Wedding Ceremony decor help - pomanders on sheperd''s hooks?

[urseberry]

Hello everyone! I am getting married this August in an outdoor ceremony at Fort Mason in San Francisco. Decorations aren''t very important to me, so I''m doing all of my flowers myself with the help of family and friends. We only have 7 reception tables to decorate (56 guests) and no bridal party, so it''s manageable.

I''m having some trouble coming up with ceremony decorations. I want something budget-friendly that I can make myself that still marks the space and makes it look like a wedding. We will be married under some very tall eucalyptus trees, very close to Neatfreak''s site. I was originally thinking about a wedding arch, but I''m worried that a cheap one will look tacky, and assembling it might be a pain. My new idea is to have two sheperd hooks with pomanders hanging from them to mark where the groom and I will stand. Will this be too minimal? From what I can find online, sheperd hooks seem to be about 3-1/2 feet tall. How large of a pomander would I need, and how many roses would it take to create it? I''m guessing a 3 inch floral foam ball would result in a 5 inch pomander and take about 25-40 roses. Is 5 inches really dinky as an altar arrangement?

Besides the "altar" decorations, I''ll probably do something simple on the aisle chairs. Maybe paper cones hanging from ribbons with a tiny bouquet inside.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide! I will repay you in August by posting pictures.

 

[Gypsy]

Hiya Urseberry.

Well, here are my concerns.

Pomander balls are heavy. They are filled with wet floral oasis then studed with flowers. Sheperds hooks are, for the most part) a little hard to get stuck into the ground right and be stable. They can be dinky, and its windy up at Fort Mason. Plus as you pointed out, the balls won't be that large. You can increase their impact with large a large ribbon bow on top of the hook then down the stem.

I would suggest a couple of alernatives. Large fresh arrangements on either side of the altar on pillars would be my first choice. If you want to DIY and avoid pillars I would go to Michaels and get two of their tall (like 4 foot) wired topiaries-- I think they are 40% off right now with ivy on them. Then decorate those up with fresh flowers wired with little oasis packs onto the topiaries. They are nice (like 40 o5 50 bucks each) sized and will have a beautiful presence and will provide a nice focal point once decorated with fresh flowers and ribbon.

The paper cones and arrangements are a good idea, and will add a really lovely touch.

 

[urseberry]

Thanks Gypsy, I was hoping you''d chime in. Is the attached picture the sort of topiary you had in mind? That sounds like a really good idea. I will go to Michael''s and check them out. I also found some tall baskets on Craigslist that might work. I''ll attach them in the next post.

 

[urseberry]

Here is the basket. Is $100 for two a fair price?

 

[Gypsy]

YUP! That's what I had in mind.

As for the baskets. I don't think I'd pay more than 30-35 a pop for those, personally. 50's a little high. I'm not a white wicker person though, so that could be infuencing my feelings on that subject.