I present to you, my darling friends, our ceremony site:
Pretty boring, huh? The view is gorgeous, and the built-in seating is pretty awesome… but otherwise we’ve got a big, blank canvas. Sometimes “big blank canvas” can mean expensive decorations. I am determined to avoid that, as our budget is bursting at the seams already. Time to get creative!
I’ve read that it’s always a good idea to have some sort of altar if you’re holding a wedding outdoors. That way, everyone knows where to stand and it doesn’t feel like the bride and groom are standing out in the middle of nowhere. While doing my research, I found photos from another couple who was married at Crissy Field a couple of years ago. They had a giant pot full of flowers to serve as a sort of altar (those are the ceremony musicians under that umbrella):
I don’t think a giant pot is going to be necessary for us, because we’ll have our chuppah. However, one thing I was concerned about was the “no aisle” problem. I really want an aisle. I searched high and low for pictures of outdoor aisles, and really liked this one, which I found from knottie blackcurrant:
I’m not much of a pomander kind of gal, though (I didn’t even know what the heck a pomander was until I started planning this wedding!), and I preferred some waist-high shepherd hooks. When I started searching online for shepherd hooks, I was appalled at the prices. I certainly did not intend to spend $15 for each one when I’d probably need at least a dozen! Luckily I found a place that sold them for under $2 each (although I really wouldn’t recommend this place–it took three months for them to arrive, and I’m not even sure if they still carry them), so I bought 20. They showed up the other day. Here they are (please pardon the not-so-lovely photo):
They aren’t as attractive as blackcurrants, but hey–you can’t beat $1.37, can you?! They’re 3 feet tall and 1/4″ in diameter.
I haven’t exactly figured out what to hang off of them. Because they’re so thin, we won’t be able to hang anything heavy. I am thinking about connecting all of them with some not-cheesy-looking tulle (or ribbon), like this (from knottie bigbootyjudy):
But I still think we need to hang something off of them. I’ve nixed the pomander idea (too expensive and too girly, I think), but I’m toying around with the idea of hanging white tea cups with colorful flowers inside. Although I haven’t quite figured out how to actually execute this idea (and they might be too heavy), I think it could be whimsical and cute, plus kind of funny (my friend Amanda is also Jewish, and her fiance is half Chinese–she asked if we were going to be making any jokes about breaking a tea cup instead of a glass!). I’m also a little concerned that 20 tea cups could get kind of expensive.
So… I’m also thinking about Chinese lanterns, like these:
I’m kind of worried that they could look tacky, though.
I’ve seen tin buckets with flowers (too country), mason jars (too heavy) and lanterns (also too heavy). Anybody got any other ideas?
I was thinking something to tie in your location…by the sea and lightweigt…and I then I thought *seaweed*! I am so kidding!!! I suggest going to Richards in Alamo - they have great ideas! I also thought about a few (not very loud) wind chimes alternating with the tea cups.
How about pinwheels? They are so fun and happy, something that seems to fit with your personalities.
Something like this: http://christianpreschoolprintables.com/blog1/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/Pinwheel2.JPG
Except with different paper design.
Mmm…that’s a slight dilemma. I think the lanterns could be very nice though, not the string ones and not the huge globe ones, but maybe some small to medium sized square/rectangular/oval (I’m thinking skip the circle shape, since it’s done so much that it might be too obvious) lanterns in a softer color, tied at the top with a wide silk or satin ribbon….just avoid the white b/c of the Chinese thing. Excited to hear what you end up choosing!
i think the paper lanterns would look great, not tacky! they come in so many different colors so you can match them to whatever. i found a 4 pack of the battery operated ones at cost plus…you can buy one and hang it on there and see how you like it [double bonus if you don't, you can always return it!]. if you’re worried about tackiness, you can always alternate hooks to lessen the chance it could be too much.
i also like the paper cones and wind chimes suggestions from amandapsu and carrie.
What about tissue flowers? There is a great pattern at:
http://www.marthastewart.com/article/pom-poms-and-luminarias
I made them for our rehearsal dinner, and they are actually much bigger than I thought they would be! We scaled it down for the majority of the flowers, but the big ones are fun too!
You have such great taste, so I’m sure whatever you go with will be beautiful!
bells or chimes would be nice… catch that bay breeze and have a nice musical breeze to complement your already beautiful setting.
I second paper cones of flowers, or if you don’t like paper, you can get metal ones.
You could also make decorative paper signs with favorite poems or good wishes from family calligraphed onto them. With a few flowers and some ribbon, they could make really nice sentimental decorations. I’m picturing them hanging like oversized gift tags, with a few trailing ribbons and a cluster of flowers at the top.
I love Ant’s pinwheel idea. (And her GIANT icon!) You could make them in colors to match the huppah to tie everything together. Instead of putting them on a stick, they could be wired to the end of the shepard’s hook. And they’d be easy to transport to the reception venue, if you wanted to re-use them for decoration there.
Since your mom and your aunt are silk screening the huppah, maybe they could screen some extra fabric to drape between the hooks? If you used wide strips, it would look a little more substantial than ribbon and might actually cost less, depending on the fabric.
I like the lanterns idea but maybe in white or blue or pale pink for a classier feel, that wouldn’t be cheesy. In addition to/or instead of tying a few blooms to each hook with some pretty ribbon would also look lovely.
big glass hurricanes with candles? That would be expensive but I bet someone rents stuff like that…
I also think you could make the lanterns classy, like vyeta7 mentioned, with a paler shade!
I love the lantern idea. Very cool and modern and something that you don’t see too often in terms of creating an aisle.
One thing to worry about is the wind. Will they be blowing all over the shepard hooks? Maybe weighing them down might help the stability…..
Love the idea though. And I know that you have all those fabulous colors so it would be way cool!!
I like the picture a lot with the candles and the ribbon. Crissy Field probably wouldn’t allow candles but I like the teacup idea.
No one will notice what the shepherd hooks will look like anyway. It’ll be all about what’s hanging off them.
I just thought of a good example of how you might NOT want to combine your Jewish and Chinese heritage into your wedding decorations (although it would be sort of awesome):
http://www.orientaltrading.com/application?origin=page.jsp&namespace=browse&event=link.itemDetails&categoryId=377320&BP=2110&cm_mmc=Google-_-Froogle-_-Froogle-_-Froogle&sku=4/4206
JoAnne has the hooks onsale a few days ago. The shorter ones were less than $2 too!
Sorry- try that again….
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e366/ehuefner/875860274505_0_ALB.jpg
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e366/ehuefner/678841274505_0_ALB.jpg
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e366/ehuefner/359804153505_0_ALB.jpg
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e366/ehuefner/EKaisle.jpg
what about something like this:
http://www.projectwedding.com/photo/browse?photo_to_show=last&tag=flowers+white&thumbs_page=6
Hows about some long ribbons that extend to the grass? You can match your wedding colors. Then they can blow around a bit in the wind and dress up the aisle a bit without being too flowery.
Those are photos from our wedding– I doubted the lanterns at first, also worried about “tacky”- but the outcome was fantastic! Everyone commented about how original and fresh they looked 
Those are photos from our wedding– I doubted the lanterns at first, also worried about “tacky”- but the outcome was fantastic! Everyone commented about how original and fresh they looked
I was going to suggest something like what SoireeLaura said. Sounds like a simple, and not-too-costly way to dress up an aisle!
Elisa - have you sold your lanterns already? Where did you buy them from?
Elisa, I love how the lanterns looked at your ceremony. What size lanterns did you get? And if you wouldn’t mind sharing, where did you purchase them?
Remember that you can always spray-paint the hooks or anything you’d like to hang on them (i.e. tin buckets) to make them look less country bumpkin. Lots of options there. Good luck!
Chicacero & Miss Cream Puff–
Just emailed my aunt about lanterns…will forward on the info as soon as i hear back!
I think the lanterns would be beautiful, and if you thin the paper adn roundness might be tacky you could look for a differnt shape. Like longer oval ones, or square. japaneseweddingfavors.com has some to get you started, but you can find them in many shapes
Wow, thank you so much for all of your wonderful suggestions!! I called my mom and asked her how easy it would be to die some silk to match the chuppah…in turn, she called my aunt and they decided it wouldn’t be difficult at all!! So thank you, beanchar!
I really like ALL of your suggestions. I am thinking we will probably go with the lanterns to match the colors of the chuppah, like Elisa showed in her pictures and as so many of you guys suggested. Even though I would really like to avoid yet another DIY project (although who am I kidding? I’m addicted!) I really like Laura’s tissue pom pom idea (and thanks for the compliment, Laura!). The pinwheel idea is also cute!
Carrie–thank you for the recommendation on Richard’s! I’d never even heard of it, but I bookmarked it on Yelp and will totally head out there!
twelvetigers–you make a good point with the spray paint! My mom is coming to visit next week and we’re planning to take a trip out to crissy field to experiment. I think we’ll decide then whether they need to be painted. Hopefully they look great as they are!
katya–I don’t know what you’re talking about. Those lanterns are magnificent. I think I may use them as centerpieces.
I would pay money to see those lanterns used as centerpieces at a wedding! I can’t wait to see what Leanne will do with them. 
How about just wrappung them with ribbon and hanging more streamers of ribbon from the hook. You could hang small bells that would tinkle in the wind from the ribbon.
[...] We got a lot accomplished! One of the items on our to-do list was to visit Crissy Field with our shepherd hooks and figure out how long the aisle will [...]
Elisa,
I absolutely love your paper lanterns! I would also like to know how your aunt made them…hope to hear from you soon.
If anyone is looking for some reasonable prices on paper lanterns, go to asianideas.com. They also have great prices on paper hand fans…all colors for both!
Mrs. Cream Puff, San Francisco Bay Area
Age and Occupation: 25, Illustrator
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Merchandise Planner
Engagement Date: May 27, 2007
Wedding Date: August, 2008
Blogging Since: February 7, 2008
Venue: Ceremony at Crissy Field and Reception at the Green Room
About Me: I never dreamed about my wedding as a little girl because I was too busy playing in the mud or pretending to be Martha Stewart–but now that it's here, I'm having a fabulous time DIYing everything in sight! We’re planning a very fun multicultural wedding (I'm Jewish and Mr. Cream Puff is Chinese), filled with as many personal details as I can muster.
How about paper cones with flowers? You can hang them from the hooks with ribbon…