This past weekend was…interesting, to say the least.
Mr. Cardigan and I took a trip to Austin for a friend’s wedding shower. I won’t get into all of the craziness that happened, but the big event of the weekend was that Ranger was staying for a few hours at Mr. Cardy’s mom’s house, and he managed to get loose. It took two hours of running through the woods, calling his name, and just waiting before we finally got him back (he came only when he saw me waiting for him at the house. What a momma’s boy!). It was a stressful weekend, and I’d really rather not ever have to think about it again.
But, one good thing did come of it! We had a meeting with our DOC, and it went fabulously. We met her at our venue so we could discuss decor and details that we hadn’t talked about yet, and she really knows what she’s talking about. She brought up several things that I had never even thought of, and she gave me many new things to add to my to-do list (lovely!).
The big thing that I’ve been thinking about since the meeting is our altar. If you’ll remember, this is the room we’re getting married in:
(Personal Photo)
The view is stunning, right? So stunning, in fact, that I had no plans to put anything on the stage. No flower-filled altar for me, thanks, I just want to focus on the view. But our DOC brought up the (very good) point that we really need to have something to frame us a bit and that the stage will probably look a bit awkward and empty if we don’t do something with it. Mr. Cardy agreed with the points she brought up, and I was officially outnumbered. So, we started to think about what we could do.
Our first thought was obviously the typical arbor-type altar that you see so often. However, my big concern with that is that a big structure like that is going to block the amazing views. Sure you can still see them, but not nearly as well. Then, I found a photo of something like that in the actual room, and my decision was confirmed: I am NOT a fan.
All I can see are all of the flowers, not the gorgeous lake view. So, this option is out.
My next thought was actually something I really wanted to do: A pennant banner. I can’t remember where I found it (and I can’t track down the photo anymore) but I saw a gorgeous photo of a bride and groom getting married in front of a beautiful set of pennant banners, and I fell in love. Something like this, but not with the word “barbecue” written across it:
But when I actually visited the venue again, I quickly realized this wasn’t really possible. There isn’t a logical place to hang the banner from, and those stupid chandeliers in the front of the room really just get in the way.
So, that idea was out too. Our DOC mentioned the idea of creating the illusion of an altar by hanging votives at varying heights from the beam on the ceiling, and creating an arch with them. It was a great idea, but it doesn’t really seem to fit with the rest of our style, and I still didn’t like the idea of it being between those two ugly chandeliers.
After our meeting, I immediately came home and started searching for ideas of what I could do. I now knew that we had to have some sort of an altar set-up, I just had no idea what. I found several gorgeous ideas, including this one:
Drool! (Source)
But, alas, I knew there was no way in a million years Mr. Cardy would let me take on a project of this size…and even if he did, where would we put it?! Those chandeliers ruin everything!
Finally, after about an hour or so of searching all over the internet, I found a cute, cheap, and whimsical idea for our altar. And it was right here on Weddingbee! Look:
SO. CUTE. It fits right in with the rest of our style for the wedding, and it’s uber cheap to boot! If we go with this idea, we’ll probably do four balloons instead of three, like the bride in the photo originally had wanted. It will be a great way to frame us and provide a little more structure to the stage, but it won’t be so big that it will take away from the gorgeous views! Plus, we can repurpose the awesome balloons for the reception! Score!
So, what do you think? Should we go with the balloons or one of the other options I mentioned? Or, do you have a fabulous idea that I haven’t even thought of yet?! OR, are Mr. Cardy and my DOC crazy and I don’t really need to put anything there at all?
Leave a comment