Citrus Punch – Backyard BBQ Wedding Theme!

I just showed Dylan this inspiration board and he said, “I’m not sure I’d be able to make it through the ceremony if I knew there was a reception like that waiting! YUM!”

I think that’s a pretty great summary for this theme. I call it citrus punch because it’s filled with so many bright, juicy fruit colors: tangerine, apricot, peach, mango and papaya shades of orange, with pineapple and lemon yellow.

This theme really emphasizes the fantastic food and informal fun atmosphere. Who wouldn’t love a backyard BBQ with bright yellow napkins and gingham tablecloths, homemade pies, cupcakes, and refreshing summer drinks? You could even do it potluck style if you’re on a really tight budget.

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Once again, Martha Stewart provided lots of help with the visuals, including the BBQ feast, the assortment of delicious pies, the apricot tart, the apricot place card holder, the peach prosecco sangria, the groom with the orange dahlia boutonniere, and the majority of the bouquets. Another appealing aspect for Dylan was that I had also shown him the Paloma Cooler recipe I found on Martha Stewart.

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The sweet photo in the center of the board is from one of my favorite photographers, Stephanie Williams.

The lemon cupcakes are by Jesi Haack Weddings and Sweet & Saucy Shop.

The orange marmalade was photographed by Victoria Pearson.

The pretty yellow and orange themed table and the matching stationery are both from a real wedding photographed by Union Photo.

I like the idea of a simple tan suit (maybe linen for a hot summer day), maybe with this J.Press bowtie.


The cute orange elbow length sleeve pleated cardigan sweater is from Banana Republic. Perfect for the bride or her attendants if the evening festivities start to get chilly.

Etsy finds:

The Chateauroux large flower hair clip is by Mandizzle. She’s going to think I’m stalking her with as often as I’ve incorporated her stuff, but she really does just have a great variety of lovely hair accessories. Plus, as I may have mentioned before, she looks like a super model, and I like to add lots of pretty to my palettes.

The mango pearl earrings (called Henna) and the honey jade earrings that reminds me of peach Jelly Bellys (called Vilette) are both by ThePeachTree.

The tangerine flower ring is by IndiaAndChic.

The green background of this picture throws it off a little, but look at these insanely adorable mason jar lemonades I found on Intimate Weddings! They would be so perfect with this theme.


If you do go with a theme like this, I have a great MONEY SAVING TIP – try to find a local flower farm and see what they’ve got that you might be able to use. I actually put an ad up on Craigslist for a friend of mine saying that we were looking for a certain color of flower, preferably something with large blooms and ended up receiving emails from a dahlia farmer and a begonia farmer who both offered insanely good deals. We’re talking about a dollar per stem, versus the several dollars per stem most florists would charge. For this palette in particular, I especially love dahlias and ranunculus. Daffodils, gerbera daisies and sunflowers would all be gorgeous, too.

Also, if you go with this theme, feel free to invite us! Or at least send us pictures.

Hooray for summer!

We made a Costco run on Friday and stocked up some of my favorite fruits – fresh figs, papayas, and white peaches – YUM! I also got some boccini (those little fresh mozzarella balls). I love using those to make caprese salad. When we got home, I remembered that I had recently seen a recipe in a Real Simple magazine that was like a new take on a caprese salad. You combine fresh peaches, mozzarella, a little olive oil, basil and sea salt (the recipe also said pepper, but we like it better without that.) Since we’d just bought both peaches and mozzarella, I was excited to try it! We always keep what I call “squeezy basil” on hand, so we were good to go. (Squeezy basil is actually Gourmet Garden Basil -- it’s seriously the closest thing to freshly chopped basil I’ve ever had, and sometimes I think I might even like it better because the flavor is so strong and fresh that you only need a little. Plus, it's a bonus to have it right there in the fridge.) I made the peach, mozzarella and basil salad Friday night, Saturday for lunch, and I'll probably make it again today. Dylan said yesterday, “I know this sounds stupid, but I would seriously just keep eating this stuff until it made me sick. It’s SO good!” (I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to know I quoted that on here. Sorry, sugar!)

Whether you’re planning a wedding menu or just looking for a recipe that tastes like summertime, try this deliciously unique and surprisingly simple salad! It’s so good!

Happy Sunday!

Peachy Pink and Soft Moss Green

Today’s palette is a peachy pink that makes me think of pink grapefruit, balanced with a soft moss green.

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Martha Stewart always provides lots of wedding inspiration for me. Today she's responsible for:

• The ribbon and floral boutonnieres
• The ranunculus bouquets (you know how I love ranunculus bouquets for weddings!)
• The bouquet of dahlias
• The pink table setting in the center of the board
• The pink grapefruit mojitos that I am dying to try
• The green stationery
• The pink dogwood flowers
• The cutely packaged pink and green wedding favor

The pink table setting in the top left and the gerbera daisies are both from The Knot.

The bouquet of lovely pink roses are from Costco of all places! I think they’re one of the best deals you can find on roses.

The fantastic pink candy buffet is by byrd + bleecker. They have another great pink grapefruit addition – those pink grapefruit candy slices. I love those darn things!

The Marilyn style sage green satin halter dress is on Amazon. It’s available in sizes XS-3x, so it’ll fit almost any bridesmaid!

The fantastic star paper lantern is by Luna Bazaar.

Pale Peach and Gray

Lately I've really been favoring both gray and peach in wedding themes, so I thought I'd make a board of the two together. It's soft and romantic, but a little unexpected at the same time. I think this would be a lovely palette for spring because the combination is both cozy and fresh -- perfect for the unpredictable springtime weather we've been having!

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The dresses, shoes and gray suit are all from J. Crew, except for the strapless gray dress which is from the Eden bridesmaids line. I love all of them because they're all reasonably priced and none of them scream "I'm going to prom or in a wedding!" They're all very wearable styles, which is nice for your bridal party because they don't have to get stuck with an outfit they'll never be able to wear again. And who knew that they had such cute shoes at J. Crew?! I love the peep-toe pumps with the bow. Super cute!

The spray rose boutonniere, the cake / meringue, champagne bubble candy favors and the monogrammed sweater are all from Martha Stewart.

The roses are called Sahara and the white peach sangria looks fantastic.


Sometimes I like to play around with different fonts and designs for wedding invitations. I thought something like this one would be sweet with the pale peach and gray palette.