Show me your BEAUTIFUL outdoor/backyard wedding pictures!

[xiuying]

Hello all!

I will be getting married in late June of 2008 near Charlotte, North Carolina. Since my FI and I have started putting together our wedding ideas, we''ve been thinking more and more about having an outdoor wedding. Our first thought was to find a beautiful botanical garden or park, but those ideas didn''t quite plan out either because they were above my budget or didn''t have a backup rain plan. Our second thought was actually my backyard. My parents live on four acres of land and there''s some pretty spots on their land that would work really nicely as a backdrop. The church we attend is only half a mile away, and we''ve spoken to the people there about using the church as a rain alternative and they''re completely on the ball with that, so I''m not worried about rain.

However, I don''t have much ideas in terms of landscaping. My parents LOVE the idea of playing with their backyard... but none of us know what to add! It''s great because it''s essentially our land, so we could add whatever we want, but... well... we don''t know what would make sense and what wouldn''t.

Here are some of our thoughts...
- Planting flowers that match the wedding colors (deep red and pink) around where we want the site to be
- Setting up luminaires to create a lit pathway (the wedding will likely be in the early evening, around 6)
- Placing shepherd''s hooks with hanging balls of flowers down the aisle

What I''d really love are more ideas... or pictures! If anyone has any ideas that would help, I would REALLY love to hear them!

 

[ladyciel]

Hmmm, maybe take a trip to the local plant nursery and see if you can find a variety of flowering tree (think cherry blossoms) that would be blooming in late June to use as a focal point. You could stand in front of one, or have two, one on either side. My first thought, though, is that they might not bloom well, or at all, with not even a year to settle in after transplanting. I''m sure that''s something the nursery folks could probably tell you.

Make sure you have plenty of space for parking, and helpers for any elderly who may have trouble walking long distances in the grass.

 

[candctroll]

FH...His dad, brother, nephew and my dad built a rose trellis in my grandmother''s backyard we are going to use for the wedding. I don''t have any pics yet but will in about 3 weeks!

 

[surfgirl]

Do a search for decodelighted''s backyard BBQ wedding. It is simply divine!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Look up my wedding photo thread. We had an arbor filled with flowers (which we stood under) and kissing balls on shepards hooks along the aisle. We got married on a golf course but the set-up could easily be done in a backyard. Maybe that will give you some ideas.

 

[xiuying]

Thanks SO much for the replies!

ladyciel, I do love the idea of flowering trees but I have the same worries you do. I don''t know if anything is still blooming in late June, either... I wonder if it''s possible to get trees that are still in the pots for that day? And plant them later? I need to do some research.

)

candctroll, my mother REALLY wants a rose trellis or arch... and I REALLY want a canopy! I think we''re going to try for a combination of the two. Thanks!

surfgirl, Decodelighted''s ideas and pictures were GREAT! There is SO much inspiration in that thread on DIY projects. I''m excited now!

Tacori E-ring, thanks so much for pointing out your thread! I love the ribbons through the hanging balls of flowers... and the pictures were fantastic, especially the black and white ones (one with colored flowers and one with the golf place as a background). Those have really helped cinch the fact that I so want this wedding to be outdoors.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Thanks! I am glad my pics could inspire you. I do not regret getting married outside one bit. It was something that both my DH and I really wanted. The weather was PERFECT so we got really lucky. Plus the vivid green made a great back drop in our pics. I think you could easily get the same look in a park or a backyard. Though I will warn you our flower arch was $$$$ and that was us providing the wooden arch (Kohls had it one sale for around $100 I think). It now sits proudly in our backyard.

 

[jcrow]

check out gingerbcookie''s wedding pics too. she had beautiful outdoor decor for her wedding ceremony.

 

[MMM]

does anyone have the links to these posts you''re referencing. I can''t seem to find them!!
: )

 

[eks6426]

With a wedding coming up so close, it'll be hard to get trees, shrubs & even perennials to mature by then. I would be thinking annuals for next year.

If you're looking to get lots of flowers for low-cost, you can't beat planting zinnias from seed. The flowers aren't super formal looking like roses, but they get tall and flower easily. They mostly come in blends with red, orange, pinks, white, yellows but you can buy seeds of specific colors. In your area if you planted them in April, you could easily have 4 feet tall flowers by your wedding.

I do zinnias in my yard. Attached is a picture from last year. These flowers came from a Wal*Mart box of seed that cost about $6.00. I'm pretty well known amoung my friends & neighbors for being able to create an "instant" garden within a year.

Other ideas: annual grasses with the plumes on them
cosmos--also super easy to grow from seed
cleome--spider flowers. Pretty from a distance and could give a nice back-drop.
twinkle lights or lanterns strung from wires run between the trees
or take interesting large twigs and wrap the twinkle lights around them and hang those from the wires. You can spray paint the branches first if you want.
I'd also consider adding some fountains for a nice peaceful sound. They don't have to be big or expensive. Just use some nice pots with a pump in them.
Tree roses in pots with annuals planted at their feet. I think a lot of the "wow" factor in a yard is being able to get some height. This might help, especially if you put the pots on pedestels.
Colored fabric in your wedding colors draped around a gate, gazebo, arbor etc.

Edited to add: The picture turned out lousy. The zinnias are the flowers on the left near the gazebo. But it's hard to tell. sorry.

 

[MMM]

these are from a wedding i just went to this past weekend. they really did very, very little in terms of decorating... basically they just found a beautiful site, and then let it speak for itself.

 

[MMM]

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[MMM]

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[MMM]

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