5 Beautiful and Fun Crafts for Outdoor Weddings

Posted by CraftFoxes Staff on Jan 20, 2019

An outdoor wedding arguably has the most impressive decor a couple could ask for: natural beauty. Whether it’s a backdrop of woods, water or grass, outdoing a canopy of trees or the soundtrack of a bubbling brook is pretty, even for the best crafter. That said, handmade accents can give the wedding ceremony and reception a homey touch. Here are five DIY projects for an outdoor wedding.

Wedding Program Fan

The wedding program communicates details about your special day and can be particularlly helpful if you’re holding a ceremony with a few unexpected elements. Outdoor ceremonies, particularly ones with formally dressed guests, can get a little steamy.

Enable your guests to stay cool in the sunshine and provide a memento for them to take home. Print your program on stiff cardstock and add a handle so it can double as a hand fan. The program is perfect for including a story that gives your guests insight into the relationship about to be commemorated, and it can also keeps them cool. The above video by Shore Thing Prints explains how to assemble the fans.

Arches and arbors

Opting for the outdoors option allows you a bit more openness in your wedding theme, whether you’re in your backyard or at an award-winning wedding venue. First, choose a focal point and use the scenery to create the frame around your vows. Mark the spot with a ceremonial arch that complements your color or stylistic theme.

While not exactly DIY project for most people, a decorated wrought-iron pergola is the perfect accompaniment for a Victorian motif. A branch arbor festooned with flowers (more doable for most people) provides a rustic aura. No matter whether your theme is elaborate or minimalist, creating a custom arch or arbor can help convey the magic of your special day. Above, the Sorry Girls explains how to build your own wood and flower arbor.

Natural Bug Spray

Outdoor weddings are lovely, but the ceremony can be disturbed by unwanted flying and stinging guests. You can set citronella candles everywhere or pay for a mosquito fogger, but both of those scents can overpower more delicate fragrances like floral arrangements.

Keep uninvited guests and pests away by mixing environmentally friendly DIY bug spray in individual bottles. A blend of essential oils and witch hazel will help ward off mosquitoes and flies and also provide a pleasant-smelling cool spray. In the above video, Honeysuckle explains how to blend the natural concoction.

Punched Metal Votive Lanterns

Hurricane lanterns filled with glowing candles are perfect for the main aisle of your ceremony. But purchasing enough to light the entire outdoor wedding venue can be prohibitively expensive. Paper lanterns and decorative bags have a hard time recovering from a gust of wind and may catch on fire if you use real candles.

Enjoy the flickering light of genuine candles by placing tea lights inside handmade punched tin votives. Crafty couples can spell out words or stencil a repeatable image on 14-ounce cans. These sturdy lights provide the perfect mix of DIY and cost-effectiveness and can be recycled after the wedding. We have a how to on CraftFoxes with the instructions for making tin can lanterns.

Confetti Cones

While rice was once showered on couples as a wish for prosperity and good fortune, the celebration has changed now that we know that the ingredient might harm unsuspecting birds. For a festive send-off, provide individual paper cones of biodegradable confetti or birdseed for your guests to toss. The colorful bits will make for wonderful photos and won’t harm the natural beauty that surrounds your momentous day.

Enjoy the outdoor wedding of your dreams in the warm sun. For more DIY wedding ideas, check out the following video from HGTV.