Blank Slate: {Ambiance}

I've shared my research on the basics of how to make a blank tent feel like your own, so now it's time to move on to how we're going to soften-up the room and make it our own. You can do this with some ceiling treatments, of course- but in our case, the Thimble fam has all but threatened to strap me into my makeup chair if I try to DIY my own draping or paper lanterns.

Fortunately, our florists had an amazing solution that focuses on the tent walls- which is less labor-intensive and won't bust the budget to commission them to make it happen:

{sources: top, bottom right, mid, left} 

We're talkin' branches and votives along the tent walls. And when Suesan Klein of Murphy and Klein Florals suggested it at our first open house at our venue, I knew I could make this tent work, and I knew who I wanted to hire to do our florals.

Joyce Murphy, or [Suesan's] Aunt Joyce, grew up on a flower farm and has carried on the family business in Ottsville, PA in a 150 year-old restored barn. She is going to use branches from the forest around their property to tie on the supports around the tent and hang LED lighted votives to create a soft glow. Any flowers they don't grow on their property, they find locally. And if they can't, or if it's an exotic flower, they pull their traditional florist resources and fly them in. It's been really fun to watch them branch out (hehe) and market themselves through social media on facebook and their new blog since we booked them a year ago.

Ok, enough gushing. I just love using a family business to carry out a family tree theme and keep things local.

On the tables, we'll have brown linens, mixed china, canning jars, pumpkins, and burlap and gingham runners. But I'll save the eye candy inspiration and DIY reality posts for later.

Are using creative lighting or florals to soften a stark space?

blank slate: [moving up]

Now that I've covered how tables and chairs can shape, style, and set the mood in a room, I want to lift our gaze to the ceiling of the basic frame tent.

[source]

Mmmm. There it is. Steel beams and flame retardant white fabric. Every bride's dream, am I right? There are several solutions to this potential problem, but most cost a huge chunk of every bride's budget. I don't really have a solution for this problem except to host your wedding in your own backyard and mask the tent's ceiling yourself because I don't think any venue is going to be comfortable with a DIY bride on a 20ft ladder hanging paper lanterns on the morning of her wedding. I should know- I asked.

1. Draping

Otherwise known as fluffy ethereal marshmallow fairytale bliss:

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The problem? Apparently, draping the ceiling of a tent costs as much as many brides' entire budget. I mean, if you've got it and it's a priority, by all means do go for it. But this bride's pockets aren't that deep. And, fortunately, I picked my venue for a reason.

2. Clear top

My venue's tent can be upgraded to a clear top with the option of just paying for the middle 2 panels or going all the way. I LOVE this idea. I mean, who wants to pay a site fee for the breathtaking beauty of an outdoor venue just to spend the majority of the wedding eating, toasting and dancing with a roof blocking your view?? Not I. Behold:

[source for all]

Of course, not all of this loveliness comes at one low price. The lighting treatment in the top right pic is really what makes the ambiance here, but it brings the total cost up to... well about half of what draping costs, but still more than I'm willing to spend. So I searched for a happy compromise and began to research...

3. Cafe Lights and Paper Lanterns

[clockwise from top left: 1, 2, 3]

So simple, fun, whimsical and beautiful! And probably cheap, ring? Hmph. Here's where the wedding industry really makes me mad. I've seen some quotes for paper lantern hanging for the same cost as draping. (Okay, you're getting that I'm not really a "numbers" person. I think the top of what I'm talking about here is 5 or 6K. For reals). And our guy Larry with Open Aire Affairs told my dad that the cost of hanging cafe lights will outweigh the benefit. I was looking down the same kind of disappointing road. At least he's open to creative solutions, and not trying to upsell us! (Seriously, I heart my vendors).

Our tent's roof will be the complete clear top, and we're sticking with the standard chandeliers that won't cost extra. Now that's a compromise. And one I can feel good about because the complete clear top was my dad's idea. Um... awesome! (That means, in my not-good-at-budget brain that I can't be blamed, right?).

We're going to get our romantic ambiance from my creative wonderful florists: TBR (to be revealed).

Any other tent brides out there? What were your roof solutions? Was it a priority or not worth the cost?

blank slate (basics)

I realize I jumped ahead revealing my half-baked plan to build our family tree out of felt flowers. But I'm glad I did, because handmade family tree-in-my-head has informed many decisions about the design of our day and reflects our wedding "theme," if you can call it that:

(Yeah, I brought it back. Read it as a sentence or separate ideas... either way you get the picture. It started with the vintage harvest and lightened up into the nostalgic picnic, but I didn't want to let go of the formality... anyway I digress)

And thank gawd I have an inspiration piece for my design, because I asked for- and received- a big ole' blank slate to do with whatever I may please.

kinda like this (source)

The blank slate route can turn into a be-careful-what-you-wish-for situation fast if you let it overwhelm you. So far, my delight over not having to cover banquet chairs or work around heavy brocade curtains has mostly balanced any concerns about making this white and steel-beamed open space into something warm and weddingy.

In retelling how I tackled this task, I'm going to start from the ground up- from where our family and friends will spend the majority of their night, and a design point that can help make or break a successful party.

Tables and chairs.

I know, I know- these basics are not romantic, fluffy, or especially inspiring. But the choices made here can make a huge impact on the feeling of the room and the conversation at the table.

The first choice- usually the default for event spaces that provide tables- is the 60" round:

                                                                                  (source)

Why look! This also features different chairs. I'll get there (All from OnceWed).

60-Inch Round tables: Your basic 8-10 seater. Expected, comfortable, gets the job done. Some also argue (with me) that it's easier to chat with your neighbors at the 60" round than at an alternative seating arrangement.

Looking for something a little different? Maybe a little edgy, if you will? Try the 60" Square:

(clockwise from top left: 1, 2, 3, 4)

The clean lines of a square table add a refreshing modern vibe.

And finally, there's the regal option of the long banquet table:









                                                                              
                                                                                                                   (source)

{OnceWed}

The banquet table feels rich and important, and the long lines add structure to a handmade wedding. It's also a fun way to seat friends and family together instead of breaking them up in groups of 8 to 10. But really, it reminds me of Thanksgiving as a kid with about 30 relatives crammed at 2 long tables from the dining room into the living room. 

The tables' partner in crime is, of course the chair. I'm faced with 2 options: An upgrade to chivari, or the basic white folding rental:

(again from OnceWed)

Above, chivaris make a statement in a simple space on the left, while white chairs sit pretty on the right. I don't mind the basic white choice- it certainly isn't an offensive chair. But I hear the siren call of the chivari. Even their name has a sensuous beauty: chi-vaarri. It purrs. 

My plan is to mix up long banquet tables and square tables so I can sew-up some simple runners and bring order to my vintagey mish-mash decor (you'll see!). We will probably lay low with the chairs and stick with the white ones included in our contract. Unless we find some extra money growing on that family tree of ours (hehe).

What table shape are you using? Do you think the shape changes the flow of the party and conversation?