If You Build It, They Will Come

If You Build It, They Will Come

April 22nd, 2010 @ 6:19 pm by Mrs. Dolphin
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Operation: Flow-y Bamboo Wedding Altar

Dolphin Dad and all-around-handyman (he can truly fix and make anything), Ray, have been working on this super secret mission. Okay… so it’s not really super secret, but it made it sounds much cooler to say so.

When Mr. Dolphin and I first started our search for wedding ceremony locations we were so sure we wanted a beach wedding (we had to since nix the idea due to logistics). When searching for inspiration I came across all these beautiful bamboo altars and fell in love with them. Lucky for us, Dolphin Dad just so happened to have bamboo laying around (SCORE!). So after discussing the design with Dolphin Dad, he quickly placed an order for extra bamboo, and he and Ray got into design development. But, before I show you the beautiful bamboo and the mock-up of the altar, check out some of my inspiration for our bamboo wedding altar.

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source Paul Johnson Photography

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Love this image source

Mr. Dolphin and I will be getting married on the golf course down at Plantation Bay Country Club in Ormond Beach. We will be married near one of the golf holes overlooking a lake. Wouldn’t it sound so much fancier if I could tell you which hole it is? Read with your fancy voice: We will be married on the 10th hole. Fancy. But… I can’t find the papers that tell me this so you will just have to use your imagination!

So… imagine beautifully cut short green grass, white wood chairs lined up and at the end a beautiful altar made from this:

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Ooh LA LA!

I love how the bamboo color just POPS off the green palm behind it. Imagine how beautiful it will look draped with white sheer material on the golf course. Love it.

Miniature mock-up of the connections for the wedding altar…

Oh, and check this out:

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The altar folds up for easy moving and storage! Ingenious!

*Note To Florida Brides: It will be available after our May wedding, if anyone is interested!

I’ll tell you all, it really feels great to have to worry about one less thing. When I first mentioned to Dolphin Dad that I wanted to build an altar, I figured I would be ordering the materials, figuring out all the measurements and building it myself (with Dolphin Dad’s help) one Saturday. I was pleasantly surprised when I got an e mail one day that the bamboo had arrived. I didn’t even know Dolphin Dad had ordered it! It sort of made my day. Then when I came home one weekend, he had a mock up of the altar that Ray had built and needed my approval. How awesome is that?

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How gorgeous is that sky? I can’t wait to marry Mr. Dolphin under our flow-y altar.

source

Are you building something special to get married under? What will you do with it after you’re married?

Tags: ceremony, decor, diy, gainesville |

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20 Responses to “If You Build It, They Will Come”

Member

jgoulart (message) 1,069 posts, Bumble bee

I love your idea to have it fold up! My fi was in charge of making our bamboo alter but didn’t have enough time to dry out the bamboo so we ended up renting one… $300 later…. ugh

4/22/10 @ 6:25 pm (reply)

Member

Farfromachildbride (message) 1,006 posts, Bumble bee

Big props to your dad! All of these posts today about awesome bride parents is making me so sentimental!! You, Pug, Trail Mix, Seashell, Turtle, etc. Preciious.

4/22/10 @ 6:36 pm (reply)

Member

audamy (message) 128 posts, Blushing bee

Love the bamboo altar. We’re getting married in the mountains so the FI is building an altar/arbor type thin out of branches from a black walnut tree (that we had to cut down to make room for the tent for our reception).

4/22/10 @ 6:54 pm (reply)

Member

tea (message) 7,288 posts, Bee Keeper

lovely! and i love the portability aspect of it. i plan on building my own canopy. not sure what i’ll do with it afterwards. maybe donate it to the church.

4/22/10 @ 7:22 pm (reply)

Bee

Miss Taco (message) 950 posts, Busy bee

Fab! A friend did something very similar for portability’s sake, and it worked like a charm.

4/22/10 @ 7:36 pm (reply)

Member

elliemae (message) 400 posts, Helper bee

ahh..this is lovely

4/22/10 @ 7:52 pm (reply)

Member

dimabri (message) 39 posts, Newbee

I love that! Question–how will you get it to stand up right? In the beach pictures, it looks secured in the sand so I’m wondering what your plans are for the golf course? We might be having our ceremony at a country club also so I’m curious

4/22/10 @ 8:38 pm (reply)

Bee

Miss Trail Mix (message) 6,328 posts, Bee Keeper

Ooooh, I love the idea of bamboo for the altar, very similar to the idea of a Chuppah in a Jewish wedding! We’re using birch tree instead of bamboo tho!

4/22/10 @ 9:34 pm (reply)

Member

winter (message) 1,333 posts, Bumble bee

that is so beautiful. I cannot wait to see it in action! it will look so natural at your wedding!

4/22/10 @ 11:41 pm (reply)

10.

Member

mebless (message) 512 posts, Busy bee

Soooo beautiful!!! I wish we could, but the Catholic church we’re getting married in is pretty strict!

4/23/10 @ 1:45 am (reply)

11.

Guest

Kpope51486

Ohh…I love! Some of those same pics are in my inspiration board (really more just a file on my computer) for an alter for our beach wedding. No one in my family is really that handy…so I still haven’t figured out how I am going to make that little dream gem come true…we are getting married on Folly Beach in South Carolina at the end of June…It’s getting so close!

4/23/10 @ 8:13 am (reply)

12.

Member

Miss Biner (message) 1,101 posts, Bumble bee

Very cool! We have a couple condos down in Ormond Beach. I’ll be down there for vacation May 5th-9th.

4/23/10 @ 9:02 am (reply)

13.

Member

krissybee (message) 3,921 posts, Honey bee

i think this will turn out beautifully! i’m just relying on the decor of the church

4/23/10 @ 9:03 am (reply)

14.

Member

jingle96 (message) 2,842 posts, Sugar bee

We’re also doing a bamboo altar too for our beach wedding! This was a last minute change, but we’re changed we’re doing it!

4/23/10 @ 9:07 am (reply)

15.

Bee

Mrs. Pug (message) 3,753 posts, Honey bee

oh wow i can’t wait to see how this turns out. go dad!

4/23/10 @ 10:14 am (reply)

16.

Member

alivoo01 (message) 2,622 posts, Sugar bee

I giggled when I read your dad had bamboo just casually lying around! Can’t wait to see the final product!

4/23/10 @ 12:03 pm (reply)

17.

Member

jordynrose (message) 6,351 posts, Bee Keeper

I can’t wait to see how this turns out!

4/23/10 @ 12:03 pm (reply)

18.

Member

cnuptain (message) 330 posts, Helper bee

Looks so amazing! What an amazing touch that your dad can make it, too!

4/23/10 @ 9:51 pm (reply)

19.

Guest

Kpope51486

I’m not getting married in Florida, but in Charleston, South Carolina. I would be very interested in renting/buying this after your wedding. My wedding is June 26th, 2010. I would be more than willing to drive down to pick it up. Are you interested?

5/2/10 @ 2:49 pm (reply)

20.

Bee

Miss Dolphin (message) 503 posts, Busy bee

@Kpope51486: I would be interested. Please Private Message me and I can send you the pictures of the final look of the Altar, complete with the fabric we purchased.

5/3/10 @ 12:54 pm (reply)