Inspiration Nation: 5 Secrets to Styling Your Wedding Tablescape

Monday, July 31, 2017

5 Secrets to Styling Your Wedding Tablescape

From SMP Blogger Bride, Paige of Studio Bicyclette… As we near our wedding date, the details of the big day are starting to fall into place and the vision is really coming to life. I’ve learned that each and every decision you make when styling a wedding helps to tell the story of your big day and showcase your own personal style. It’s important to pay attention to the details, carefully think through the selections you make when choosing your rentals and decor, and work closely with your vendors to help you make your dream a reality. Today I’m sharing a mockup of our table designs and a few of my favorite tablescape tips.

Find Your Inspiration

It’s no secret that I’m a big proponent of inspiration boards, and I can’t stress enough the importance of taking the time to pull ideas for your wedding details and tablescape design, as we talked about in an earlier post. This is when your wedding style really starts to emerge and you’re able to narrow in on what your overall vision is and also how that will translate into the details.

Determine the Specific Details

There were a few themes that quickly emerged for me when I went through the inspiration gathering process, and so I knew I wanted to incorporate hints of silver, tie in a nod to sparkly night skies and constellations, with touches of a periwinkle in my tablescape design.

I worked closely with my stationery designer, Alex Perlin on the menus and name cards, and those also brought in little hints of colour as well as incorporating the constellation design that is woven throughout and has a graphic feel that is also mimicked in the DIY silver geometric shapes that will be hanging in the tent above the tables.

The color palette and silver stars will also show up on our dessert table, and I just had to include a peek at the mini pop tarts that The Wedding Cake Shoppe is making for us, with whimsical pastel icing and a sprinkling of tiny edible straws.

Keep in Mind Your Venue

I really wanted to mimic the more laid back vibe of the cottage where we’re celebrating, so it was important to me that the table didn’t feel too formal, or contrived. One of the ways in which I achieved that was to forgo traditional place settings, instead of bundling the flatware together with a selection of ribbon, which is also where I attached the name cards. This gave it a more casual feel, which felt especially relevant because our dinner is being served out of a taco truck! I also added in a mirrored starburst drink stirrer from The Roc Shop to the bundle that again tied in that constellation theme and added a fun touch.

The floral centerpieces from Blush and Bloom were also designed with this in mind, and we opted for a selection with a little color and lots of foliage to complement the natural setting but also provide a statement.

Keep Your Details Consistency + Pay Attention to Composition

There are a few design and composition tips to remember when you’re styling a tablescape, and for this design, I was really conscious of incorporating texture and playing with various heights on the table to create visual interest.

For the texture, I added a raw silk table runner in the softest dove gray, swirling it down the center of the table so it had an ethereal, barely there effect. I knew I wanted to tie that in elsewhere for consistency, so I used the same dove gray silk for one of the ribbon options in the flatware bundles, with the other ribbons adding interest in a variety of widths, colors, and finishes. My periwinkle color showed up as another ribbon selection, as did a silver ribbon that added a hint of sparkle.

In terms of playing with height, I achieved this through my candle choices, opting for a selection of three different sizes to really create that effect, and grouping them together so the tallest ones were towards the center.

Don’t Forget the Personal Touches!

Styling is all about telling a story, and when it comes to a wedding especially, the details are the perfect place to infuse a little bit of your own personal style and design an event that is truly you. The starry skies or constellation theme that I’ve mentioned a few times is something that is woven into me and my fiancé Jason’s love story, so as a final touch to the table, I added a sprinkle of silver star confetti, which we also sealed into our invites so that they’d spill out when opened.