Client Ailin wanted a natural outdoor setting. “Keep the look natural”, she said. And with those words, she left the rest of the theme designing process to me.

As a wedding stylist, this is my experience: 8 out of 10 brides will tell you that they want a natural theme. But everyone has a different definition of “natural”. To some, natural means you use only pastel and soft colors. To others, natural could mean having only flowers as decoration.

I am glad and thankful that I was given the freedom to design my version of “natural”.

This is my idea of what natural is:

To me, natural means something that exists in nature. Things you would naturally see in a garden. Things that Mother Nature provides. It is also things that are soothing to the eye (like the color of the sea), and has calming effect to the mind (like the sky). As simple as that. Hence, I used wooden lanterns, red apples and red flowers for a pop of color. Why not? We need not always keep things in pastel shades. Nature IS colorful.

I am glad this time I get to bring the apples to the outdoor. Last year, I used apples for this wedding.

These wooden lanterns. My precious. My favorite for outdoor setting.

Since this is a wedding, and not just any garden luncheon session, it is good to add a subtle romantic touch to the decoration. Something that is pretty. Since the main elements are wood, flowers and apples, I added on these romantic tulle roses to give the setup a delicate look. I used light grey tulle for the roses. This shade of grey is dreamy and romantic.

I have also added a small touch of red with these tiny red gingham bows. I made them tiny, so that they add just a tad of quirkiness to the theme. That’s all. I didn’t intend to make this theme cutesy girly. I handmade these and put them on top of the apples and the candles. I used these bows to form a connection: to connect the style of the table of honor and the guests tables.

And the guests table:

Guests registration table decoration:

Photo album table decoration:

Once again, the table-of-honor: a broader view.

Below is a picture of the setup process. At that moment, I haven’t placed the apples on the table, and the florist haven’t brought in the flowers. All you see is grey, white and green. Now you probably understand why I always emphasize on accent color (in this case, it is red).

I had sewn this tulle dress really quickly, using the same material used to make the tulle roses. Of course, the yardage used to make the tulle skirt is purchased separately under my own expenses. This is to show you that grey is a wonderful color to consider; it looks good and goes well with the green. This wedding would not look the same without this subtle shade of grey.

Anyway, sewing is one way to de-stress. It takes my mind off the wedding stress for a while.

The handmade items:

These tulle roses are handmade by someone who doesn’t want to be named. She does craft only when she has the time and mood for it.

Oh, I forgot to mention, the venue of this wedding – Lonepine Hotel, Penang, of course.

I hope you like this wedding style. How would your nature-inspired wedding look like?

Stay tuned for more upcoming wedding themes!