4 Easy Ways to Add a Touch of 'Rustic Love' to Your Wedding
— By Lydia Martin

Although our collective obsession with mason jars and hessian runners may be waning slightly, rustic weddings aren't going away anytime soon! There’s less of an emphasis on barn and farm style themed weddings that have reigned over Pinterest for the last few years, and more of a trend towards incorporating certain rustic elements into any wedding theme. With this in mind, we've put together a list of our top 4 favourite 'rustic love' styling options. Enjoy!

1/ Choose signage that speaks to you

When you’re herding one hundred guests around, clear signage is vital. An average-sized wedding will usually require at least a seating chart, welcome sign or directions to the wedding, table numbers as well as signs to point out the candy buffet, guest book, toilets, etc… I could probably keep going for the rest of this post just listing signs! These don’t have to merely be functional – they’re actually a wonderful way to bring a touch of rustic decor to your wedding. Handpainted signs made from reclaimed wood are great for this – functional, yet beautiful and welcoming. As well as beautifying your practical signage, consider having a custom sign made up with your favourite quote or wedding vows. You can use it as décor, or bring it along to your photo session as a prop. They make for wonderfully unique photos and tie your portraits in with the rest of the day's theme. If you think far enough ahead, you could even incorporate one into your engagement shoot to keep the theme going. Plus, after the day is over you’ll have a meaningful souvenir to hang on your wall. Meant To Be now offers custom signs - check out our website for ideas.

2/ Make your own trestle table

It breaks my heart to see a beautifully crafted cake plonked on top of one of those fold-down tables that many venues supply. A tablecloth will certainly hide a thousand sins but why not get a little more creative? Perch your cake atop a vintage writing bureau instead, or create a comfortable desk space for your guests to sit down and fill in the guest book. If your style is more simplistic, one of my favourite tricks at the moment is to knock up a pair of trestle legs from old pallets (you can find great tutorials online), throw an old door on top, and voila! You have a perfectly rustic trestle table. Just one or two of these make a wonderful feature to use as your cake table or candy buffet, but if you're particularly crafty you could make enough to seat all your guests. It’s a fun activity to do with your fiance, and who knows, maybe in the process, you’ll realise you’re ideal contestants for the next season of The Block.

3/ Cover-up

This may not apply to those of you who are getting married in a hotel or winery, but for anyone DIY-ing their wedding in a hall, barn, or outdoors, you'll have some extra work cut out for you. There's nothing worse than spending hours dreaming up your centrepieces only to realize that your guests have a view of the porta-potties. Luckily there are a whole lot of options to cover those offending (yet unfortunately essential) bits of your venue. Old doors are a great way to cover up a large area you want to hide. They can be hinged together as a screen to hide your porta-potties from the dancefloor, or lean them against the ugly community noticeboard that takes up a wall of your hall venue. You’d never guess that behind these doors lies the ugliest trophy cabinet! The same idea can be achieved with a vintage screen, or even with some strategically placed trees in painted pots.

4/ Bring the outdoors in

If you’re looking for budget-friendly rustic touches, look no further than the great outdoors. There are so many beautiful things to be found in your garden or on your local beach. Just grab a bag and take a walk with your future spouse. Pinecones - bonus points if they're covered in lichen - work beautifully with most colour schemes and add an awesomely wholesome, natural feel to a centrepiece. Best of all, they're free! Driftwood, sea glass, interesting rocks and branches, and moss are just a few possibilities. So bring the best bits of the outdoors into your venue, but just make sure you're not scavenging from a reserve or private property.

All images by Lavara Wedding Photography