Weddingbee Blog

Seriously, choose a nerdier title. What can I say? I dig the alliteration.

As I’ve mentioned before, we’re going for a certain look for our wedding: vintage garden with extra whimsy on top. Our wedding ceremony will be outside in a garden, and the reception will be inside the same venue’s ballroom. One of the best parts about a garden ceremony is that it requires very few additional decorations. Sure, you can add more if you want, but the scene would still look pretty complete without it. But I wanted our theme to be consistent throughout. How does one bring that same outdoor greenery inside to the reception?

Enter the topiary. Topiaries certainly have vintage appeal; personally, they remind me of something you’d see on a Victorian valentine. They also emit a sense of whimsy, especially because they can be sculpted into just about anything you could possibly imagine. What’s more whimsical than imagination?

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I found this topiary idea on Martha Stewart and knew it would fit in perfectly at the entrance to our reception:

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I love everything about this, but I was afraid it looked a little expensive. Then it dawned on me: we could DIY! A little styrofoam, some crafting moss…totally doable. I promise a tutorial after a little trial and error!

We thought a nice way to tie in this same look throughout the reception was to use these little babies:

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Such adorable little place card holders. I looked into making these myself, but frankly it just wasn’t worth it. The materials ended up costing about the same amount as actually buying them pre-made, and then there was the labor. Oh my goodness, the labor. Making 125 of these things just sounded terrible. I don’t mind biting off more than I can chew with some DIY projects, but this one was not one of those projects! Plus, the ’Bee sells these beauties in the Weddingbee Favors Shop now for a pretty good price.

This one’s not particularly my style, but I would certainly appreciate it if I saw it as a DIY centerpiece at another bride’s wedding!

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Then, there’s always the option of edible topiaries. Like this fruit one…

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…or this cupcake one:

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You could even extend the topiary theme to your invites if you wanted to! Okay, okay, maybe these aren’t exactly vintagey-looking. But look how cute the little birdies are!

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How have you carried a theme throughout your wedding plans?