Outdoor Weddings

Picnic Tables

Hi Ladies, I am planning an outdoor wedding next to a lake and plan to hold our reception under a pavilion like many of you. I just don't know what to do about the picnic tables! The park/lake recreation people won't let us move them out and put nice round tables and chairs in, so I'm stuck with them. Any ideas for making them less... picnic table-like? Curious to hear what others are doing! TIA.
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Re: Picnic Tables

  • Instead of trying to hide them, I would play them up like they are supposed to be there. Sometimes I think the more you try to hide something, the more you draw attention to it. I looked at your bio and it looks like you have a few rustic touches so I don't think it would be hard to tie in to a picnic type feel. You can still put white (or other coloured) tablecloths on the picnic tables and dress them up. You could use rustic lanterns or a bunch of different sized mason jars filled with flowers for your centrepieces. Wicker or bamboo would also look nice but would tie in with a more casual/picnic theme. Potted centrepieces would also be awesome.
  • I agree with pp. And if everything is really put together it will make even less of a difference. My only concern would be difficulty getting situated for those in long gowns (but you could also choose to put chairs on the ends of the tables).
  • We're doing our wedding right on a lake as well. We're getting married right in front of the lake and holding our reception in the pavillion about 200 feet away. Our park won't let us move the picnic tables either so we're just sticking with a rustic theme. We bought miniture black lanterns that hold tea-lights to decorate the sides of our centerpieces for the picnic tables, and matching larger black lanterns for the head table. (We're bringing normal 8-foot tables for the head table and for the food.)
  • I did get some really cute laterns to use as centerpieces, but like someone pointed out, I was a little concerned about people trying to sit down in dresses -but the suggestion to add some chairs at the end of the tables is great! That will also be easier for our grandparents I think. Thanks for the suggestions!
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  • Hmmm. My ceremony will be under a pavilion as well, but as far as I know there are no restrictions with the tables. They can't be removed completely, but we can sit them out in the grass nearby and replace them when we're done. As far as dresses are concerned, as long as the tables are spaced apart there should be slide-in seats on each end. They're much easier to get into than step-in seats... chairs would be nice on the ends, too.
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