Country Wedding Inspiration!

Welcome new followers and friends to Carolina Country Living! Many of you have found me through the Twice Remembered Cottage's Cottage Charm giveaway and I'm so glad y'all are here. 

My Cottage Charm giveaway continues through May 28th, 
so there is plenty of time to enter if you haven't done so yet!

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Whew! Well, we're back from a lovely weekend in the mountains of western North Carolina. The weather was mild, the scenery gorgeous and the fresh, mountain air restorative. Though I'm happy to be back home (my husband says otherwise since he has to go back to work!), it's always nice to be away for a few days.  If you're ever thinking of vacationing in western NC, consider the Bryson City and Cherokee areas. They are adjacent to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park and offer many camping, hiking and sight-seeing opportunities.

I didn't bring my laptop while out of town and therefore didn't check email for *four* whole days. I'm surprised I didn't have withdrawals! :)  If I haven't yet responded to a comment you left last week, you will hear from me by the end of the week as I slowly, but surely, catch up.  Thanks for understanding! 

As promised, today is Country Wedding Inspiration day! After sharing my own wedding photos last week, and because we're rounding into peak wedding season in the south, I've been looking forward to sharing a host of gorgeous country wedding inspiration pictures with you.

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In the last few years, country weddings seem to have become particularly popular. It's understandable because they are quite beautiful, incorporating many intrinsically attractive elements of nature and the outdoors. And country weddings can be done fairly frugally--another point in favor of this wedding style, especially in this economy.

When I think of country weddings, I generally think of the following (in no particular order):

• Local flowers
• Mason jars and other glass containers
• Barns and barn wood
• Galvanized metal
• Burlap
• Wagons
• Hay or straw bales
• Buntings
• Simple and elegant cakes
• Table settings with vintage and rustic elements
• And, of course, being outside

When browsing through the many photos online, these elements appeared over and over again. Let's take a closer look at them in combination with each other as they form beautiful country weddings.

The Great Outdoors as Wedding Stage

Pastures, barns and open spaces are quintessential aspects of a country wedding.

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Wedding Dresses

 Country wedding dresses come in many forms, but brides often opt for vintage or vintage-inspired dresses, favoring lace decorations, unexpected shoes and simple detailing.

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 Seasonal Flowers, Simple Containers and Understated Arrangements

What would a wedding be without flowers?
Country weddings aren't about using exotic flowers in ostentatious ways. Rather, country weddings favor in-season flowers, like wildflowers, roses, hydrangeas, lilacs, daisies and baby's breath, which are casually arranged in useful, but beautiful containers.

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Whimsical Decorations
Be they buntings (my personal favorite) or classic symbols of the countryside like eggs and strawberries, country wedding decorations allow for much creativity.

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(Unorthodox) Seating
One of my very favorite things about country weddings is how inventive people are about the seating, both for the ceremony and reception. Being outside affords many types of seating options and whether chairs, hay bales or pews (yes, pews placed outside) are used, the effect is charming.

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Tablescapes
(I feel very Sandra Lee talking about 'tablescapes!')
That said, country wedding tablescapes can be fabulous affairs with layers of textures, shapes and colors. Wood, linens, metal, flowers, other organic elements, glass and lighting all make for remarkable feasts for the eyes.

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Cakes
Like wedding dresses, country wedding cakes run the gamut; however, a common theme amongst these wedding cakes involves the adornment of fresh flowers on white icing for a splendid and elegant effect.

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And a wedding isn't complete without the bride and groom bidding farewell to their guests...which in country style can be done from a wagon or carriage.

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So, what are your thoughts on country weddings?  Did you have one yourself, or would you have one if you could? What are your favorite elements of country weddings?


Erin

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