Bridal Inspiration Boards #76 ~ Secret Garden

Hello you lovely lot!  It’s the Pocketful of Dreams girls here again this morning, sharing with you the design and styling guide from a stunning garden wedding we had the recent pleasure to plan, design and style for our clients.  With the end of a glorious summer starting to approach, what better time to reflect back on the gorgeous sunny days and weeks we’ve enjoyed, and for us, 2014 as really been the year of the outside wedding.

We’ve had the great pleasure of working with a range of outdoor settings from low-fi woodlands to farm estates, manicured gardens to rustic fields and most recently, the most beautiful of family gardens; a secret gem that unfolded to reveal mature trees and shrubbery, wild flowers and secret nooks and crannies.  It really was a dream come true for us to have the opportunity to design and plan a wedding in such a beautiful – and personal – setting and today we’re sharing with you  a small sample of the outdoor garden wedding concept that we executed.

THE INSPIRATION

Image Credits: 1.Once Wed  2.Kiana Mosley  3.Swooned  4.Weddings by Nicola and Glen  5.Poppies & Posies  6.Ruffled  7.100 Layer Cake  8.Style Me PrettyOur brief was to create a deeply personal day that celebrated the bride and groom’s interests and passions but above all else, embraced the stunning garden setting and created a romantic yet vibrant garden wedding.  Nothing twee or country garden about this look, we wanted to design a day that had a sense of gravitas and occasion but with thoughtful details that would add life and laughter to the proceedings, reminiscent of a serene yet wild English country garden.

So we set about creating a design concept that was natural and beautiful with an understated elegance.  Organic and unstructured decor and details brought the look to life, with a natural colour palette ranging from dusky pinks through to leafy greens.  Pale wood and cream canvas blended perfectly alongside the palette, reflecting the ambient colours of the garden and tent marquee whilst an accent colour of navy blue contrasted yet complemented the effect and added a masculine twist to the overall effect.

THE DESIGN: OUTSIDE

Image Credits: 1. Style Me Pretty  2.Tumblr  3+5.Style Me Pretty  4.Pocketful of Dreams  6.Clutter & Chaos  7.ZsaZsa Bellagio  8+10.Pocketful of Dreams  9.Vintage Style Hire 

Of course, a garden wedding demands an outdoor ceremony and for this one we kept decor understated yet beautiful, with no aisle runner or fussy details, allowing the garden backdrop to shine through and become almost a guest in the day itself.  Instead, the bride and groom were married in front of a beautiful handmade wooden archway, dressed with soft creamy curtains, making a subtle reference to the shared theatrical passions of the couple.

The archway was decorated with beautiful lanterns and a wild foliage garland by Euphoric Flowers, whilst guests sat on natural wooden chairs.

After the ceremony, guests were invited to enjoy the garden setting and gorgeous British Summer in comfort, with a collection of vintage furniture from Vintage Style Hire, styled to create welcoming seating arrangements throughout the vast garden and ensure guests got to enjoy all the space had to offer.

Nothing could be more English than a cup of tea and it is one of our couple’s greatest loves. So we worked with gourmet tea specialist Chash Tea to create a bespoke tea blend for our couple.  This was served alongside Earl Grey, Peppermint and Jasmine Chung Hao from glass teapots at our Tea Parlour; styled on a stunning vintage dressers with beautiful signage, mismatched crockery, ornate glass runs and trailing foliage. The parlour looked like it had risen up from the garden itself.

Chalkboard signage was used across the garden for both practical and fun purposes incorporating summery wildflowers, chosen to both blend into the natural environment and also to reflect the academic background of our groom.

 

THE DESIGN: INSIDE

Image Credits: 1+2.LPM Bohemia  3.Pocketful of Dreams  4.Green Wedding Shoes  5.Double Takes  6.Deluxe Hire  7.Poppies & Posies  8.Pocketful of Dreams  9.Tumblr  10+11.Pocketful of Dreams  12.Vintage Style Hire  13.Pocketful of Dreams  14.Food Fete  15.The Guardian  16.Blossoming Visions

For the wedding reception, guests moved into a traditional canvas pole tent by LPM Bohemia with festoon lighting swagged to the outside, creating a stunning effect that acted as a fabulous focal point in its own right.  Inside, our aim was to bring the garden into the structure and we did this by opting for a beautiful Chinoiserie wall lining that effortlessly incorporated the palette of the day.

Refectory tables were dressed with loose and unstructured floral arrangements of seasonal wildflowers and plenty of foliage to make the lining of the tent really pop, and were presented in a range of pedestal vases, glass bottles and planted into old books for an unexpected twist.

Bespoke handmade geometric pendants hung overhead – a little nod to the groom’s study of mathematics – with a riot of draping foliage and hydrangea heads creating a warm ambience and deconstructed elegance.

Twinkling gold votives brought a further warmth to the look and a variety of installations were set up for guests to interact with and enjoy.  A fun twist on the traditional guestbook, a whitewashed vintage table was set up with a stunning gold birdcage, antique books and our very own scrolling gold sequin love sign, inviting guests to leave love notes for the bride and groom.

And the piece de resistance, a cheeky little touch for the evening celebrations; the Tequila Parlour.  With a shared passion for tequila, we created a decadent parlour for our bride and groom – and guests – to enjoy as the night wore on, with unusual tequilas and home made infusions presented in cut glass decanters with custom made labels.  This really was a garden wedding with secrets around every corner….

We had such a great time working with our couple to create a marquee wedding that truly did justice to the garden setting.  And if you’d like to see how this garden wedding concept translated into reality, then pop on over to our Instagram feed to see some of the highlights from the day.

Whether you’re taken with the idea of your own garden or marquee wedding or are considering something entirely different, we offer a design service to couples to create a wedding design concept that’s entirely unique to them.   We can work with you to help you refine your ideas, adding our extensive knowledge of what we know works (and doesn’t) and providing you with a set of comprehensive mood boards that you can use to brief your own team of suppliers or we can work with you to make it all happen. Contact us at [email protected] for more information.

Michelle & Vicki xx

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Michelle and Vicki are Creative Event Designers at Pocketful of Dreams – they are passionate about designing, styling and delivering unique weddings, tailored to your own personal story.   You can read more about Michelle and Vicki on our About Page.

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