Hi! I'm Taryn, a writer, designer and soon-to-be-bride from Atlanta, Georgia. Sit a spell with me and catch up as I plan the wedding of my beer-loving, confetti-throwing dreams to the wonderful Mr. Williford.Pomp and Ceremony: A Backdrop for Our Vows
Have you ever looked forward to dessert? Who am I kidding, of course you have. But have you ever looked forward to dessert so much that you rush through your meal? You just mindlessly gobble up your meat and potatoes because you know there’s a cupcake waiting for you as soon as you finish? The dinner—the whole reason you’re sitting there at the table in the first place—just becomes an excuse to gorge on sweets. I don’t want that to happen to our wedding ceremony.
Rooster and I are saying “I do” outside on the patio of our brewery venue in a short secular ceremony which will only keep our guests from their beers for 20 minutes. We’ve put so much attention and focus on the party that happens afterward, it would be really easy for us to forget about celebrating the ceremony. But that part of the day where we exchange vows, no matter how short, is still going to be the most important 20 minutes of our lives. We’ve put a good bit of thought into the words we’re going to say to commence our marriage, and I want to make sure the space where we say I do is full of its own proper splendor, too.
Monday Night Brewing via Groupon
First, I’ll set the scene. This is the patio at Monday Night Brewing. Our plan is to set up the ceremony at the far end of the space, with the tree canopy becoming the backdrop in front of which we’ll exchange vows. The red benches you see scattered around the patio in the photo above will be our primary seating, supplemented with a few vintage wooden benches we’re renting from Blue Eyed Yonder to fit all our guests.
The trees offer some beautiful scenery. But to better frame our ceremony, I want to create a backdrop we (and our officiant and bridal party) can stand in front (and it will definitely be something I DIY). It just looks so great in photos to have something framing the action, too. Keeping in mind our wedding style and theme, here’s some of my favorite inspiration.
Geometric backdrop by French Knot Studios and shot by Izzy Hudgins, via Ruffled
Wax paper backdrop from this Style Me Pretty wedding, shot by Gabriel Boone // Tutorial here
Scroll from this Style Me Pretty wedding, shot by Tammy Horton
Graphic quote backdrop via Jonas Peterson
In addition to a ceremony backdrop, I would love to accessorize the seating area and aisle somehow. Floral arrangements set to line the aisle at each bench would be beautiful, but I don’t want to blow our flower budget out of the water. We need something we can plan in advance without spending too much cash. Add in the fact that the floor is concrete (so sheperds hooks are out) and the benches are backless (can’t hang pomanders), and you see we’ve got a bit of a challenge. Still, I think we can find something that works.
Green Olive Photography
I love these balloons, but we can’t really raise them high enough with the string lights overhead.
Lialah + Daniel’s Wedding on Green Wedding Shoes, shot by Simply Bloom Photography
Maybe an aisle runner is the way to go? A glittery one?
Glitter aisle runner by Bash, Please, shot by Max Wanger on 100 Layer Cake
I’ve got a lot to think about, and only a little time to get started—these could potentially be some of our biggest wedding DIYs. Any ideas? How did you handle ceremony decor?
