Yesterday I celebrated my 3 year wedding anniversary.  In celebration of the season (and my recent anniversary) I thought I would share my favourite fall wedding that I have designed and planned to date.  Two years ago on my anniversary I was contacted by Kristin, the bride, to plan her fall wedding at the River Cafe.  When I first read her email I have to admit I got goose bumps.  She was contacting me on my wedding anniversary, interested in having me design and plan her wedding for the following year at the River Cafe.  I first discovered the River Cafe just over 6 years ago when I went on my first date with my now husband.  If we had chosen to get married in Calgary, the River Cafe would have been a top contender for a venue no doubt.  I jumped at the chance to work with this amazing couple and now every time I have the delight of dining at the River Cafe, I not only remember my first date with TLAW fondly, but I also remember Kristin and Shelby’s amazing, love filled celebration.

The bride and groom wanted a rustic fall wedding infused with romance and some vintage touches incorporating yellow, orange, purple and brown.  I loved designing with this colour palate and adored every minute working with this amazing couple.  I’ll share some of my tips below for creating a cohesive design and making your dollars stretch using this fabulous wedding as an example!  Thanks to Kristi Sneddon for the amazing photos you see below.

For the ceremony, the bride and groom wanted to display some of their engagement photos.  I designed a table that incorporated a rustic centerpiece, displayed in a tree stump, and surrounded the photos with moss, amaranths, rocks and candles.  The centerpiece, candles, rocks and greenery did double duty as they were also used later at the reception.

I loved, loved, loved Kristin’s bouquet.  To incorporate a unique and rustic element, we had the florist wrap the stem with some bark wire.  The results speak for themselves.

One of my tips for making your bridal bucks stretch is to ask yourself how you can make the most use of the items you are ordering.  This is especially important in terms of items for the ceremony since this is a relatively short period of the wedding day.  I designed pew markers that could also be used as centerpieces at the reception.

If you are wanting special transportation for you and your new hubby, such as this vintage 1955 Rolls Royce, make sure you take advantage of it and snap some great photos with your photographer that showcase the car as well as the couple.

The River Cafe is the ideal venue for an intimate rustic wedding.  If you are wanting a Calgary wedding but want the feeling of being surrounded by nature, this is one venue worth checking out.  The food is divine, the service is impeccable, and the venue’s natural decor is so fantastic that you don’t need much to add your own touch and make it truly memorable for your guests.

Custom twig monograms are an easy DIY project (some metal clothes hangers, twigs, and raffia) and can add another element to the overall design.

This gorgeous tall arrangement of curly willow, dahlias, orchids, gerberas, lilies, and amaranths was a show stopper at both the ceremony (as 2 focal point arrangements framing the couple) as well as the reception.

Here is another item I designed to do double duty.  Instead of folded tent cards directing guests to their tables, I played up the rustic theme and hung the cards from manzanita branches, placed in vases of rocks.  There was a sign directing guests to find their seating assignment on the tree and then write their love and good wishes for the couple of the back of their name cards.  This created a unique focal point in the room and also doubled as a “guest book.”

At the guest tables, a rock was placed on each napkin to indicate the guest seat.  The rocks fit perfectly with the theme and are a great, inexpensive alternative to a paper place card.

Here you can see the “pew markers” being used as centerpieces.  They were perfect for the design at both the church and the reception at the River Cafe.  I sourced the buckets at the dollar store, which is another great tip.  Look for your supplies in unexpected places as well.  These buckets were baby blue with a bunch of butterflies painted all over them when purchased.  A little brown spray paint later and they were both perfect and affordable.

The bride wanted lots of candles used at the reception.  We lined all the window sills with votives and filled the fireplace with pillar candles for a soft romantic glow.  For the tables, I wanted to do something a little different so we created these twig votives which were another easy DIY project.  The twigs were cut to length and then affixed to the votives using raffia.  They added another custom rustic element to the dining tables.  We opted to skip using table cloths (and as such skipped the extra charge) as the natural wooden table tops were the perfect compliment to the rustic, natural theme.

Instead of paper table numbers and metal stands, I had wooden table numbers custom made that incorporated the leave motif that was used on the couple’s invitations, programs, and other paper products featured at the wedding.

Some of the “pew markers” were also used to decorate the head table, along with some amaranths for added texture.

Here you can see the centerpiece in the tree stump that I mentioned having been used at the ceremony on the table featuring engagement pictures.  At the reception I placed it on the bar where it tied in beautifully with the other rustic elements present in the room.

Here the leaf motif was incorporated into custom water bottles that were handed out to the live band and given to the wedding party during their photo shoot.  Just one example of the many special touches Inspired Occasions clients are treated to on their wedding day.

Guests were greeted upon arrival with a delicious signature cocktail that tied in with the colour theme.  These were definitely a hit with all in attendance.

Guests were also appreciative of the tray passed hors d’oeuvres during cocktail hour.

A live band set the perfect tone for this intimate affair.  Classics from the likes of Frank Sinatra were played, along with some more contemporary selections.  The live music was divine during cocktail hour and dinner and had the guests packing the dance floor into the wee hours.