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Outdoor Wedding Idea's

20 years ago

I am planning my wedding for next fall and looking for unique idea's for an outdoor wedding. We are wanting to look for a site in the mountains of North Carolina. We both are very simple people and have around 100 people on our list. We are working with a very tight budget and want to keep it simple but memorable for all.

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Comments (3)

sweet_pea10
20 years ago
Look for state parks and historical sites. Many can be rented for a reasonable fee. Just be sure that you have an indoor option in case of bad weather.
susanjf_gw
20 years ago
i agree about the alternative site or a park with a covered picnic area.

ds1's wedding was outside in a friend's yard. they did rent a huge tent, just in case. actually we ate under the tent and as luck would have it, just as ds1 and dil were cutting the cake, the sky's opened up! thank goodness the family had a good sized home for the elders, and babies to go into.

ds1 bought strings of white lights the day after christmas (half price), to use the following august. her flowers were from the local farmer's market. since yours is in oct, mums are great. they come in several colors.

the party was catered but we could have copied the menu and cooked for 100. food is optional, remember!

you can get married early and have brunch, as dd2 did. the highlight was a person who made the best omlets...no wedding cake. dd2 wanted an assortment of desserts.

remember costco and sam's club...they have an abundance of frozen goodies from mini quiches to spring rolls.

anyone a good seamtress? check the price of fabric to a purchased dress. want to save more? look for rentals, yes, rentals. or ebay! my cousin bought a dress for her dd, $185, decorated with beading and crystals! she had slight alterations my cousin was able to do. the retail was well over $500...

dd2 found her dress, $95, at the local marshall fields. it wasn't traditional as they were married on a beach. we used fresh flowers instead of veiling...

last, have a computer printer? look for wedding kits at office maxx, staples, for the invatations/announcements
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Gorgeous pictures Brenda! I can hardly imagine how much work that was put into that wedding. My sister was married last October(indoor wedding) and I know how much work we did for that with growing our own flowers, but when it's outside, you've got a whole new bunch of things to worry about. Glad everything turned out well for you, even if it was a bit hot, but it's better than rain ;^)
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It is an important day for sure, but Auntjen made some great points. Here's some stuff we did for my daughter's wedding and it was a beautiful ceremony and great fun at the reception. - Dress on sale--that should be a given. Daughter made her own veil with a ring of flowers from Michael's and tulle. - Bridesmaids (only 2) dresses were made by groom's grandmother at minimum cost. - Kept guest list to mainly family (86 people). - Found a florist--a young girl with an impressive album of her work that did the chapel and reception (not in the same place) for practically nothing. It was beautiful. - Wedding was at 1 p.m. followed by the reception, so we had a couple of canapes (including some really good crab somethings) followed by finger sandwiches, beautiful strawberries dipped in chocolate, veg. platters and other finger food. Too early for a big dinner. - We served beer, wine, sodas, water and coffee. Mixed drinks were available, however. - The reception was held at a hotel on the water and the reception room had french doors leading out to a deck where they set up the bar. Nice water view. The hotel was new and they were looking for repeat business or hoping for new business from the guests. - No band. They didn't want one since they don't dance. There was music, just no band or DJ. - No favors. Don't know how that custom got started, but I don't buy it. - Splurged on the cake. Man, it was good! People are still talking about that cake today. There wasn't a single piece left and it was a big three layer. The whole thing was way under $2500. Granted it was 14 years ago, but it was inexpensive even for then. Whatever you decide, I hope you have a wonderful wedding and life. Enjoy!
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Thanks for the encouragement (sushipup and ColleenOZ) and the warnings (Scarlett). Could I ask you all to describe how you think I should do it? The ceremony is off site, so people will be arriving at our house around 1 (after hiking up a long, steep driveway). There they will be offered some cool drinks which I think have to be passed on trays in glasses. Maybe those drinks could be water, lemonade, iced tea, sparkllng rose? Then I'm thinking lunch will be put out as a buffet, maybe from several different stations, for people to take plates to eat either at a table or a blanket, or anywhere else they want. Do you think the bottles of wine and interesting beers (small bottles or larger, for sharing?) should be chilling in some big barrels, next to a pile of blankets? Or should servers be assigned to circulate with them, pouring a glass or leaving the bottle on a table? Help me picture the whole scene, and how we can be gracious and casual, but not wasteful. When do toasts occur at a wedding like this? Our property is very spread out so once people take off it will be not be until cake time (inside) that we will be corralled back to one place. By the way, the bride and groom are Californians, so I love the idea of having a west coast vibe for this east coast event!
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Comments (10)
Your crape myrtles most likely had an infestation of crape myrtle aphids which resulted in the black sooty mold. I strongly advise that you get a horticultural oil and spray the crapes while the leaves are off. Aphids lay eggs in the crannies of bark and branches in the fall that will hatch out later to reinfest the tree. Applications of the oil will greatly reduce their numbers. Please, please make sure that there are no pesticidal additives in the oil that you choose. Spray the entire tree two or three times over the winter and again just as the buds break in the spring. I hope that whatever you are using to spray for mosquitoes is not putting everything else at risk. You live in a fragile ecosystem, filled with aquatic and amphibious animals, beneficial insects, and others. All of the chemicals used for mosquito abatement except for larvacides are a hazard for everything in the area. Tiffany has a good list of plants that are likely to be blooming in your area in May. You probably have some of them already; they are southern staples. Add to that some high performing annuals and you've got all the makings of a beautiful garden wedding.
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susan_in_nc
20 years ago
Which part of the mountains do you want to have the wedding at (towards Boone or by Ashville)? You do have a great selection of parks to choose, many have covered pavillions with fireplaces you can reserve, they are very rustic. If you have a recreational site, by a lake, sometimes they have buildings you can rent for the day (not overnight). Many of these come with kitchen facilities, fireplace and tables&chairs.

Another option is to rent a nice house. You have a place to change, a kitchen, shelter from weather. . . many more options. Rentals would also allow you to set up and clean up at a more leasurely pace. A rental could double as housing for some of your guests, family or your own place. Houses by Grandfather Mountain range from simple A frames to homes large enough to sleep 15 to 20. Some rentals come with a club or community center membership -- perhaps you could arrange to use a clubhouse for the reception/ceremony? I realize this all comes at a price, but off season, (not during high Fall color, or skiing) some homes are reasonable.

Susan

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