Snuggle up with a cup of coffee and cozy blanket before digging into this dark winter wedding inspiration shoot. The event planners at Fresh & Wood created a visual masterpiece worthy of the historic Castell de Caramany venue. Using a mixture of delicate and luxurious textures and a moody color palette with pops of white, they created the perfect balance between old-world elegance and modern romance. The bride’s L’Arca white silk dress with lace overlay, regal fur stole, and vintage diamond head piece are breathtaking. Photographer Yeray Cruz captured it all with incredible attention to detail.
From the photographer: We’ve named this shoot: “une decadence veloutée.” It was inspired by the decadence of trying to find a great balance between what is abandoned and damaged by time (dried flowers, for example) with delicate textiles (velvet, silk, and lace) to create a polished look.
To increasingly believe in imperfect beauty, in going with the flow, in taking off everything that is superfluous, in letting nature slip freely through every gap and every crack, mixing what’s delicate with what’s robust, the decadence with the velvet, the solemnity of a castle with the foliage of a wild forest, the ethereal with the tangible and finding thus that wonderful balance. That is magic. That is harmony.
Gone are the days of “formal” meaning “standard.” When Vanessa and Andrew planned their wedding at Agricola Street Brasserie, they focused solely on elements and traditions that were meaningful to them as a couple. The wedding party’s all-black attire was on point, but the bride’s crystal-embellished Stella York gown definitely stole the show! Vanessa and Andrew kept the guest list small for their intimate ceremony on the patio of the brasserie, followed by a fancy dinner party inside. To add a touch of elegance to the modern-industrial dining space, they used simple gold accents, re-purposed the vibrant wedding bouquets into centerpieces, and displayed beautiful handmade signs with some of their favorite quotes. Every detail was uniquely Vanessa and Andrew, and Chelle Wootten Photography did an amazing job capturing it all!
I decided to create all of our paper goods for the wedding – our invitations, programs, place cards, table numbers, guestbook art, and signage. Although time-consuming, it was a simple process!
Seeing each other for the first time was the most memorable part of the day for me. When I came down the stairs, I spotted Andrew sitting in the booth we’d sat in on our first date, and that’s when the reality of what was about to happen set in.
We didn’t want to do anything just because “that’s what you’re supposed to do at a wedding” except, of course, get married! That meant we chose a restaurant to ensure we had great food and drink, limited the guest list to just our closest family and friends, and omitted any traditions that just didn’t resonate with either of us, resulting in an event that felt more like a well-dressed dinner party and less like your standard wedding.
Whether you’ve got a wedding designer planning every inch of your event or you’re doing it yourself, these DIY wedding décor trends personalize your day while adding a one-of-a-kind flair. From a details as small as name cards and napkin rings to elements as major as your ceremony backdrop and beverage bar, you can take your wedding décor into your own hands — literally — with these stylish DIY ideas. If you don’t consider yourself to be a crafty bride or groom, don’t worry, there’s something here for every skill level!
1. Agate Slices
One of our favorite accents in a modern wedding is the agate slice. On the easy side of things, you can use a gold paint pen to write your table numbers, guests’ names, and more. For intermediate crafters, use Gorilla Glue to attach slices to napkin rings. If you’re really loving the agate slice look and have mad DIY skills, build a ceremony backdrop by drilling small holes into the agate and stringing them together from a sturdy arch.
Of these five trends, dip dying might be the easiest to achieve and the hardest to get wrong. The craft-averse can easily dip paper place cards into various dyes for an ethereal look or to folded coffee filters to create a dessert display backdrop. Casual crafters would enjoy adding dip dye accents to milk glass vases or fabric napkins. Brides with previous dip dying experience can create a wearable piece for their bridal (or even bridesmaids!) look, like the soft pink-dyed shawl below! Remember, the beauty of dip dye is in each piece looking different!
Is there anything that can’t be made from wooden palettes? Those who aren’t as comfortable with cutting wood can use an existing palette as a temporary wall by nailing art, bunting, and signage to it. Love hand lettering? Paint your wedding schedule or dinner menu on a wood palette and lean it against a nearby tree. Happen to be advanced in woodworking? Palette bars are an incredible statement that show off your skills. We can guarantee your guests will be wowed by this one!
Prefer plants to flowers? Add a natural element to your indoor wedding with this unique centerpiece idea! Terrariums can be as simple or involved as you want. Fill a glass globe, bell jar, geometric box with a variety of your favorite plants and foliage. Get creative by building small vignettes inside using books, plastic animal figurines, geodes, and more!
We will never tire of the elegant look a mirror adds to wedding design! A hand-lettered menu, seating chart, or welcome sign looks impossibly classy in a gold frame, while also providing utility on your wedding day. Not confident in your hand-lettering abilities? Sticker decals look just as nice with a fraction of the work!
Kayla and Mark fell in love among the gorgeousness of Houston Museum of Natural Science‘s Gem and Mineral Exhibit, so when it was time to choose a wedding venue, the couple knew it was a no-brainer! Taking design cues from the exhibit’s dramatic mahogany hues, the couple’s jewel-toned agate slice reception décor perfectly mirrored the museum’s natural artifacts. We also love how the couple incorporated details from their fave TV show, The Walking Dead, in the groom’s cake, the boutonnieres, and even a surprise pinball machine! Leighanne Herr captured this Houston Museum of Natural Science wedding perfectly, including a meaningful balloon release before the ceremony.
My most important focus was my husband. I wanted to do anything I could to incorporate what he loved, as well as what I loved. We just wanted our entire day to reflect us, and we wanted our guests to walk in and say, “Oh, this is definitely Mark and Kayla‘s wedding.” It was just important to us that all of our family and friends felt like they were truly celebrating with us, which is why we opted for a more intimate ceremony.
I had been going to the Houston Museum of Natural Science since I was little, and my favorite exhibit was alway the gem and mineral exhibit. I would just gaze upon all of the glistening stones; I would spend hours in there. So one of our first dates had to be there. And Mark did just that with me. Gaze upon gems for hours. We just knew that it would be a dream come true to say our vows amongst the very treasures where we began to fall in love.
Our first look was such a surreal moment. We both opened our eyes at the same time, and cried. I just couldn’t believe that my soon to be husband was standing in front of me; I didn’t want to take my eyes off of him. It was a moment that I felt I had been waiting for since we met.
We added touches of our favorite TV show anywhere we could. If any one knows us at all, they know we are the absolute biggest fans of The Walking Dead. I put tiny Walking Dead lego men in the boutonnieres and I had a Walking Dead grooms cake of the iconic doors from the first episode, I had one of our best friends (who married us) put what he was going to say in our favorite Walking Dead issue, we added in “I vow to always have our Walking Dead Sundays,” in our traditional vows, and lastly I surprised Mark with a Walking Dead Pinball machine at our reception. I tried to tie it in the best I could with out it feeling like a comic book store; but in the end even if it did feel that way, that is Mark and I!
My best friend had passed away right when Mark and I began to date; She absolutely adored Mark so I wanted to send her a message that she was always right. He is perfect, and now he was becoming my husband. So her mom, Mark and I all wrote little notes and sent them her way. It meant the world to me to have that photographed.
I really pulled ideas from anywhere. We both love the cold weather, which we don’t get much of in Texas so it was important to us for our wedding to be at the beginning of January. We also wanted a very intimate feel, so we had every one stand at our ceremony, so they could be standing with us.
Our advice: Have fun! Mark and I spent a little more than a year just enjoying being engaged. We did everything together to plan, and it honestly was some of the most fun times we have had together.
I tied in the gemstones with things such as our agate slice place cards, and more decor. I also really drew from my ring, which belonged to my Great Grandmother. Very art deco feel, which I tied in with the bridesmaids dresses. The main focus was intimacy; we had a nice dinner outside at two long tables so it felt just like a family feast.
We DIYed our dance floor! I wanted a very specific look with the gold and white squares, so we figured let’s make it ourselves!
Between long roads that disappear into the horizon, the tallest mountains in Texas, and some of the coolest desert vibes on Earth, West Texas is one of our favorite landscapes for destination weddings. A stunning Casa La Vista ceremony under an arch made of handpicked cedar posts led to an unforgettable evening of dinner and dancing at the Marathon Motel. Briana and James knew they wanted every inch of their wedding reception to be personalized, so they enlisted the help of their very talented florist, photographer, and caterer friends who chipped in to create the couple’s dream reception. We truly can’t get enough of the eclectic, otherworldly tablescapes Transplants Floral created with unexpected mixtures of desert flora, ocean corals and driftwood, and quartz formations! Jennifer Moher Photography‘s eye for natural emotion and light makes this wedding a true stand-out.
We had talked about getting married for years and knew that if we were going to have an actual wedding, it would be a destination so we could have our closest friends and family to together for an entire weekend. I am a wedding photographer and James works with me 90% of the time, so we’ve been to A LOT of weddings. Having that experience made us not only aware of what we wanted but more importantly, what we didn’t want. When weddings are a part of your every day life, you see the same things over and over. Nothing against that, but we made sure we didn’t do anything that didn’t have meaning to us personally. No wedding party, no cake cutting, no hiding from everyone before the ceremony, just a kick ass party in the desert with good music, good food, and talented photographers we could trust to document it all.
Hands down, our ceremony was the most memorable part of the day. It had been really hot in the days leading up to our wedding and we were pretty worried about standing in the blazing sun for our ceremony. The desert can really take its toll on you and we were already drained from the work we had been doing to get everything ready. Just after we arrived to the ceremony house, a cool, ocean-like breeze blew in with much some much needed clouds and it couldn’t have been more perfect.
One of our best friends married us and her daughter, Harper, was our flower girl. Originally, Harper had planned to sit with her dad during the ceremony to help keep her baby sister entertained but in the moment she decided to stand with us at the ceremony site. It melted all of our hearts so much. It was definitely the happiest, most special moment of our lives.
We had selected every musical aspect for the wedding weekend but by a fluke “Apache” by The Shadows started playing while James and our guests walked out to the ceremony site. I was standing with my dad and our sweet flower girl and it was more beautiful and cinematic than anything I could have ever imagined.
The cedar posts for our ceremony site were gathered from our family farm in Muldoon, Texas. I met my family there one weekend and we drove around selecting the wood, then my dad and uncle helped me build it out. The farm has been in our family for many generations and it was so special to have those pieces from the land as a part of our ceremony.
Originally we wanted to get married in Big Sur but logistically it wasn’t adding up for us. West Texas is where we went on our first trip together and is a huge inspiration to us and our work. We decided on Marathon because it’s our favorite of the the small towns in the Big Bend region and one of James‘ favorite movies, ‘Paris, Texas,’ has a scene filmed at the Marathon Motel. We wanted the mountains to be the backdrop for our ceremony and found Casa La Vista online. It was difficult to get a feel for it from the photos so we went to scope it out last spring. We walked around to the back of the house and found a perfect little spot carved out with the mountains behind us. We knew in that moment we had found the perfect place.
I also designed and vegetable dyed all of the place cards and table numbers just days before we left town for the wedding. I was really happy I did it in the end, though I did almost lose my mind in the process. They turned out really lovely and looked like miniature desert landscapes. I found a tutorial online here.
A couple of weeks before the wedding some girl friends came over to drink champagne and shibori dye all of the dinner napkins. It was a lot of work but we made a day of it and had so much fun.
Our photographers Jen and Hugh could not have been more wonderful to work with. They fit right in with our group and everyone absolutely adored them. We are so grateful we forever have these memories captured so beautifully.
Everyone tells you this but really, SLOW down and take it all in. I thought our experience with weddings would have prepared us for everything but it really does fly by in the blink of an eye. Also, ask for as much help as possible. Every aspect of our wedding was customized by one of us or a friend. It made everything extremely personal to us but we did far more work than we anticipated leading up to the wedding.
Music is a huge part of our lives so it was definitely a really important aspect of planning for us. I walked down the aisle with my dad to Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Albatross’, our recessional was the demo version of ‘I Found A Reason’ by The Velvet Underground and our first dance was to ‘I Love You Baby’ by The Troggs. Many of our close friends are musicians so we had a few guest appearances. Chris Catalena (who is also responsible for setting us up!) surprised us with a sweet serenade of love songs, our good friends, Christian Bland & The Revelators, played a Buddy Holly set and another close friend, Al Lover, DJ’d the dance party until we literally couldn’t stand anymore.
Jenna and Brian weren’t trying to please anyone else when they planned their wedding; they wanted their big day to be a true reflection of themselves, so they were married by an Elvis impersonator who also performed live music during the cocktail hour. Jenna and Brian said “I do” at The Valley Green Inn, which they chose because of its beauty and quaintness. They settled on a retro and vintage vibe with an added cherry blossom twist; they wanted to incorporate Japan into the wedding because it was where they got engaged. They even gave out tea bags of Japanese Sencha tea as wedding favors, and just before the reception Ian Shiver of Viva Love Photography captured some gorgeous portraits of the couple in the woods surrounding the inn.
I definitely went for a 1950’s retro look. I always knew that’s what I wanted. I had my wedding dress custom made from Dolly Couture. I also had my shoes custom made from Shoes of Prey.com. They were aqua leather, with a leopard fur platform. I had to get the leopard in there somehow!
The most memorable part I think was seeing the look on my mother’s face when she saw that our officiant was Elvis. No one knew, only us and my sister. The guests were totally shocked and loved it.
The most important part for us was that we didn’t make it about someone else just to make family happy. We wanted it to be a complete representation of who we are, and not go overboard.
Everything pretty much was DIY. Too much actually. I made TONS of paper flowers out of coffee filters. I dyed and assembled them all by hand. It was a lot of work, but they were really pretty. My mom helped me make an arch out of branches that looked like cherry blossom trees. I made my own bouquets/boutonnieres from fake flowers. Since I’m a graphic designer, I designed my own invitations and place cards.
Wanting a venue that showcased every bit of California’s natural beauty, Danielle and John married at Rancho Chiquita. Photographer Jenna Bechtholt captured the candid moments throughout the day, including the moment Danielle and John said “I do” atop a cliff overlooking the Pacific Canyon. The couple’s dusty blue, gold, and muted gray color palette looked great in addition to the naturally bright blue California sky, not a cloud in sight. At the end of the day, Danielle and John got to celebrate their wedding with everybody they thought played a part in their love journey, and that sounds like a perfect day to us!
Almost 100% of the people attending our wedding were coming from out of state. We wanted to give our guests a quintessential “California” experience. Everything from our cliffside venue overlooking the Pacific Ocean to the Santa Maria Tri-Tip entree had an essence of the state. We also selected vintage stamps for our invitations that showcased California, seashells, flowers and ocean creatures.
My wedding dress is so special to me for so many reasons. It truly seemed like it was made to match my venue! It is a perfect cross between lots of sparkle, while having bohemian and vintage flair. My dress was hand beaded with lots of opals, which reflected the blue hues of my bridesmaids’ dresses.
The most memorable part of the day was seeing each other for the first time. We opted to keep it traditional and forego a “first look.” That meant that the first time John would see me in my dress walking was down the aisle towards him. The first moment we made eye contact down the aisle was emotional and unforgettable.
Although John and I are both from the Midwest, we knew when we wanted to get married in a beautiful outdoor setting. Since we were already living in Los Angeles, getting married in Malibu (overlooking Solstice Canyon) was an obvious choice.
I truly loved every second of wedding planning. I tried to focus on our journey up to the “Big Day” as one big experience. We decided to have a longer engagement (18 months) to give us plenty of time to plan, which allowed us to have very hands-on roles throughout the process.
I found both of our vintage gold frames in a yard sale! I had new mirrors added into the frames and hand painted them gold with my mom. I then gave them to a calligrapher to personalize for the reception. They were stunning!
We had a lot of time to really think out some great little details, like our mussel shell place cards. We sourced real shells and had a calligrapher hand-write each guests name on their shell, which made it very personable and unique! Many people took the shells home, which was a perfect small & lightweight memento of the occasion.
Our favorite surprise of the entire day was during our first dance, where all of the bridesmaids and groomsmen showered us with confetti. It was a great way to make our first dance extra special and surprise the guests!
Deciding who would be invited to our wedding was actually very important to us. We wanted it to feel special and personal. It was very important to have an intimate ceremony with the people we carried closest to our hearts.
An ocean view setting, lush greenery, and a touch of DIY all came together to create Eivind and Live’s tropical wedding at Devold Fabrikken in Norway. Arriving by boat, the couple exchanged vows in an intimate setting atop a small pier. Michaela Klouda Photography perfectly captured the sweet couple as they explored the breathtaking surroundings.
From the couple: We wanted black and white striped tablecloths, but struggled to find ready made ones within budget. Therefore we ended up buying a large amount of fabric from IKEA instead, and the bride’s mother was kind enough to help with the sewing. We also wanted to have copper pots and vases for all the centre pieces. Some we bought at second hand shops, but most of them we borrowed from family and friends. We also made all the place cards ourselves, from store bought gift tags that we embossed with our own monogram, hand wrote all the names, and tied with black and white ribbons. As for the flower decorations, we managed to keep the costs down by picking buckets of big, green ferns fresh from the area. Again with a lot of help from family and friends – we really couldn’t have done any of this without them! Not sure this counts as DIY, but the the bride spent a lot of time on the Norwegian “Craigslist” chasing down a special bronze cutlery from Thailand. Just days before the wedding we were still sixteen pieces short, but surprisingly enough we found matching gold cutlery at the local flower shop!
Advice from the couple: If you’re a control freak, and you’re scared to delegate – Excel spreadsheets is your friend! Especially for those last few days just before the wedding. That way everyone knows the who, what, when and where of everything, and you get a chance to relax a bit (sort of). Also, if you need to prioritize, hiring a professional wedding photographer should definitely be on the top of your list. Our photographer, Michaela Klouda, did a tremendous job at capturing all those beautiful moments, many of which we didn’t even realize had taken place until we saw the photos!
Every couple deserves a color palette and wedding design that is true to their style. That’s why ElizabethDuncanEvents has put together four distinctive table-setting designs that are sure to inspire creativity this wedding season! Pulling this season’s inspiration straight from the runway, Elizabeth tells you her creative process along the way.
Colorful Party
Pops of color add a punch here and there, but, this year, the runways were full of rainbow stripes. Blending this trend with bold geometrics and a little Kate Spade preppy chic, resulted in a fun and vibrant design.
– Elizabeth
Gingham is everywhere this season, so we took the it-print of the moment and paired it with rustic and masculine details for the perfect industrial garden-inspired design.
– Elizabeth
Incorporating one of the “Cool” colors of the season and another trend all over the runways, brilliant beading, we designed a wedding that encapsulates the glamour and decadence of the early 1920s.
– Elizabeth
Sunshine and happiness go hand in hand. That’s why we took a cue from Jenny Packham’s 2015 line and let yellow be our inspiration for a tropical beach-inspired wedding. Palm leaves, pineapples, and plenty of bright yellow blooms are a perfect way to brighten your wedding day.
– Elizabeth
After a romantic proposal weekend spent in tiny rustic cabin near hot springs, waterfalls, and mountains in Colorado, Stuart and Aly made the decision to host their enchanting wedding with the same theme. With all of its rustic character, the Red Barn at Golden Gate Canyon State Park was the perfect place for Stuart and Aly’s natural wedding. We love how the couple wrote the guests’ names on stones instead of using traditional place cards. And, to top it all off, the amazing Geoff Duncan was there to capture this incredible DIY wedding!
We didn’t want to feel limited by a certain theme so we just went with what we liked! A little rustic, a little boho, a little southwest and a lot D.I.Y.! We wanted our friends in the wedding party to look good and feel good, so we gave them a little direction and trusted them to find something that worked. In the end, I am so glad we went this route. Our friends have great style and I’m happy it shows on our wedding day.
The Moments:
It’s all my favorite! Hearing Stuart’s vows while we were tucked into an aspen grove surrounded by everyone we love was pretty incredible. I’ll also never forget all the wonderful and heartfelt speeches from our friends and family… Including the one where one of my Maids of Honor decided we should sing a duet right then and there! Belting out Harry Nilsson’s “Let the Good Times Roll” goes in the books as my first karaoke experience!
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