The theme of this weeks *Friday finds* is a homemade back garden wedding. The weather is truly beautiful here today in Cheshire and as such I can just imagine it would be the perfect setting for a homemade back garden wedding.
Here are a couple of ideas and some inspiration to get planning your own homemade wedding, including a rustic buffet, homemade lanterns and straw bale seating.
Image: a backyard wedding
*The Look* I just love this rustic spread from a backyard wedding. The white tablecloths perfectly set off the rustic boards strewn with bunches of deep purple grapes, soft red peaches and the jeweled apricots. I particularly love how only a few things are in bowls, while the rest of the food is spread out over the wooden boards.
*Create It* This is a delightful feast for a low-key back garden wedding. If your budgets tight and your guests are only joining you for an afternoon party, this would be a great way to feed them. Cover trestle tables with crisp white tablecloths (an inexpensive white bed sheet works just as well). You can find planks of wood at your local timber yard, or if you’re looking for something more rustic try reclamation yards or ask around at building sites if they have any old scaffolding planks (also great for building raised vegetable beds!). Choose a selection of seasonal fruit, nuts, crackers and dried fruit and drape them over the boards – aim for abundance, this table really works because it looks like it is overflowing with food like a bacchanalian feast. Check out the directory for a list of local food and organic and ethical caterers.
Image: I can’t recall where I found this lovely image – if you know please let me know so I can credit them!
Candlelight is not only a more eco-friendly option for lighting your wedding, but its also more atmospheric – who doesn’t enjoy a cosy night in with soft flickering tealights and the one you love? There are loads of pretty lanterns out there, but you don’t need spend lots of money you can easily make your own.
*Homemade lanterns* Get your family collecting all their old jam jars (I love an odd assortment but you could also ask them to keep ones of a similar style if you want something more uniform) and ask them to remove any labels by soaking them in soapy water – I’ve also found that spraying them with eco-friendly multi-purpose cleaner and leaving them for five minutes works wonders.
All you need now is some lengths of thin but sturdy wire which you can easily shape. Simply wrap the wire around the neck of the jam jar and secure at one side. Then create a loop of wire over the top to create your hanger, secure this on the other side and trim off any extra wire. And there you have it, a beautiful and cheap homemade lantern. You can find an alternative, step-by-step guide here.
B&Q are currently selling shepherds crooks to hang your lanterns from for under £3 in black and cream. Hapi Bean – one of our businesses listed on The Natural Wedding Company directory – sell soy wax tealights perfect if you’re looking for an eco-friendly alternative. If you do want to buy lanterns, some of my favourites are these recycled glass lanterns from Hen and Hammock, another of the businesses listed in the directory.
Image: Country Living
*Straw bale seating* Straw bales are readymade seating in disguise and just the thing for a laid back garden wedding. Last year we held a Midsummers Eve party for our friends, and we certainly don’t have enough chairs for everyone, so we jumped in our old landrover and headed down to our local stables. We filled the back of the landrover up with enough bales to seat our friends, and I’m not sure we even paid anything for them, perhaps a deposit of £10, as we were taking back the following day. Covered with woollen rugs and blankets there was plentiful and comfy seating for all, and everyone commented on how lovely they were. Rugs and blankets can be collected from friends, family, carboot sales, charity shops, or here for pretty picnic blankets made from recycled wool.
The Natural Wedding Company blog 