Weddingbee Blog

I’m finally back with a photo of the driftwood arbor Papa Paisley and I built the other week when I was visiting NorCal. It was fun and quick, taking us about an hour using just screws, a power drill, a pencil and a ladder.

Here ’tis:

I planted Moonflowers (a fast-growing annual) at the base of each post. They’re like Morning glory but white and open at 6 PM, blooming throughout the night with sinful fragrance. If the vines aren’t tall enough by the wedding to reach the top of the arbor, I’ll make a garland out of eucalyptus leaves to hang over it.

I plan to drape billowy white fabric over the top. The goal is for it to look somewhat like this driftwood arbor:

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Here’s some more great driftwood-arbor-inspiration:

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Of course I forgot the inspiration photos at the moment of building. But I knew what I wanted. While it took only an hour to build, I spent about three hours rowing around the lake collecting the driftwood. I eyeballed the pieces for size and it ended up working out, although it’s not quite as wide as I wanted. That’s OK, because there’s room for our officiant to stand inside it and then we will be standing in front, framed by the arbor.

Next up on the Paisley building to-do list is constructing a faux-to booth!

I’ve been scouring flea markets, Goodwill and eBay for cheap fabric, but since I can’t find anything I really like and for the right price, I’m considering turning to wallpaper. Especially when I found out one bolt of (yes, expensive) Amy Butler wallpaper would be way more than enough to make a huge photobooth. The double bolts include 32+ feet of 20-inch wide paper!

I’m on the verge of ordering either Lacework, Fountain or Temple Tulips. I heart that last one, in the aqua color, in a big way! After the wedding, I’d reuse it to line my drawers and wallpaper a small enclave in our dining nook.

I also love that wallpaper is thicker than fabric so it’s less see-through, and I know I can hang a clothesline between two trees and hang the paper from it easily. Some duct tape on the backsides of two sheets of wallpaper should keep them seamlessly in line together.

Stay tuned to see how it turns out!

Have you taken on any projects for your wedding that involves dusting off the old tool belt?