another wedding...

I was fortunate this past weekend to have the opportunity to help out at a family wedding... not only with loaning some of my "treasures" but also with decorating beforehand as well.  When the bride and my cousin approached me a few weeks back I was thrilled to hear that the bride's ideas were pretty eclectic!  One of my favorite styles of decorating, of course if you've been here before you probably noticed that about me.

I think one of my top 5 favorite things at this wedding was actually a bit of a happy accident.  The bride wanted to borrow my vintage metal wash stand, I believe to hold ice and bottled water.  On Friday during the set up the water idea was nixed but the plan to fill the tub with extra flowers turned out to be truly inspirational!  I know I will be trying this myself at some future Red Gate Farm party!

 A little vignette filled the space under the wash stand... a couple of soda pop crates, lace doilies and silver full of baby's breath.

A little different angle shows off the front of an old card file drawer that usually rests on my coffee table.

This little alcove was one of the first areas I tackled on Friday morning.  I have a number of panels of sheer curtains from IKEA used in my daughter's wedding as well as my niece's.  I believe this is 12 panels (or 6 sets) and these panels are just $5 for two!  Super large and very "tulle like", they filled this space like a wispy ballerina tutu.

You may recognize this chalkboard sign from my daughter's wedding... as well as the "wedding cakes" sign.

The gold and white paper and tissue fans filled in the other side of the space.  Pink, pale green and gold were the predominate colors the bride was using.  You can't tell from this photo but this pink tablecloth is sequined!  So cute and sparkly.

In hindsight, twinkle lights behind the sheers would have been perfect!  The actual wedding day was pretty gray and gloomy so this little spot could have used a bit of light.

 Along with the colors, the wedding vibe was all about lace and vintage bits like old silver, china and even perfume bottles.

One of my vintage lamps (one of many used here) fills in with some height... and that little gold purse is just the right amount of sparkle.

Words like "love" and signs like "&" were sprinkled all about.

More love and silver...

Even a vintage hand bag made the cut.  This black velvet and gold handbag belonged to a good friend of my mom's and hung on my bedroom wall for a few years.

Lace doilies and lace trimmed linens too.

Gold, silver and pearls.

Vintage lamps and hydrangeas... a fun combination!

An old 5 or 6 foot ladder the bride found on the side of the road was filled with love, literally.

 And that roadside find ladder was a bit wobbly... so my little step ladder propped up the side like a happy little sister.  All around was filled with more bits of vintage from my stash and flowering plants.

 The bride and groom used 4 of these spools in various spots.  Fun to dress up the top and the bottom!

A final little vignette in this area with an "R" for the happy couple's name.

 And back around the covered area to that wash stand...

It was not only filled, it filled a need too.

Anchoring the end of the tables!  You can see them lined up behind.. this also gives a good view of the center of the covered area and the nook with the cake in the back.  In front of this area was the dance floor for the reception so adding this to the end of the table made for a pretty backdrop.

You can see that this venue is a rustic shelter made of logs.  Along with all the gold, pink, green, lace and pretty bits and pieces the rustic element was part of the wedding too; making this venue the ideal spot for this wedding.

This venue is also perfect for this little community of farmers and loggers to host weddings, parties and other events.  This venue was built over time by a local farmer on the edge of his property and includes a covered area, an open area, bathroom, lots of parking, camping areas and tons of spots to pick from for the actual ceremony.

The groom's sisters were the sign makers for the day... a cute one for the bar area.

Here you can see the river that flows on the edge of this property... pretty low this year as we've had a dry summer but still a pretty back drop for the reception.  And you may recognize this little bench...

And chair... a couple of more items from my house.

They made for a nice area to sit for a bit during the reception... or a pretty spot for a picture or two.

 Another little resting spot was created...

 More pieces from my house including this new little wicker shelf from my local thrift store, staged with fun pieces from Red Gate Farm.  This sign was all a work of art from the groom's sisters... and made from a slab of wood... you can still see the raw or live edge!

 A close up of pink, green, lace and rustic elements.

The bride's vision for her tables came to life with pieces she had collected and some extra pieces from my collections to fill out the table center pieces.

Teacups filled with succulents...

More silver, teacups, votive candles in wood and sheds or antlers.

The bride had also collected hydrangeas from a variety of sources and they looked fabulous!

 I didn't take pictures of the actual tables but they were all built by the groom and his friends and family!  What a wonderful contribution to the day!!

 One of the reserved family tables.

 Teapots in silver and china were on most of the tables.

A couple of my birthday presents even made it into the decorating... my cute blue cruiser bike, a birthday gift from my husband.

And the bike basket was also a birthday gift this year.   Filled with an old piece of linen and a cute little sign it was just the spot for guests to leave cards.

A strategically placed table for gifts...

And the bride's welcome bunting/banner and this vignette was complete!

The sign in table was to the left and was another one of the rustic spools. A lace covered arbor added some needed height.  When decorating in a wide open space like this it can be hard to make a vignette look "big enough"! 

Since the area of the ceremony was on the edge of a field, remember this is a farm, this area and the gift/bike/welcome area also created an "entrance" to guide guests towards the actual ceremony site... as did a sign or two!

It was a bit of a walk as you can see here...

The forested space runs along the river and to the right is the wide open farmland of this little valley.  I love the the rustic stumps that have been left behind.

Coming up to the ceremony site.

The bride had cuts of wood along the aisle.  A morning windstorm blew the pretty pink jars full of baby's breath and lavender onto the ground so you don't see them here... fortunately there were no casualties!

The altar area was very simple.  Just a couple of vintage doors and a few potted chrysanthemums.

And those doors?  Well those belong to my husband.  When the bride and mother of the groom stopped by a couple of months back to look over my stash of goodies my husband suggested these doors he had been hiding keeping safely in the chicken coop.  I think I've mentioned before that he "collects" doors and windows!  He made a couple of stands for the doors and with the unusual glass panes and white color they were perfect for this spot!

You may have noticed those benches mixed in with white rental chairs?  Well the groom made these to match all those tables!

Here is most of the wedding party, river behind them, seated at some of those gorgeous tables... the bride and groom's table was a bit wider than the others and had the most beautiful life edge on it!

It was such a fun and beautiful event to be a small part of...

Although the Friday we set up and decorated turned out to be hot, hot, hot... (we even broke the temperature record for that day!). The day of the wedding was cloudy, and more than a bit breezy, any actual rain held off and it turned out to be such a beautiful gathering.

Now it's time to put all the goodies away and rest up for the upcoming long weekend!  How about you?  How have you spent these last few days of August?
Chris at Red Gate Farm