Outdoor Wedding Venue Transformation: Creating A Whimsical Garden
When designing an outdoor event, I always love the creative challenge of transforming a wide-open, empty space into an outdoor “room“ with just as much atmosphere as an indoor venue! For this recent wedding, I wanted to create an elevated, whimsical garden for my clients. It needed to feel grand and magical, like a fairytale, but still give the guests a feeling of intimacy and warmth.
We began with the space shown below - a rectangular lawn enclosed by a hedge and brick walls, leading into a covered gazebo and pool.
THE VENUE BEFORE
To transform the outdoor space, we carpeted the grass area and built trussing to create a ceiling and walls around the dining area. From the “ceiling“ overhead we hung greenery, white wisteria and hundreds of roses, plus luxurious rose gold chandeliers.
To create interest and an organic feel, I chose varying looks for the dining tables. Some were wooden farm tables, others were draped in linen, and a whimsical serpentine table covered in faux-grass wound its way through the dining area. High and low centerpieces and a stunning sweetheart table floral display were made from garden and spray roses in peach, soft orange, beige, pink and blush, plus pink hydrangea, and multiple shades of dahlias.
As the centerpiece to the whole space I wanted a wall-like backdrop behind the sweetheart table, so I commissioned a custom, hand-painted mural from the brilliant scenic designer Narbeh Leon. It was absolutely incredible!
THE BUILD-OUT IN PROGRESS
Everything came together so beautifully. Once evening arrived, the rose gold chandeliers, peachy hued flowers, abundant glow of candle light and spectacular mural backdrop made walking into the reception feel like stepping inside in an oil painting…
THE FINISHED DESIGN
Photos by Kris Kan
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