Creating a Ceremony Space

Creating a Ceremony Space

September 22nd, 2010 @ 4:10 pm by Mrs. Meerkat
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I am so excited to have our ceremony on Al Cielo’s beach. It is basically a blank canvas to define any type of ceremony space we want. I spent over five months researching different styles of decor for the beach, but the inspiration I found online was the same thing over and over: chuppah, chairs with colored sashes, and a raffia aisle. That is, until I saw this…

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…and I knew this was it. This was how I wanted our ceremony to look (except with flowers in orange, pink, and white).

Mr. Meerkat also put in his two cents. He said that while he liked it, the place we were going to stand needed to have something that separated it from the rest of the area. He suggested…a chuppah. *sigh*

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I totally agreed with him that we needed something to define the space, but the last thing I wanted was a chuppah to block the beautiful view. We put our heads together and came up with the idea of tall pillars.

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Or maybe even something more simplistic with large wooden rods:

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While we are leaning toward the last picture, we have not made the final decision. We have a few weeks until we need to finalize everything, but the deadline is coming up quick!

How did you make the final decisions for your ceremony decor? Did you go with any nontraditional items (like large wooden rods)?

Tags: decor, riviera-maya |

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13 Responses to “Creating a Ceremony Space”

Guest

Amarie

I’m really liking that inspiration photo. Outdoor ceremonies always turn out best when people really think about and try to emphasize the natural beauty of the place.

I’ve seen some photos where people just used saplings/tree branches on either side (usually with white draping or so hung above the couple, but you wouldn’t need to do that).

Where do you think benches like that can be found? I’d like something similar for the reception, just for people to lounge on, but I have no idea what to call them or where to look.

9/22/10 @ 4:23 pm (reply)

Guest

Amy

We are getting married on the beach and were having a similar dilemma because we did not want an arch to block the ocean view. After looking at a bunch of photos, we realized that when the officiant, bride and groom are all standing up in front, the “altar” space is defined by the people. We decided there was no need for any additional decoration to define that space.

Here’s an example I like: http://www.weddingbeepro.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/kate-p111.jpg

9/22/10 @ 4:26 pm (reply)

Member

BeadFloraJewels (message) 80 posts, Worker bee

Our wedding was at a botanical garden and it had an arch there already… and people just stood around. But hey, we saved a lot of time/money

9/22/10 @ 5:00 pm (reply)

Guest

aggee

what a beautiful view. I can understand your reluctance to interfere with the view. Could you outine the “altar” area with a circle of petals on the ground?

9/22/10 @ 5:35 pm (reply)

Bee

Miss Sand Dollar (message) 1,305 posts, Bumble bee

I love the pillar idea. You could always rent potted trees, or even a cactus. One florist image I loved had 2-3′ tall stumps, with a bowl at the top full of water and floating flower petals. Perhaps you could keep the pillar form, but keep it short so that the view remains unobstructed, but your spot is clearly outlined by them

9/22/10 @ 6:01 pm (reply)

Member

pamplemousse (message) 378 posts, Helper bee

if you do parasols as aisle decor, consider that guests might take them for shade! apparently that happens.

9/22/10 @ 7:44 pm (reply)

Bee

Miss Meerkat (message) 3,216 posts, Sugar bee

@Amarie: Actually out venue have dark, wooden benches that are included. We got really lucky with that one. =)

@Amy: I love that picture!!

@pamplemousse: Oh! I guess I will have coordinator tie them down or something. I never even thought of that.

9/22/10 @ 8:03 pm (reply)

Member

HoneyBear (message) 3,486 posts, Sugar bee

Love the inspiration picture! I would only be scared of the wind and blowing the umbrellas away

9/22/10 @ 11:41 pm (reply)

Bee

Miss Glasses (message) 2,741 posts, Sugar bee

I’m going through major indecision with our focal point too. I hope you find the perfect solution!

9/23/10 @ 1:42 am (reply)

10.

Member

ktisthatbees (message) 2,742 posts, Sugar bee

this may be a little too hippie-ish for your tastes, but you could always defined the space by a circle of fern leaves or flower petals. That may sound weird, but I’ve seen it done for a beach wedding and it was awesome. It defined the space, but didn’t block the view

9/23/10 @ 8:17 am (reply)

11.

Bee

Miss Meerkat (message) 3,216 posts, Sugar bee

@HoneyBear: I am so glad I posted this! I never would have thought to tie them down has it not been for you and@pamplemousse point out the flaw in my plan. LOL

@ktisthatbees: Nothing is ever to hippie-ish for my taste! =) Mr. M. on the other hand is the PITA traditional one. I will show him tonight what you said. Thanks!

9/23/10 @ 8:22 am (reply)

12.

Guest

Sarah

This was by far the hardest part of figuring out how to lay out our backyard wedding. The florist was all about big topiary, but we felt like that would block sight lines for some of the guests. Ultimately we used what was there—an arc of cedar trees—and hung ribbons from fishing wire strung between them to make kind of a…ribbon-walled tent-ish thing? That’s a terrible description.

But yeah, we went through all of this discussion: chuppah, pedestals, urns with willow branches, urns with willow branches on pedestals…a mosquito net suspended from the trees! A circle of rose petals! A rug! An arbor! A circle of rose petals on a rug, under an arbor!

Good—and I mean this—luck.

9/24/10 @ 12:45 pm (reply)

13.

Member

NotYourTypicalBride (message) 1,294 posts, Bumble bee

We are having a sunset beach wedding, and after considering lots of ideas, I’ve decided not to mark the spot at all. We will be flanked by two tall coconut palm trees that are part of the landscape, with the sunset behind us, and I don’t want to spoil the natural beauty of the location or distract from the two of us. Honestly, I’m not sure why you have to have anything at all?

10/8/10 @ 12:55 am (reply)