Make Your Rustic Wedding Memorable

Jacqueline Spigener

2.5k Reads

Updated: 20 Jan, 2023

Table of Contents

Capture memories together with instant cameras at your reception, and invite little notes from each other, so you both feel seen, cherished, and closer.
Remembering loved ones with a small memorial section honors your shared history and invites you to support one another, deepening your emotional bond.
Create a warm, rustic atmosphere with wood accents, lighting, and chalkboard notes that reflect your story, so you both feel seen, safe, and more connected.

Your country wedding should be just as memorable as the first night you met your spouse. If you love all things country, western, and rustic, why not let your wedding show off your unique style?

But if you’re stumped on ways to make it amazing, mentioned below are some of the genius ideas and tips for planning a rustic wedding and bring your western wedding to the next level.

1. Find the perfect rustic wedding venue

This may seem obvious, but one of the first steps towards a perfect western wedding is finding the perfect rustic wedding venue.

With thousands of wedding venues across the country, it can be really overwhelming to look through them. This is where a wedding planner can help narrow down your choices with their best creative wedding planning ideas.

Pick out a few requirements for the venue – pricing and location – and then decide upon a few items you really want in your venue.

For example:

Country barn setting
Classic chapel setting
Indoor or outdoor ceremony areas

Make sure you also ask about parking, guest capacity, accessibility, restrictions on noise and alcohol, and vendors. Some venues only allow you to choose from their list of accepted vendors, while others accept pretty much any vendor for your event.

Finally, once you’ve narrowed it down to a few, take a tour of your top rustic wedding venue choices. That way you can get a better feel for the venue itself in person.

If you like what you see, schedule your date!

2. Capture memories with a classic instant camera

Keeping with the rustic theme, what’s better than instant cameras and instant memories?

Place instant cameras on each of your guest tables and encourage them to snap some photos throughout the wedding and reception. You could even implement this idea with your guestbook. Leave slots open for guests to place their selfies in, and then write a message beneath.

Snapshots and captured memories are best ways to make your wedding more memorable.

So, go around clicking and capturing memories!

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3. Remember lost loved ones

As a special tribute to your loved ones who have passed on, set up a small memorial section at your country wedding to remember those who had long passed away.

It’s easy to make this piece fit in with the rest of your rustic decor. Plus, it’s an excellent way to keep close those who are no longer with us and who you wished could be there.

4. Use wood in your decor

Use wood in your decor Wood is a great way to incorporate rustic elements into your western wedding. Here are just a few examples of how to do that:

Use slices of small trees as your ring box
Create beautiful hand-lettered wooden signs
Use wood-textured backgrounds on your seating markers
Use a hanging wood frame for cute photos
Order a wooden “this way to…” sign that shows guests where to find the reception area, ceremony, and other important locations

Another great idea is using wood instead of a traditional guest book. Grab a shadow box and some small to medium-sized wooden shapes, like hearts. Have guests sign the hearts and drop them into the shadow box when they’re done.

Finally, try using barrels as decor! It may sound unconventional, but barrels can add a lot of western charm to your wedding. Wood adds an instant rustic charm to any event, so make sure you utilize it in your country wedding.

5. Don’t forget the little things

From the lighting and table decor to seating and ring box, you want everything to match and work well together.

Think for a moment about the little things – your ring box, what the flower girl will hold, your bouquet – don’t forget these items while planning at your rustic wedding venue.

6. Use mason jars

Just like wood adds rustic elements to your decor, mason jars have that same power. So how can you utilize mason jars during your western wedding?

There are a ton of ways to use them!

For example:

Holding tea lights or LED light strips
Flower vases
Table markers
Cups for drinks
Decorated centerpieces
Instant hanging or held lighting for stunning ambiance in nighttime weddings

Paint and distress them for even more of a rustic effect, tie them up with burlap and bows, or incorporate other rustic design ideas to fit your style.

7. Light up your wedding

The right lighting is key for any wedding, but especially an outdoor country wedding. You can do your wedding lighting in a bunch of different ways, such as:

Hanging chandelier
Strung overhead
Strung through tree branches
Lanterns
LED lights
Mason jar candles and so on.

Irrespective of what you choose, just take a moment to see how that element fits with the rest of your decor. The right lighting will give you a certain feeling inside of you and will make everything fall into place perfectly.

8. Try chalkboard messages

Place chalkboard signs throughout your rustic wedding venue for an instant country wedding vibe.

Here are a few ideas for your chalkboards –

Hashtag – Write your wedding hashtag on them for easy access to wedding photos after the event is over. Guests can snap pics the entire time and upload them with your specific hashtag later, making it easy to find them. Simply throw the hashtag up on a chalkboard and give them some short instructions.
Important dates – A great way to add romance with chalkboards is by displaying important dates in you and your spouse’s life on chalkboards. Write down the date and then the significance of that date, such as the day you met, the day your partner proposed, or the first time you said, “I love you.”
Information – Give your guests more information about the wedding on a chalkboard. Write the name of each partner, their parents, and then the wedding party below them. Any other pertinent information can be included, as well.
Schedule – Much like the wooden sign idea mentioned above, you can use a chalkboard to write out a schedule of the day’s events on your wedding day. Write out the time and then what’s occurring at that time next to it, and maybe even where it’s happening. It’s an easy, beautiful way to keep guests abreast of what will happen next.
Quotes – Add your favorite quotes in a pretty typeface to small chalkboards throughout your rustic wedding venue. It’s romantic, beautiful, and fits in perfectly with any country wedding theme. The messages on the signs themselves are up to you, but that old, hand-lettered chalkboard style is the perfect way to make your wedding more classic.
Incorporate hay bales

Hay isn’t just for horses. It can actually be a beautiful addition to your western wedding.

Use hay bales as seating for guests. If you’re concerned about it being uncomfortable, simply lay blankets down over the bales, or add a plank of wood over several to create bench seating that still keeps that rustic country feel. To top it off, tie burlap bows around each bench to finish the look.

You could also display your initials on a hay bale using a variety of materials for an added western decor effect.

If you are worried thinking, “How can I make my wedding more memorable?”, just look back at the mentioned innovative ways to make your D-day all the more special for you. No matter what style you choose, you can make your country wedding even more memorable with these innovative nine tips.

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