Decorating an outdoor wedding reception

So it seems, in all the years I’ve decorated weddings, I’ve done countless outdoor ceremonies, I don’t think I’ve decorated even one outdoor reception. How odd! Above, is an oldie but a goody from the Friendly Hills Country Club in Whittier.

Photo by Flickr’s weddingssc2

From a decorator’s point of view, a wedding reception outdoors can be a nightmare to decorate. You’re never sure of what the weather will be like (too hot? too cold? rain?!), where do you hang things?, how do you account for mosquitos? These are legitimate concerns. That’s why many an outdoor reception is…inside a tent. Sort of like being outside, but not. No, no, no. With October fast on its way, I figured I would point out some lovely outdoor receptions I found on Flickr.
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Photo by Flickr’s mvondiziano

The most obvious plus of having an outdoor wedding reception is the great lighting you can employ and also hang over the dance floor. Like I’ve written before, I love the different ways you can employ lighting. These colorful paper lanterns are a great way to liven up the environment, while keeping ambiance.

Photo by Flickr’s DAJanzen

Above is a totally romantic idea. These are what you call luminaries — candles in paper bags — and they usually line walkways. They were also featured in the movie “Bad Santa.” Heheh. Anyway, luminaries really set the tone if your ceremony is walking distance to your reception area. And don’t forget — these are really most effective for an evening reception, if you didn’t already know.

Photo by Flickr’s Beaver_Hollow_Conferenc e_Center

Above, a pretty little ceremony on a porch overlooking a lake. The tables themselves are pretty plain, with white-gray-white layered tablecloths, brightly colored Gerber daisies and — bonus! — bright salads. Seriously, check that out — those salads practically decorate the edge of the round tables. Anyway, the railings look like they’re strung with lights.

Photo by Flickr’s rhythmythicles

This is a lovely little set up. This is really outdoor. Among all the green grass and brown tree trunks, the chocolate brown table cloths and purple flowers and giveaways really stand out. But you can probably see some of the difficulty with a set up like this — each table seats probably just six people, plus getting seated is likely a bit hampered by the grass. (You know, sliding a chair against grass is not easy.) But it really is lovely.

Photo by Flickr’s alexislind

This photo may represent the outdoor wedding reception that every bride dreams of. Lush, carpet-like lawn, full, leafy trees, clear blue skies with just enough cloud to make them photogenic. And honestly, with a set up like this, all you need are bright blue and green tablecloth overlays to make the entire party look light and bright.
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Overlooking the ocean at La Venta Inn in Palos Verdes Estates

This may be a little late, but better late than never! (Brides, remember that line when everyone asks why the wedding started so late.) Wedding Decorator pal Doris came all the way from Washington D.C. to take pictures of her friends’ wedding just for this lil’ ole blog! Well…not quite.

All photos by Doris. Thanks, Doris!!

As the headline suggests, this wedding took place at La Venta Inn. It so happens I have done a wedding here — a long, long time ago. I remember the place pretty well — spectacular location, as you can see from the photo of the gazebo, although the facility where the reception is a little tight — no 500-person parties here! But if you asked me for pictures, I probably lost them. Oops! Not to worry, Doris has swooped and saved the day.

The flowers, I gotta say, are spectacular. Totally bright and eye-popping, perfect for an outdoor wedding overlooking the ocean. Very summery. These lovely flowers were designed by Be Buds Florist in Torrance. Nice job! The photo above, by the way, is a close up of the gazebo’s centerpiece, and have a gorgeous variety of flowers — orange-edged yellow and pink roses, green cymbidium orchids, pink orchids, pinky-green hydrangeas. There’s just so many!

The pew decorations are simple but effective — red and orangey-yellow roses attached to the chairs. Simple, easy, colorful. Ka-pow! Massive impact. Heheh.

I’ve been meaning to do a post on staircases. Don’t ignore your staircases! I love decorating staircases. They add a lot of drama, without needing a lot of decoration. Think of all the bridal magazines you’ve seen, where the bride’s wedding gown train is spread behind her on the staircase. And those staircases don’t even tend to be decorated! Decorating a staircase is easy, just like in this photo — rose petals, a few bunches of roses, and some draping. Easy elegance.

This photo was labeled a tabletop arrangement — which could mean it was for the gift table, or the sign-in table or a cocktail table. Anyway, here we’ve got more hydrangeas, more of the orangey-yellow roses and — are those coffee bean buds?! How cool are those?! They’re actually called hypericum berries.

This is the sweetheart table. It’s very simple, but in a way, the statement of where the bride and groom are going on their honeymoon — Maui — kind of invokes your imagination.

This guest tables appeared to be set with three different styles of vases, carrying three bunches of flowers, although I’m not clear if all the tables had the same type of trio. I don’t think that’s the case, since in the background, I don’t see the big sprig of orchids at that table to the right. Anyway, I like the asymmetry here — square, tall vase with a green cymbidium orchid sprig in water, topped with a candle, a short cube vase with a bunch of those orangey-yellow roses, and the sprig of bright pink orchids. Really cool. And, I think, looking at the other pictures in Doris’ set, there were other combinations for each table.

Last but not least, the cake. A bakery was not listed on the wedding website so I have to assume that La Venta Inn did this cake, and it is so simple and beautiful. As a wedding decorator, I tend to like wedding cakes that are simple so that they can be dressed up with flowers. I mean, look how this one turned out! And the florist left nothing un-decorated — the cake knives, the wineglasses, everything has blossoms on it. And yet, nothing seems to be dripping with flowers. That’s good decorations, my friend.

Idyllic garden wedding at Almansor Court

Almansor Court in Alhambra is not on my list of my favorite places to go decorate. But I guess on a fresh spring day between rain storms in Los Angeles, it can actually look idyllic. But let me tell you, it takes a lot of hard work to get to idyllic on a sunny day – I guess I’d been so used to the dismal, chilly weather, I underestimated the sun and wore jeans to this particular job. Even if its just an hour of decorating, if its in the sun, you’re going to get sweaty and disgusting. Ah well.

Oh, and I worked here last Saturday. I’m posting late because I have not been feeling well and have been busy. So sue me.

The banquet folks, in the weeks before this particular wedding, had told my mom that she was going to be able to decorate in the morning, important for us since we set up so much for these weddings – all the draping, putting seat covers and sashes on, putting the flowers and lights in their final places. But that changed last minute because of some sort of Mary Kay gathering. Because I work the night shift, I was only able to decorate the gazebo for the wedding and the backdrop. At promptly 3:10 I had to book it to get to work on time.

This picture, by the way, is of the departing gaggle of women from the Mary Kay group. One of the women decided to break out her camera phone as we decorated, which we all know I hate. The first time around, I just stopped what I was doing and glared at her. The second time, I actually got into the middle of the path and began flailing my arms and yelling, “Hi! Hello!” Yes. I’m crazy.

But at least there were the turtles. Heheh. And the lake didn’t even smell! Most other times I’ve decorated at Almansor Court, the lake has been stinky. Again, another perk about rain in Los Angeles…

And not only were there turtles, there were ducks and geese! Of course, none of them attacked me, thank God. I just took pictures of them from a safe distance – inside the gazebo.

I wanted to share this picture. Not because it’s particularly beautiful (though it is), not because the stargazers look vibrant (and they do), not because it’s difficult to hang a 5-pound flower arrangement from the front facade of a gazebo (and it is, so I didn’t do it, heheh)….

…but simply because right after I took the picture, I tripped backwards over this light and fell on my butt. Gracefully. No, not really. I fell on my butt, then on my elbow, as my mom called to me to help her with something or other.

But yes. This was a lovely garden wedding – at least before the guests arrived. I didn’t stick around, but hopefully the wind (which was quite strong that day) didn’t knock over any of these stands.

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