whimsy on a budget

[Deleted User]

Some of you remember how I was trying to do a mad-hatter style of quirky reception. Unfortunately, the line between whimsy and tacky is about thisthin. Everything I have tried to make has turned out just plain TACKY! (Not exactly what I'm aiming for. haha) So, now on to plan B... subtle whimsy....

I want something hearfelt but not stuffy, and fun but not goofy....kinda like this...

http://greenweddingshoes.com/a-whimsical-wedding-at-terrain-elizabeth-kevin/

I need some help. How can I make this happen? FI and I are on a tight budget. I've considered making those poof-ball things, origami cranes, etc... I just can't seem to think of how to put it all together. Any ideas?

jendem8

So I looked at that link and some ideas popped into my head.  It definitely seems like you might be going for a more vintage-y kind of vibe, which is probably has less of a chance of looking tacky but is still hard to do (you really have to be careful with ALL of the details).  Some thoughts:

Use milk glass and a mix of vases (maybe some of that blue antique glass).  You want to keep a theme though... so maybe look for all single stem vases, or similar heights or thickness (otherwise it can look really crazy).  You can always start looking on ebay or at flea markets to get them for super cheap.

Use branches and fiddlehead ferns with flower accents (I'm doing tall branches and gluing orchids onto them)... you might want to do branches and hang cranes from them in pretty, antique-looking scrapbooking paper.  Overall, way cheaper than flowers, but it still gives you a "whimsical" look - especially the ferns.

Color scheme is important.  Corals and blues together work really well.  A lot of ivory helps.  You could find some fabrics that you like (go to Jo-Ann's or another fabric store when there's a big sale... also sign up for their coupons).  Then you could make pillows or your napkins out of a patterned fabric that works for your wedding colors.  Lace is also another good antiquey/whimsical fabric.

Mixing and matching is key, but you have to do it well (which is really hard to do). Here's a wedding that I'm obsessed with that shows a few of the things I mentioned: http://beach-productions.com/blog/2011/05/jessie-actress-billy-pro-surfer-vintage-my-favorite-wedding-of-all-time/

[Deleted User]

I am loving this pic of the streamers hanging above the couple's head in the last pic... any ideas how I can do this at 108 Budleigh?

http://www.betsywhite.com/flightsoffancy/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/art_installations2.jpg

[Deleted User]

Jen, you're EXACTLY right- vintage whimsy is what I want. I love those ideas.. and I'm totally loving that wedding link! Thanks!!

Keep the ideas flowing people! Ever since school started back, my creativity has gone from wedding-minded to 5th grade minded. I need to put the creative part of my brain back in action.

jlbeucke

What are your colors?

Totally off topic, but I LOVE the shoes on the girl in the link in your OP.

[Deleted User]

FI is an illustrator and I'm just plain quirky, so we love every color on the planet. At one point we thought blue, green, and purple, but then we weren't sure b/c we loved reds and the other colors too....so to answer your question, our colors are ALL the colors of the rainbow, I guess

RussoWill

Maybe you could do some outdoor-inspired floral arrangements with lots of color (think hand picked looking) to incorporate your love of color and choose 2 or 3 favorite colors to run through the rest of your wedding. 
I also had a magazine page in my wedding book with a cute idea you may like. 
http://www.brides.com/blogs/brides-daily/2010/05/8-ways-to-upgrade-a-backyard-b.html
In the photo on the top of the page, the one on the right is the idea I had clipped from the magazine.  They made a 'mobile' out of wire and hung homemade paper flowers in cute paper from them. Totally cute, whimsical and budget friendly. 

jendem8

Oh, and you could totally do that streamer thing on the veranda outside at Budleigh!  Love that too!