Pomander – this is a new word to my vocabulary today. Have you ever heard of one? Well if you haven’t, you should because these huge scented flower balls are adorable. A pomander is traditionally a fruit that has been poked with cloves all over the outside, then dried and covered in pretty smelling things making a huge pretty potpourri ball. Flower pomanders are inspired by the original and are still great smelling pretty balls but are actually flowers stuck into a styrofoam ball center. This wedding ceremony set-up is perfect for an outdoor wedding and features these little balls of goodness.

outdoor wedding with pomanders

Hanging a few at the beginning of the chairs defines the beginning of your space, much like a door would do if you were having an indoor ceremony. They also look great hanging with ribbons down the aisle.

pomander arch perfection

And this altar is absolutely stunning. I love the idea of things hanging overhead and am a sucker for paper lanterns, which is why I fell in love with this flower pomander altar. It adds structure and tradition to your outdoor wedding while retaining that whimsical, organic feel you want when getting married outside.

It’s the peak of summer and I can’t get my mind off of beach weddings. Beach weddings in the summer - how particularly inventive of me. Creative judging aside, I found some amazing beach wedding set-ups. When you plan a beach wedding the venue is the easiest detail to pick, it’s sprucing that up to make your wedding unique that is the difficult part. You can’t just add flowers to the ends of the pews and sprinkle some petals down the aisle. You literally have to make the pews and aisle from scratch. That’s great for your creative freedom but not-so-great for your continually growing wedding to-do list. So here are a few beach wedding settings to get your creative juices flowing.

this aisle blends well, keeping the natural beach look

love the bright tropical colors

simple dock ceremony

I could see myself having many different style weddings. I don’t understand how couples narrow it down to just one. I constantly plan the tablescapes for my barn wedding, the hotel suite for my destination wedding and the invitations for my ceremony at the Four Seasons in New York. Now obviously I just cannot do them all (unless I renew my vows every year, which I’m tempted to do just for the parties) so I constantly change my mind. But when I saw this picture I fell in love.

twinkle twinkle little star

Wouldn’t this be the perfect venue? The room itself has a rustic, natural vibe and has tons of conveniently open space for my guests’ chairs. The stained glass looking windows add a hint of tradition by giving a nod to the classic church ceremony. And those twinkling lights above would be unbelievably romantic.

you could definitely fall in love here

Did I mention this venue is in Venice, Italy? I could definitely get married in Italy. It usually doesn’t look quite like this since it was set up for an art exhibit but I wonder if I could bribe them to recreate it for my wedding day…

Throwing things at a newly married couple is an old tradition – sounds fun, right? Typically the couple gets showered in rice while leaving their ceremony. Now call me crazy but I don’t want little hard pellets of rice thrown at me – ever – let alone while I am wearing a pretty, expensive dress. And many say that rice shouldn’t be thrown because it’s bad for the birds. While I find that hard to believe (I mean isn’t bird seed the same size and texture?) I still think we should keep the rice on a plate next to my egg roll and veggie lo mein.

what a pretty shower

If my guests insist on throwing stuff at me, then I insist it be something pretty. Call me crazy. Why not switch your rice toss out for blown bubbles? Rose petals? Actual, colored confetti?