The Perfect Outdoor Wedding

Love is in the air! I had the opportunity to attend and help out in a wedding this past weekend. It was one of those weddings where everything aligned, and was the most perfect night. In a previous post I shared a Donut Bar bridal shower for my husband’s cousin Caitlin, and today I have pictures from her beautiful wedding in Lake Tahoe, California this past weekend. My favorite thing about this wedding is that it was a total DIY wedding, where the bride, her mother, and family friends pitched in, and used all their talents to produce a beautiful and EXPENSIVE looking wedding. I have all the DIY wedding decorations details for easy party ideas for your wedding reception.

The Perfect Outdoor Summer Wedding: DIY Wedding Decorations

There were so many personal elements it’s hard to know where to start! The bride wanted a rustic, but elegant feel for the wedding. She didn’t want anything over the top, and wanted her nearly 200 guests to feel right at home.

We blended hints of rustic like pinecones and evergreen trees, with more delicate flowers, like hydrangeas to achieve this look.

DIY Wedding Guest Book

The guest book featured little envelopes where guests could write a small message for the bride and groom.

They could then seal it, and the newlyweds can open them over time! This was such a fabulous project put together by the bride’s mother.

The amazing wood signs were made by the bride herself!

She had no previous experience in signage, and I would say she hit a total home run. You will see her signs sprinkled throughout the party.

Trail Mix Bar

The highlight of the party was the trail mix bar by far. It is the perfect addition for a rustic Tahoe wedding.

The bags were personalized with the brides stamp, and each jar included all of the bride’s favorite goodies.

Wedding Lawn Games

For the younger kids at the wedding, and the young at heart she had some fabulous lawn games.

It was such a fun way to pass the time between cocktail hour and dinner service.

The kids were entertained, and it prevented any meltdowns.

DIY Wedding Flowers

OK, time to be amazed… the flower arrangements were done at home! Amazing right?

The arrangements turned out lush, and full, and looked like they cost an arm and a leg. Any city has a flower mart, and you can buy a membership for around $100 for the year, which is well worth it. Once you are a member you can place orders for the flowers you want, and pick them up.

Now here is a little trick… we placed a plastic cup ( I got mine in groups of 3 from the dollar tree), inside the wooden box, and arranged the flowers in the cup.

As you can see in the picture the cups are taller than the box, that’s ok, you can cover them, and make the arrangement larger, if you want it lower, just snip an inch or so off the cup. If you use large flowers like hydrangeas or spider mums around the vase they will cover the gap between the cup and the box.

The arrangement looks as if the entire box is filled, however you have saved about half the amount of flowers, and the flowers are totally secure! We also did this with the flowers you see in the vase arrangements.

The darling place cards were made of pinecones glued to small wood circles, again another DIY project!

Each place setting had a sprig of evergreen tucked in to the napkin, which added another element to the table, and was such an easy thing to do.

The log wood head table was my favorite part. We mixed lanterns, flowers, and candelabras. The candelabras were actually a garage sale find for $15. I can’t encourage you enough to get out there and look around for some fabulous deals! The guests were served water in mason jars, which fit perfectly with the theme.

The cake table was comprised of various types of cakes arranged on large slabs of wood. To add an even more personalized touch we made USC sugar cookie football helmets and logos, since that is where the bride and her groom met.

I think the best part about DIY wedding decorations is that you really can pull together as a team, and achieve an incredible event. When planning your wedding, or any event, don’t be afraid to call on all your resources, and use all your loved ones talents. I can guarantee that they will want to help you out in any way they can!

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About Leah Leatherby

Hi! My name is Leah Leatherby. I graduated from UC Davis with a BS in Textiles Marketing and Science. Since then, I have had four little ones – three boys and a girl. My life now consists of planning parties, baking cookies, and watching my kids. My husband has 75 first cousins alone, so we pretty much have an event every weekend! It keeps us busy, and lets me get my creative juices flowing.

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