Hi there! This is Alyson with Unruly Things, guest blogging while Kristina enjoys the bliss of being a new mom. I’m planning my upcoming summer wedding and I’m thrilled to be here to share some of my ideas and progress with you.
{images c/o Martha Stewart Weddings, Design Sponge}
My fiance {I’ll further refer to him as DLB} and I knew right off the bat that we didn’t want a big, formal wedding. While there are certain traditions that I love and plan to keep, we are definitely more focused on planning an event where our families and really be comfortable and get to know each other. A formal wedding just isn’t our thing, so our hearts literally danced when we found our venue – a gorgeous space in the Columbia River Gorge, set in the middle of a beautiful old growth forest which surrounds a lake, complete with canoes!
{Images c/o Our Labor Of Love, Once Wed, Martha Stewart Weddings}
When we were first looking around for wedding inspiration, naturally there were lots of things that popped out as beautiful or a good option for us. If you follow Unruly Things, you probably know that I’m way into natural medical/science related things including specimen prints, laboratory glassware and terrariums. So it was no question that we ultimately decided to use this as a starting point for our decor.
{Images c/o 1. Green Wedding Shoes, Once Wed}
So playing on the specimen theme, we’re planning to have a few different “specimens” of food with buffets for appetizers, the main meal and dessert, using lab glass for our center pieces, and incorporating little natural & personal elements into anything we can.
{Images c/0 Small Stump, Trampoline, Small Stump}
20 comments
If you don’t mind me asking, what’s the venue? My fiancee and I are looking for something similar in the PDX area for next summer. Thanks!
Your ideas are so great! I love the addition of flora into a wedding, especially a simple one! I also really like the summer campflags:)
Hi Alyson,
Great inspiration images. Following your blog now too and can’t wait to see the outcome of this wedding. Congratulations!
We are getting married in the Columbia Gorge region – I love it so much and can’t wait! So many great venues for what you are looking to create!
Oh!! I like the colors!!!
;D
hi Robin! we’re getting married at Bridal Veil Lakes. it’s truly beautiful!!!
So pretty!! And Alyson… Bridal Veil Lakes is gorgeous. Lucky you!!
I love the natural feel!! Beautiful flowers…and the lab glasses for vases is so unique and clever! It turned out so lovely!!
alyson – can’t wait to see your wedding! i love all your inspirations… outside weddings are the best! best of luck in your planning!
Alyson –
Have you considered using “local” specimens? (for example – have all your butterflies be species that are found in Portland?)
Best of Luck in planning!
WOW!
Amazing colors, I wish we could use colors like this! the lab bottles with flowers and plants look awesome!
yay! it’s going to be so pretty – i can’t wait to go!
these images are soooo beautiful… love the freshness of the green all over and the ferns… you have some great ideas going on!
I love your ideas! That top photo kind of kills me. Also, I greatly admire your restraint thus far, but I’ve really been hoping to learn more about your wedding plan inspirations, so this is excellent! Happy planning!
Michelle – what a wonderful idea!! I can’t believe we didn’t think of it. and how special would that be, since 90% of our guests are traveling from out of town!
Alyson – Hooray! I’m glad you like the idea, and I’m thrilled to help make your day just that more special
The perfect use of lab glasses. Good recycling.
great inspiration board!! and get married in a forest… wow so lovely…
^_^
If you initially think about it without looking at the photo above, lab glasses don’t seem to be a great idea for a focal point in any wedding table. After seeing it, you couldn’t think of anything better to use as an alternative. And the kind of flowers you use are just brilliant and intelligent! It’s all too lovely here and I’m adding now this site and this post with the photos to my collection of web greats (along with, say, bisaya short films and stuff at flickr.com/malenmoalboal) that really aspire to beautiful art.
Any blog posts that share the names of the typefaces you use in the site?
What a lovely idea!