fall wedding decorating ideas

fall wedding decorating ideas

Fall is a time of lovely colors and the bounty of the harvest. You can bring these things into your wedding decor and set a tone of warmth and welcoming. Your guests will be enthralled with the decorations when you use nature's own earth tones.

Pumpkins

There are so many things you can do to add gorgeous pumpkins to your wedding decor. You can start with a trailer filled with hay and pumpkins parked outside your reception hall. Line the walkway into the church or reception with carved out pumpkins lit with votive candles. The shapes can be anything from bells to doves to hearts. Enlist the help of friends and family to carve small sugar pumpkins of relatively the same size so that the walkway will look uniform.

Pumpkins can also be used as centerpieces inside the wedding reception. One large pumpkin per table, either carved and candle lit or whole, will look stunning. Surround it with silk or real leaves in varying colors and sizes. Add acorns and other fall nuts like hazelnuts. You can also carve off the top of the pumpkin and fill each one with flowers-real or silk. Just be sure to include some sort of container to hold the water inside the pumpkin if you are using real flowers. Give each guest a tiny pumpkin to take home as a favor. While you don't want to go overboard with the pumpkin theme, you can make an elegant and festive decor with nicely placed pumpkins.

Apples

Much like the pumpkin, apples are one of the symbols of harvest. You can bring in cornucopia baskets or apple picking buckets and fill them with a rainbow of fall apples. Place them as centerpieces. Offer caramel apples as favors. Hollow out apples with a votive cutter and place votive candles in an apple at each place setting. Apple scented candles will make the reception smell like mom's fresh baked pie. Place an array of apples around a hurricane vase with a tall pillar candle in it. Tie cinnamon sticks to cloth napkins with jute twine to carry through the theme. Serve apple cider from a punch bowl.

Maple

You can do a lot with additions of maple shapes into your fall wedding decor. Scatter fresh or silk maple leaves imprinted with your names and date at each table. Have maple-shaped place cards or place card holders. Offer maple shaped cookies and cookie cutters as favors. Or, have leaf-shaped bottles of maple syrup as favors. Handmade maple candies as favors are also a lovely idea. You can even float maple shaped candles in low bowls of water with acorns at the bottom.

The Site

If you have access to a cider mill, an apple orchard or a barn, you might want to stage your wedding there. You can drape yards of cream colored fabric at the entrance and on the walls to give an outdoor building a cozy feel. Set rustic wooden tables with twig-themed serving wear and pottery bowls and dishes. Use jelly jars for drinks. Have branches with berries in big urns to greet guests. Offer hot cider and rustic props like baskets and old tools. Have dried wheat stalks in bunches and wreaths made of nuts or twigs to add to the ambiance. Bushels of apples and pumpkins can be spread around in clusters. Your photos will look lovely taken in front of your site. Give guests pumpkin or apple scented candles to take home as favors. Invite casual attire so guests can feel comfortable in an outdoor setting.

The Cake

Instead of a stark white cake, carry the fall theme over by adding acorns, nuts, autumn colored roses and deep colored calla lilies to the cake. Place the cake on a rustic pedestal made of metal or wood. Have your baker spin brown sugar around the cake for a warm candied feel that looks like it's wrapped in fall. Offer take-home cupcakes with frosting in shades of autumn. Cupcake boxes in browns or oranges will allow your cupcakes to travel well.