By Georgina Clatworthy

Funnily enough the inspiration for this theme came when I was pegging out the washing & I was looking at the wooden pegs.  The idea I had for those I will tell you later.  But if you are looking for a beautiful outdoor wedding theme, that’s not too prissy, that keeps it simple & has some unique touches, then this one is for you.

I would say this theme best suits a relaxed, informal wedding style, but with some modifications you could adapt it for a formal wedding.

Venue

Outdoor locations such as farms, barns, woodlands & parks.  It would also suit gardens, vineyards & ranches.

Colors

It can really suit any colors you want.  I have used yellow gingham as the background for the picture & I would use gingham throughout.  Red, yellow, white, blue & pastel green are great choices.  But this wedding theme also suits a fall wedding scheme, so shades of brown, red, orange & ochre would work well too.

As a guide I would coordinate the colors with the season of your wedding, pastel shades for spring; bolder primary shades for summer & fall colors for a fall wedding.

Decorations

Look for country style crafts, rusty tin ornaments, bunting, straw bales & hanging lanterns.

Remember those pegs?  Well the thought I had was that they would make great holders for name cards!  Choose either the spring type or dolly pegs, paint them if you want to match your wedding colors & add a ribbon or raffia bow.  If your guests don’t take them home you will have the best dressed washing line in town!

Flowers

Keep with the rustic feel & choose seasonal garden flowers, such as daisies, garden roses, peonies, marguerites & dahlia’s.  If you can’t lay your hands on these in your own or someone else’s garden then chat with your florist about getting hold of garden flowers.

For your arrangements I would place bunches of flowers in enamel jugs, jars or simple vases.  Mix flower types if you want but remember they don’t need to be too styled or placed in a formal arrangement.  Just pick a bunch & stick them in!  Add some corn dollies for a nice rustic touch.

For your bouquets keep with rustic looking hand tied bouquets.

Wedding Favors

Here are a couple of ideas for rustic wedding favors:

Give each guest a lucky horse shoe.  Horse shoes are a symbol of weddings & if you can lay your hands on the real thing they will make great favors.  Tie on a thank you tag with raffia.  Your guests can use them as decorative ornaments or paperweights.

Rusty keys can be found in junk stores & make interesting favors.  Again tie a thank you tag onto them with ribbon or raffia, alternatively attach a key tassle to make an interesting decorative feature for your guests home.

This wedding theme has a homemade feel to it but will look anything but.  It is this feel that will create a homely atmosphere & make your guests feel at home & relaxed.  Oh & finally – the wedding music?  Well Dixie Chicks of course!!