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Nature-inspired event design is more than just a trend; it's a celebration of the beauty that surrounds us. It is by far, the most common inspiration for event design, which means it is my job to find new ways to make it unique to each couple. We'll explore how I create a vision for a couple and how incorporating elements from the great outdoors can elevate any event, infusing it with a sense of organic charm and timeless allure.
Where it All Begins - The Couple
You're in love and beginning the wedding planning process. Jumping into something as important as planning a wedding can be quite intimidating. Where do you even start? I have each of my couples fill out a questionnaire with prompts that help discover exactly who they are as a couple and how that can be translated into a design plan. Some examples include:
What are your favorite things to do together?
If your wedding was a movie what movie would it be?
Describe your dream wedding in 5 keywords.
How do you want your guests to feel at your wedding?
Who are the most important people in your life?
These questions get the creative juices flowing and help me narrow in on what is important to the couple and how they want their wedding to be remembered.
This is where I recommend couples begin the entire wedding process. Before you even choose a venue or a planner, hiring an event designer is the best place to start. Defining the outline of what you want your event to look like and what is most important to you, can save you time and stress in the venue search and planning process. So how do we help you translate that into a design plan? It all begins with a mood board.
Case Study
Let's create an imaginary couple for this case study. We will call them Kate and Jack. Kate works for a nonprofit and Jack works in finance. Here's how they filled out the questionnaire:
What are your favorite things to do together?
We love being outdoors. We try to get out into nature as much as possible. We both have high-stress jobs and nature is what calms us. We love hiking, camping, traveling, and rock climbing.
If your wedding was a movie what movie would it be?
Kate - Lord of the Rings
Jack - James Bond
Describe your dream wedding in 5 keywords.
Nature-inspired, unique, lush, elegant, and relaxed.
How do you want your guests to feel at your wedding?
We want them to feel relaxed and comfortable and also be wowed by everything they see. We want everyone to feel like they are in nature without having to battle the elements.
Who are the most important people in your life?
Our family, friends, and 3 dogs.
From these questions, I know I need to design something that feels elegant and rich. I need to bring the outdoors in. They want something fun but not rowdy. The focus should be on a unique elevated experience that includes a few adventurous details.
The Mood Board
This is our visual compass. It helps the couple visualize what the wedding will look and feel like. This is my favorite part of the consultation process. I get to present this to the couple and talk about all the fun visuals and details that we will incorporate into their wedding.
For this design, I decided to stick with mostly green and white and green floral elements with a pop of crimson from berries in the arrangements. To me, this feels timeless and elegant with a fun twist. We would bring in lots of vines, garden roses, and peonies so the venue feels as though it has been "reclaimed" by nature. I was inspired by overgrowth in a city setting. We would have rich green velvet drape to echo our abundance of vines. The tables would be draped in a natural weave white fabric and set with horn cups, wood flatware, and luminous white dishware. A snake salad plate adds a wow factor along with caviar and horn spoons placed down the table for guests to enjoy.
Ceremony Design
Expanding off of our nature-inspired mood board and "overgrown city" feeling, we would create a lush multi-dimensional ceremony space. Tall stands lift stone compotes filled with branches and white blooms. Vines draped on the wall behind the ceremony space add texture and intrigue. Flowering vines draped on the stands and ground add an ethereal airiness to the space. Varying asymmetrical stone urn designs give the feeling of an elegant estate from an era gone by.
Tablescape Details
The Flowers
Lush stone compotes made up of vines, berry branches, local garden roses, local spray roses, peonies, raspberry foliage, blueberry foliage, and astilbe. Rich in texture while staying timeless and elegant. Small ikebana arrangements in white ceramic dishes dotted down the table.
The Table Setting
Natural weave white linen, ivory spiral candles, mixed horn drinking glasses, mixed wood flatware, raw silk champagne colored napkin, glossy modern dinner plates, assorted snake and botanical salad plates. Paired with a timeless folding bistro chair.
The Full Table
I like to design tables as a whole rather than simply combining place settings and flower arrangements. In this design, we would have 12ft guest tables featuring an individual wedding cake for each table, a selection of caviar, small desserts of canelés and petit fours. Each table would feel like its own community during the meal; fostering conversations and new friends.
This is just a small snippet of what would be in a full design proposal. Obviously, there are many elements involved in the design of a wedding. Lighting, stationery, furnishings, food, draping, florals, dessert, installations, floorplan, and all the other intricate details that make for great design are outlined in a full design proposal. A great design plan means your wedding will be unlike any other. Completely personal and totally unforgettable.
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