1. Location, location, location.
Nothing feels more classic than a barn wedding: cider, whiskey barrels, barnwood—all of the rustic details set the tone. It’s often a unique experience for guests, and each barn wedding is a blank canvas to design in. The lack of colorful carpet or painted walls that are found in many traditional venues allows couples to bring in fun color and pattern to their wedding without worrying about clashing with their venue. Barn weddings can beautifully juxtapose the inherent rustic nature of the venue with elegant décor that softens the space, like beautiful linens and florals. You can avoid some of the downsides to barn weddings, such as insects and no air conditioning, by scheduling a fall or spring barn wedding.
2. Transform your space with textiles.
To elevate the look and ensure guests are comfortable, bring in soft seating or lounge furniture to make the setting more warm and inviting. Hang greenery or drapery from a barn ceiling or outdoor altar to add texture and layers to the wood backdrop and soften the overall look. As event planners, we love the elevated look of table linens in a barn with lush florals. It feels like you are bringing in the luxe wedding vibe to a rustic setting, which makes it enchanting. Spoonflower and Roostery are our pick for a vast selection of designs for linens, outdoor pillows, drapery that’s hung from the ceiling to add texture and special accents—it makes creating a cohesive look effortless. The vibrant selection of surface patterns allow couples to customize their wedding in a way you don’t see everyday.
3. Weave in designs and florals to match your color palette.
When it comes to color palettes, we see a lot of greenery used at fall weddings. Blooms are still trending more neutral in color and are paired with the greens to give it a crisp look. You’ll see a lot of rich jewel tones in table settings, florals and backdrops: one romantic combination that’s trending is mauve and burgundy paired with lavender and greens or try a fun combination of saffron yellow, slate blue and rust for a more modern take.
It’s also important to create a curated family of design elements, where they all look like they belong together without perfectly matching. You can achieve this coordinated look by pairing like fabrics in a family of colors or a variety of fabrics in the same color family.
4. Play with patterns.
These blue floral napkins are a classy touch to contrast against the galvanized metal chargers, and the knot fold laid perfectly with the custom calligraphy menus. Weaving that same patterned fabric into the escort card display was so simple and such a beautiful way to bring colorful pattern into the display.
5. It’s all in the lighting.
It’s key to add light and color to intersperse with all the wood that comes with a barn venue, and the strung lights paired with the bright Spoonflower fabric bunting from shopcabin’s Autumn collection really warmed up the space.
6. Let your relationship shine!
Whether you use a Marketplace design or make something unique that reflects you and your partner’s relationship, think of creative backdrops for bars (such as a hard cider tap wall using Spoonflower wallpaper), donut displays or photo booths. It’s key to have fun with the possibilities to create a unique and memorable occasion for you and your guests.
Are you in the process of planning your big day? Don’t miss these eight tips anyone planning a DIY wedding should know and be sure to explore the Marketplace to inspire your handmade décor.
Vendors
- Photography: Maison Meredith Photography
- Venue: The Farm at Dover
- Florist: Flora by Jamae
- Stationer/Calligrapher: Saffron Avenue
- Lighting: Chance Productions
- Vintage Rentals: A La Crate Vintage Rentals
- Custom Tap Wall: Borrowed Bar
- Cake: Creative Confections
- Rentals: Event Essentials
Very clever ideas to dress up the rustic location.