I recently watched a children’s program with my toddler where a little boy asked why his mommy stripped all the leaves from the flowers his daddy gave her. He thought the leaves were the best part of the flower.

It made me think about fall leaves and how their colors are the best part of autumn. Nature offers such beauty—why not use it for wedding decorations? Using the natural hues (gold, russet, burgundy, and mocha) of fall leaves makes a gorgeous decorating theme. Think about it! With brown being the new black, mocha colored for bridesmaid dresses (especially in silk) set the stage for a rich earthy essence that can carry through to the wedding decorations.

Bridesmaids could carry flower bouquets in an array of fall colors tied with chocolate silk ribbon and a few fall leaves tucked in—how elegant! The pew flowers could be all one color—maybe chrysanthemums—with leaves and raffia ribbon. A lavish combination of rich fall-colored flowers with willow twigs could complete the altar flower decorations. Rather than the flower girl dropping petals, she could scatter fall leaves down the aisle before the bride’s entrance. The warm glow of candles (in fall colors) grouped in various sizes at the altar will create a stunning backdrop for pictures.

Using nature’s hues and fall leaves is a theme easily incorporated into all aspects of your wedding from your wedding program to wedding reception decorations and wedding favors. It even lends itself to eco-friendly weddings where couples give seedling trees as favors so guests can take them home, plant them, and have a lasting memento of their wedding day.

So take a clue from nature and work fall hues into your wedding decorations.

Common Interest Creates A Wedding Theme

I know a great couple who both absolutely love Mickey Mouse. He was an illustrator and she was a school teacher. They both were very young at heart, so when it came time to decorate for their wedding, they couldn’t resist including their favorite character in the decorations.

Their arch was decorated with flowers and in the center, the flowers were in the shape of Mickey Mouse. They had theme stickers subtly hidden on candelabras, in flower arrangements and other decorations. Their bridesmaids and groomsmen had Mickey Mouse stickers included in their bouquets and boutonnieres.  Mickey was every where. It worked for this couple’s wedding. I think it’s an idea that would work for others, who share a love of the same hobby, sports team, etc.

Making Your Common Interest Theme Work For Your Wedding

Let’s say you and your hubby-to-be are St. Louis Cardinal fans. You could incorporate a small red cardinal bird (that you can find at craft stores) in flower arrangements, pew bows, arches, on candelabras, on the flower girl’s basket—anywhere! It can be done in a very tasteful way. Being subtle is the key.

If you wanted to have some fun with it, you could tell your guests (maybe through the wedding program) how many birds representing your love of the Cardinals are in the decorations. See who can find the most. At the wedding reception, you could poll everyone to see who found the most and give a nice gift to that guest. No matter what the common interest, you can use it to reflect your unique style through your wedding decorations.

I’ve been to many weddings where the wedding begins with an endless PowerPoint presentation depicting the lives of the bride and groom from infancy. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love a trip down memory lane, but it seems to start the wedding off on a “down” note.

I think it would be a great alternative to choose 10-20 photos of the bride and groom, frame them, and use them as a wedding decoration at the entrance to the wedding. It would accomplish the same purpose (without all the tissues!) by giving the wedding guests a pictorial trip down memory lane.

For a really clean, contemporary look, you could have all the photos copied in black and white. Then, frame them all in simple, silver frames. These could be different shapes and sizes, but the color would give them uniformity. They could all be placed on a long table covered in a crisp, white tablecloth, so that nothing detracts from the photos themselves. Depending on the style of the wedding, you could choose frames that fit that style for a cohesive look.

I like this idea because it forces the bride and groom to choose the best photos of their lives—the ones that really depict each stage of their lives, rather than just using all their photos to fill up space in a multimedia presentation.

If a PowerPoint presentation is something the bride and groom really want to include, this could be used at the wedding reception, where the atmosphere is more casual and relaxed.

Sometimes when women plan their wedding day they go for extravagance and glitz. But I think many times simple is more elegant, especially when it comes to wedding flowers. One of my favorite flowers is the daisy. It’s fresh, simple and clean. My mom always said about the daisy, “Daisies never tell.” They also remind me of the “He loves me; He loves me not” flower.

The simple white petals and bright yellow center just remind me of summer days and youth. But when made into a stylish flower arrangement or bouquet, they evoke a youthful elegance. And your wedding colors don’t have to be yellow and white to use daisies–they look great with any color: turquoise blue, fuchsia, lavender, black or navy blue just to name a few.

You can dress them up or down with the right containers for the wedding decorations—clear, tall glass vases for the modern, contemporary wedding; rustic planters for a more casual affair. You can carry the daisy flower through all the wedding decorations such as the flower arrangements at the altar, the pew decorations, bouquets and boutonnieres. And they work well at the wedding reception as table centerpieces and food table garnishes. Needless to say, daisies are a lot more affordable than lavish flower arrangements, but they can be a beautiful embellishment to any wedding with their simple style.

I know destination weddings are a big trend these days, but with the economy in the shape it’s in, it may not be affordable to have your wedding in a tropical location. So, I was thinking: why not stay at home and create your own destination wedding? With enough creativity and helpful wedding vendors, you could “design” your own tropical wedding without actually going there.

Whether it’s Hawaii, Jamaica, or the Bahamas, you could create the feel of a tropical paradise for your wedding day. For a more casual fell wear the same strapless wedding gown you would wear on the beach and let your groom wear an easy, open collar shirt and lightweight slacks. Even go barefoot for a beach-y feel.

Your wedding decorations could be large tropical plants and flower arrangements with birds of paradise, orchids, any flower you would find in a tropical locale. If a Hawaiian wedding is your dream, you could wear leis instead of carrying bouquets and wearing boutonnieres. Instead of traditional candelabras, use candles covered by glass lanterns or hurricane lamps. I think you could really come up with some great ways to decorate for your wedding using this idea, and save a lot of money, too.

Carry the tropical destination wedding theme over into your wedding reception.  Have your caterer serving tropical fruit platters, pulled pork, Hawaiian Chicken with rice, and pina coladas. Who says you have to spend a small fortune to get married on an island when you can create your own paradise right at home?

A special thanks goes to:

Blue Pagoda & Evolution Orchids LLC, an Englewood FL wedding bouquet florist, for their lovely Cymbidium orchid bouquet picture.

Ann’s Bridal & Etcetera, a wedding caterer from Searcy AR, for their scrumptious looking fruit platter photo.

I was watching a TLC show recently called “A Blooming Business” about a floral designer in Dallas who was creating floral wedding decorations for a particular wedding in which the bride wanted to honor family members who had passed away. I’m all about honoring people who have impacted our lives, so my ears perked up when the designer shared this idea that she used.

When she created the bridal bouquet made from creamy peach peonies, she used strands of ivory satin ribbon to attach several antique gold lockets to the bouquet. Inside the lockets were photos of the bride’s loved ones she wanted to honor and remember on her wedding day. The photos had been scanned on the computer, printed, and cut to fit into the lockets for a really beautiful addition to the bride’s bouquet.

A note was included in the wedding program that the lockets were part of the bridal bouquet to honor those loved ones.

I think you could go a step further and include the loved ones’ photos in the program with the note of explanation, or even display their larger photos in the foyer on a small table with the explanation written on a larger sign. This would add to the wedding decorations as guests enter the ceremony site.

There are many traditional ways of honoring people through the wedding decorations—candles, pew flowers, wedding reception centerpieces—but I think this one is very unique and is a lasting keepsake for the bride.

Every week I read several wedding blogs, look at several wedding pictures and discuss a multitude of wedding ideas with anyone willing to talk to me. This week I came upon two unique wedding decoration ideas. Both of these decorations involved wedding flowers.

I love flowers, especially unique wedding flowers that give you a glimpse into the personality of the bride. I think that is why these two approaches caught my interest. The first came from a discussion I had with Scott Darhower, a florist from Tampa Florida (he owns Apple Blossoms Floral Design). Scott and I were discussing creative container ideas for floral arrangements when he mentioned vintage glass containers.

Wedding Flowers Using Decor From Past Generations
Not long ago, he created some lovely flower arrangements for one of his brides. Scott really pays attention to the personalities of the brides he works with. This bride was particularly fond of the her grandmother’s antique china. In fact, she uses it often when entertaining.

So when time came for Scott to design floral arrangements for her cocktail reception, he knew exactly what the bride needed. He and the bride canvassed second-hand stores and flea markets until they found a few vintage glass pieces.

Scott then created soft romantic flower arrangements using the vintage glass and an array of creamy white flowers. Later the bride displayed these vintage glass pieces in her china cabinet along side her grandmothers antique china. What a fabulous idea! Using vintage or sentimental containers as part of your wedding flower decorations is a fantastic way to honor the romance of the past generations. The best part is you will forever have an elegant wedding keepsake.

***Just a little hint for grooms – take a piece of the vintage glass used in your wedding to your florist before your anniversary. Have the florist recreate your wedding flowers and deliver it to your wife.***

Pictures And Perfect Wedding Flowers

The second cool wedding flower decoration involved photos. No, not picture taking. Rather a display of pictures of the bride and groom. This awesome wedding decoration came from Markita Brewster, a Fort Campbell KY wedding consultant. She owns Beautiful Weddings On a Budget. At the wedding reception of one of her brides, the wedding flowers were arranged in a photo cube.

What a clever idea! The Casablanca lilies gave the photo cubes an elegant look and the photos were a great way for guests to recall memories of the bride and groom. You could even include pictures of the guests with the bride or groom and place them on the table where they will be seated. This is also a creative way to have a unique flower arrangement and still stay within your budget.

Now that I’ve shared my unique wedding flower decoration ideas, I hope you will share yours. I can’t wait to see them.

Your wedding is a great time to honor people who have had a major impact on your life. While it’s true the focus should be on the bride and groom, none of us would be where we are without the help and inspiration of others. Consider honoring parents or grandparents who have been married many years by using candles as a wedding decoration.

My parents had been married 52 years and my fiance’s parents had been married 48 years when we got married. To thank them for the example they had been to us, we used 100 white candles of various shapes and sizes as a backdrop to our wedding ceremony. We used crisp white tablecloths on tables that would accommodate that number of candles, and we explained what the candles represented in our wedding program.

It was very meaningful to us, especially during the ceremony, as we spoke our vows and committed ourselves to one another. We found encouragement that those before us had made the same commitments and had honored those over time. And we were able to show gratitude to our parents for their commitments to one another. This would also be a great way to honor a family member or friend who has passed away. Instead of letting that person’s absence sadden you, having a tangible way of remembering and honoring them as part of the ceremony is a great way to keep focused on the joy of your wedding day.

I had never heard of these, but they were brought to my attention while planning my wedding and I fell in love with this wedding decoration idea. Aisle runners are usually pretty standard and most brides usually rent one from a wedding supply vendor; which is perfectly fine. However, I wanted something more personalized … more unique. Little did I know you can have custom aisle runners made!

When you have a custom aisle runner made, you have so many options in creating making the runner Read the rest of Make it Personal with a Custom Aisle Runner »

Flowers and ribbon are a very beautiful, yet very common decoration combination for wedding pews, alters and arches. Over the past few years, florists and wedding planners have started branching out with resources used for decorating the church for the wedding ceremony. Fresh flowers are the traditional foundation for wedding decorations; but unique ornamentation such as glittered spheres, real bay leaf garland, twigs and other unusual items can be used as well.

A trend that has been developing over the last few years is the “naturally glamorous” theme. This Read the rest of Naturally Glamorous Theme For Wedding Decorations »