Flowers for small, intimate weddings

The dream of a big wedding may still be the plan…someday, but with all of the shutdowns and smaller group regulations, where do we even start with turning this smaller intimate wedding into a dream wedding? I’m happy to share with you: the possibilities are endless.

Flower Placement is Everything

The thing I love about my job and passion for flowers is that you can literally incorporate flowers EVERYWHERE. Regardless if your wedding is in the backyard, at a barn venue, under a tent out in the middle of a big open field, or even in the woods, there is always a place for flowers. You may not be able to visualize all the possibilities, but that’s why you hire a great florist who can.

How to Plan Flowers for a Backyard Wedding

Back in June, I had a couple reach out regarding flowers for their small backyard wedding. They had a dream and planned on getting married on a beach down in Florida with a small group of close family and friends, but with COVID-19 they had to give up that dream.

I use the term “give up that dream” loosely because their backyard celebration was beautiful, intimate, and filled with love and support from everyone involved in their special day. Just because it doesn’t look exactly like you had envisioned it, doesn’t mean your day won’t still be filled with love and support. And it really doesn’t mean that you have to skimp on the flowers.

How to Style a Floral Wedding Arch

So, you’re now planning to get married in the backyard at your family’s home. Where do we even start? The backdrop to your “I Do’s.” There’s the option of renting an arch from a local rental company or maybe asking your handy dandy DIY dad to build an arch using what you already have. If you have a gorgeous large tree maybe make that your backdrop with a floral garland lining a low-hanging branch, hang some flowers by their stems from a branch, or create a cluster on either side of the tree of different sizes vases with pillar candles to add a romantic setting if you’re getting married closer to sunset.

Pay Attention to the Details

There’s always places to add flowers for that extra detail; welcome sign, seating chart, gift table, couples’ chairs, bar, and restroom (especially if you’re bringing in a nice outhouse for your guests). Throw in some flower crowns for your bridal party or even for your small group of guests or keep it small and intimate with ceremony-only flowers.

For this June wedding, we decided to use their front porch. There were beautiful steps for the couple to stand on making it super easy for all the guests to see. We created a beautiful floral corner piece with trailing greens, lisianthus, snapdragons, roses, and large open peonies. To finish off their new “arch” we added trailing floral garland down the handrailing that spilled onto the ground below. I love designing arch pieces, but this may be one of my favorites because of the intimacy of the location. The two floral pieces dressed up the backdrop while giving a beautiful frame of the couple in the center.

If you’re a lover of the small detail and completing a look, my favorite extra little detail is a place-setting décor. Add a little sprig of greenery or a small sprig like lavender to each napkin. It really brings everything all together and makes for a beautiful presentation. If your home has a gorgeous entryway with a porch, let’s use the pillars and railing to design our own arch. Wrap a floral garland around the railing. Design a large floral corner piece where the pillar meets the roof.

Set the Table...with Flowers

Just like a big celebration, you’ll most likely still have a table (if not a few) to seat your small group of guests. Let’s say you’re doing one large table for everyone to sit at. I’ve got a few different ideas to dress up this large harvest table.

Sure, you can do a big thick garland down the center with different size candles mixed in a touch of floral blooms, or we could go with multiple centerpieces with different designs. It’s very important to keep centerpieces low enough for your guests to still talk over or high enough for your guest to talk under. Depending on how long your table is, we could do a mix of two smaller footed arrangements with greenery and florals spilling over creating a long look with a raised centerpiece in the middle. Another option is to do clusters of different size vases and candles down the middle of the table. The vases can either be a single type of flower per vase or a mixed bouquet of flowers.

It doesn’t matter how big or small your wedding ends up being. You can still make any celebration at any location beautiful with flowers. Trust your florist. Be open to ideas, and don’t limit yourself to what you see on Pinterest. And the most important part, at the end of the day you get to marry your best friend, and that’s been your dream all along.

Still need a little help bringing your small wedding visions to life? Share your story with me and we can design your dream wedding flowers today!

Cheers,

H

Photographer: Stefanie Irene Photography

About Blushing Designs

We are a wedding, event, and special occasions florist based out of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Our wedding floral design services are available throughout Southwest Michigan and beyond, including Grand Rapids, Grand Haven, South Haven, Benton Harbor, St. Joe, Marshall, and Jackson. Dedicated to creating beautiful flowers for weddings, corporate events, baby showers, and bridal showers. Every client has a unique story that is special to them. Our inspiration is drawn from your unique story and turned into beautiful floral bouquets.