Inspiration Board : Marisa's Pretend Wedding

I am very excited today to finally share with you my first "pretend wedding." As you may have read on the pretend wedding form or in my introduction post, this is just for a bit of fun. It is a way for me to be inspired by real people's fresh ideas. I then take the submitted ideas and let my mind run with them as I look at blogs, and wedding sites on the web. So now I'd like to introduce you to Marisa's pretend, natural themed wedding.

Marisa submitted a wedding that was centered on all things natural: natural lighting, bark, stones, wild flowers, etc.


The Color Palette:
Light grey, a soft yellow, a sunset orange, and a muted green tea ice cream green.

Location:

Marisa requested an outdoor ceremony in a meadow with mountains as the backdrop. :) I like your style, and in fact 3 different locations come to my mind.
- Pomeroy Historic Farm in Yacolt, WA:-Hume Lake, CA:

-and Sauvie Island, OR:


When thinking about a nature themed wedding I think of burlap sacks, twine, herbs, wild flowers, moss, and stepping stones to lead guests to the reception area. Which, in Marisa's case, would like her reception to be held in a nearby barn of sorts.

Jars hanging from twine could be used to form walk-ways, or to tell guests where to be seated. Oo! If you were to do the latter, how awesome would it be to have guests untie their candle and bring it to their seat to add to the centerpieces?
I spotted this adorable, and simple centerpiece on none other than the BHLDN website. I like the DIY look it gives. Plus, using herbs for centerpieces in place of flowers can be an inexpensive way to add some fresh greens to the table.
I love the look of bark and tree stumps. Use these that have slits in them to place table numbers into or use a couple of them on the guest book table to hold signs.
I also like the idea of using herbs to toss as the bride and groom depart. Give guests there very own little burlap sack full of clippings.


Ways to incorporate your colors:
Incorporating your colors would come largely from table linens and flower choices: bouquets and centerpieces. Since this wedding is set in the summer months, ensure that the orange doesn't move things into fall by pairing it with greens and yellows and staying away from brown. Here are some I found that I think would be lovely.




Last but not least, some fun guestbook/ favor ideas:

engraved stones as paperweights on the guest table or as place cards on the tables
I also like the idea of guests writing a word on a stone to describe the couple and then adding the stone to a garden or vase for the couple to keep.

oh and two final images:
Check out these cool birch wood napkin rings.
and gray bridesmaid dress from jcrew:


Marisa, thank you for daydreaming with me!

Sources: Where did I get these images?
1. & 2. http://theyoungrens.com/blog/weddings/jenny-and-graham-hotel-del-coronado/
3. In Writing Planter: http://www.bhldn.com/product/in-writing-planter#
4. Tree stumps: http://classifieds.weddingbee.com/topic/wood-slices-and-small-tree-stumps
5. http://ravenmoonlight.com/catalog/index.php/cPath/113_116
6. & 7. & 8. & 9. http://weddings.theknot.com/
10. http://www.elizabethannedesigns.com/blog/2011/03/01/hudson-valley-farm-wedding/
11. http://holyordinary.blogspot.com/2010/03/30-days-of-hearing-silent-stones.html
12. http://www.bhldn.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.detail/productID/ab73ad72-9ff8-47f0-8a98-db22c5d745e8/categoryID/ad446e74-6c33-4f83-b8e9-38d24d3fc7e6
13. http://www.jcrew.com/womens_category/dresses/eveningdinner/PRDOVR~41367/41367.jsp

Introduction: Pretend Weddings and Inspiration Boards

Inspiration comes in many shapes and sizes:

the way a paper is folded,
crumbs on a table,
a friend,
the shape of a building,
a beautiful image,
the smell of muffins baking in the oven,
a video,
a book,
a nail polish color,
the blue sky,
the wrinkles on an elephant at the zoo,
an artist,
a typeface,
textures,
the mistake you drew with your pen,
the complimentary colors that naturally occur in nature,
or a pretend wedding.

... come again? Pretend wedding? Perhaps the idea of dreaming up a wedding you likely have no intention of participating in sounds crazy, and well, maybe it is. However, inspiration can be found in make-believe, which is exactly what I intend to do with every pretend wedding submitted. The purpose of submitting a pretend wedding (which you can do by clicking on the tab above) is to provide me with some real life ideas. With your submitted ideas I can then practice taking your vision and find visuals that fit that vision. I will then compose the images into a collage and post them to My Paper Airplane to view. Images will be taken from various websites and sources. You can trust that all images used will be sited properly back to the original source.

It's really just a bit of fun. Who doesn't like dreaming about weddings and viewing lovely things collaged in a magazine-style format?