Posts Tagged ‘outdoor ceremony’
A Fun Destination Wedding in California
From the bride, Alexandra: The thing we wanted most was a fun, outdoor wedding with our closest friends and family. That’s why we opted to do a wedding weekend (Friday through Sunday) and why we chose a venue where people could also stay the night. We rented out the entire venue for three days and filled all 50 rooms and cabins with our wedding guests. 
THE STYLE
We have a love for both the outdoors and international travel, so we wanted that to come across in our theme. Our theme was a mix of outdoorsy/rustic, boho, romantic, and travel. We knew right away that we wanted an outdoor, mountain wedding and chose a wonderful venue where the ceremony, reception, and entire wedding weekend could be carried out under the trees and stars.
THE FLOWERS
I knew I wanted a lot of flowers and greenery to match the outdoor venue. I chose mostly peonies and other flowers that were more boho, and avoided the traditional roses. My bouquet and floral halo were a mix of pink, coral, and cream flowers.
PERSONAL TOUCH
My mother, brother, and I were born in Japan. According to Japanese tradition, anyone who folds 1000 origami cranes will be granted a wish by the Gods. For the wedding, she folded 1000 origami cranes to wish Joel and me a happy marriage. We displayed the cranes at the ceremony and reception.
THE CEREMONY
The ceremony took place in a rectangular clearing in the middle of the woods. The trees lined the space and were the perfect backdrop. The arch at the front of the ceremony was made of wood and adorned with large floral bouquets. We also strung some of the origami cranes from the archway. We lined the ceremony walkway with flower petals to give a romantic feel to the space. My brother officiated the wedding and told our love story. We both wrote our own vows. Because we aren’t very religious, our vows were the longest part of the ceremony and were the most meaningful for us.
THE RECEPTION
Our reception was outdoors in a clearing right near the ceremony. Each table had lace doilies handmade by my great-grandmother and flowers matching the ones in the archways and bouquets. We also had a lot of green foliage on the tables. The tables themselves were dark wood.
THE TABLE NAMES & FAVORS
Joel and I have traveled to 18 countries together so far. For the names of the tables at the reception, we chose the names of some of our favorite international cities, like Paris where Joel and I got engaged. To find their table assignments, guests had to go to a table where we laid out golden compasses with the names of each guest on them. Once they found their compass, they had to open the compass to see what city they were “traveling” to. The compasses were also functional compasses and doubled as party favors.
RECOMMENDED VENDORS
Photographer: Clane Gessel Photography // Event & Floral Design: Quality Event Design // Caterer: Great Thyme Catering // Invitations: The Stylish Scribe // Venue: Chalet View Lodge // Video: Ben Ridpath Films
A Perfect Wedding Day in the Blue Ridge Mountains
From the wedding planner, Verge Events:
Kellie and Randy wanted a comfortable lunch reception for their guests who traveled from all over. We chose a palette of red and dark teal to accentuate the gardens of The Farm at Old Edwards. Teal is a special color for Kellie, a gynecologic oncologist, as it is the ovarian cancer awareness color. The beautiful ceremony gardens are beautiful on their own so we chose to accent specific key areas.
Hung down the aisle were sweet canning jars filled with a spectrum of red flowers and tied with teal ribbon.
Canning jars with red flowers were hung with teal ribbon at various lengths from the pergola. 
This wedding was not just the joining of Kellie and Randy in marriage but the uniting of a family. Kellie and her 2 year old son Luke walked to meet Randy who was waiting halfway down the aisle before walking the rest of the way to the altar as a family.
We placed 5 bottles of wine on a table that guests were instructed to sign and the new couple will drink on their next five anniversaries.
The reception took place in The Pavilion, a beautiful glass and beam structure which had a mix of round and square tables that were accented by various mercury glass containers filled with red flowers, a waterfall teal napkin and mini potted succulent favors.
We made teal and red felt flower pillows for the benches along the terrace to invite guests to utilize both the inside and outside spaces. 
Their cake featured a cascade of vibrant red flowers and teal ribbon. Kellie LOVES ice cream so we had an ice cream bar in addition to cake where guests could build their own sundaes.
Kellie & Randy’s RECOMMENDED VENDORS
From the bride…
Photography: Katy Cook Photography. We loved Katy, she is a fabulous photographer.
Venue, Catering & Lodging: The Farm at Old Edwards. Old Edwards is a magical place to get married. We had a billion compliments on the food and all of our guests enjoyed taking advantage of the resort and spa.
Wedding Design and Planning: Verge Events. Brittany was spectacular. I am very busy with work and being a mom so she took my very raw ideas and perfected them.
Flowers: Oakleaf Flower & Garden. Our flowers were gorgeous.
Cake: Creative Pastries by Sid // Wedding Dress: Bianca by Ulla Maija