the wedding gown and ...
Helpful Tips in Making a Wedding Video Best Syndication
How to Become a Videographer Best Syndication
all 3 news articles


California lawmakers decry gay wedding ban
United Press International - 2 hours ago
SACRAMENTO, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- California lawmakers say their resolutions support the overthrow of a ban on same-sex marriages are about civil rights rather ...


Best Syndication

Scrapbook: Making Wedding Photos More Memorable
Best Syndication, CA - 53 minutes ago
You just had a wonderful wedding. It was a once in a lifetime occasion. The wedding photography in Phoenix done by a professional was very good but ...
Organizing your Photographs: Simple Tips on Sorting Out Old Pictures Best Syndication
all 2 news articles


Best Syndication

6 Common Mistakes on Your Wedding Day
Best Syndication, CA - 2 hours ago
A wedding is a once in a lifetime event. It takes months or perhaps years to plan the perfect one. With so many details to remember from the wedding ...
A Career As an Event Planner Best Syndication
all 2 news articles


Julianne Hough to Hear Wedding Bells?
Great American Country, TN - 2 hours ago
3, 2008 — If Julianne Hough ends up walking down the aisle, she might want to skip the traditional white wedding dress in favor of a paisley one. ...


Florida governor's bride-to-be chooses her gown for Dec. 12 wedding
Sun-Sentinel.com, FL - Dec 1, 2008
By Linda Trischitta | South Florida Sun-Sentinel Carole Rome wore her status with low-key ease when she ordered her bridal gown from Wedding Atelier in ...
Gay rights group to protest at Crist's wedding WWSB ABC 7
Charlie Crist's fiancee to wear silk gown to the nuptials ABC Action News
Gays to Demonstrate at Fla. Gov. Crist’s Marriage EDGE Boston
Palm Beach Post
all 41 news articles


E! Online

Heidi & Spencer's Wedding Hoax
Star Magazine, NY - 21 hours ago
15 issue, on sale Wednesday — their quickie wedding was just another publicity stunt conjured up by the spotlight-seeking duo. As soon as word broke that ...
Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt return from honeymoon Now Magazine Online
all 10 news articles


The Age

Brad Pitt Dishes on Wedding Plans and the Paparazzi
Hollyscoop, CA - Dec 2, 2008
Brad sat down with Ann Curry from The Today Show to dish on his wedding plans with Angelina, his Make It Right Foundation project in New Orleans and his ...
How the Oscars race is shaping up TVNZ
Brad Pitt On Today: Make It Right, Marriage, Adoption Fears (VIDEO) Huffington Post
Brangelina Marriage Depends on the Kids Tango
Croydon Advertiser
all 654 news articles

Wedding - Google News

home | site map

Site Map | Site Map | Links

© 2006