What is a rustic boho wedding?

Rustic Boho Wedding Idea

You will likely hear the terms "rustic" and "boho" frequently as you plan your wedding. Popular as they may be, neither of these ideas has a clear meaning when applied to a wedding.

Well, they do overlap to some extent, and there are also some distinctions between the two. Assuming you're dead set on having a wedding with a rustic theme, you're probably picturing a lot of wood, burlap, and other elements from the great outdoors. You can't go wrong with a boho wedding theme, which is more carefree, unconventional, and eclectic. Vines of the Yarra Valley is your perfect wedding venue in Melbourne delivering boho weddings for the bride and groom.

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Table of Contents

A rustic wedding theme

To pull off a rustic wedding theme, the colour scheme and decor should be as close to nature as possible. Consider wooden furniture, lace, and hessian, as well as wildflowers and grasses and leaves. Rustic-style weddings, especially those held in a barn, can be breathtaking. The following are some must-haves for your country wedding:

  • A rustic wedding calls for bare wood tables, rough linen napkins, greenery, and muted colours.
  • Have a natural wedding with a naked cake dusted with powdered sugar and adorned with fresh flowers and greenery.
  • Wooden crates filled with flowers are a great choice for a wedding with a rustic theme because they can be used both during the ceremony and later on during the reception.
  • Hessian swatches work splendidly as seat embellishments.
  • For good reason, this is the standard centrepiece at rustic weddings. The combination of a wooden board, mismatched glasses, flowers, and candles is lovely.
  • As the main points of interest, employ a plethora of props. We're big fans of using vintage bicycles as wedding favours.
  • The perfect chair decoration for your ceremony is a simple, "just picked" arrangement that adds fragrance.
  • A stepladder, suitably adorned, is another essential element of any country wedding.
  • A great way to complete the look of a rustic wedding is with neutral bunting.
  • If you're going for a rustic theme for your wedding, stick to simple elements like handwritten fonts, earthy colours, and natural motifs for the invitations.

Boho Wedding Ideas

A boho wedding theme

The artistic couple's wedding motif is this. Color blocking is acceptable, as is the use of nontraditional ornamentation. Imagine a wedding with a more carefree vibe, complete with fringing, macramé, patterns, and a wider range of colours.

Put the finishing touches on your boho wedding theme with these essentials:

  • A boho wedding is the perfect occasion to decorate with colourful flowers and lots of macramé.
  • A boho bride is one who wears a loose-fitting wedding dress, has long, free-flowing hair, and accessorises with minimal, natural jewellery.
  • There's nothing like a colourful collage of memories to spark conversation.
  • A boho spin on the current trend of hanging decorations, dreamcatchers and flowers are a beautiful addition to any room.
  • This colourful bouquet is perfect for the occasion because of its carefree, natural appearance.
  • Line your aisle with mismatched rugs for the ultimate in boho style.
  • Colorful pompoms are a fun and easy way to add more texture and colour to your wedding day.
  • Make use of the outdoor space by constructing a stunning seating area for guests or a jaw-dropping photo backdrop.
  • The use of edible flowers and petals as cake decoration creates a stunning visual effect.
  • Add some opulence to your boho wedding without feeling guilty about it. Metals with textures are particularly attractive.
  • Float your own wedding decorations! String together swatches of fabric, then embellish with feathers and flower-filled miniature bottles.
  • If you're into the free-spirited bohemian look, you'll be able to find all the information you need to book the perfect boho wedding venue on this site.

Ideas for a Rustic Bohemian Wedding

Blending the bohemian aesthetic with a more rustic, natural feel, this inspiration shoot features soft sage greens, blush pinks, and a splash of deep wine to create a relaxed, airy atmosphere. Take note of how the sage green and blush pinks of our colour scheme were also incorporated into the tablescape and ceremony backdrops.

There couldn't have been a more fitting backdrop than the picturesque barn and grounds. The bride and groom have set the scene for a fairytale wedding with the help of a fairy bridge, log stacks, and hay bales.

A joyful occasion, this is. This colourful wedding is a show-stopper thanks to picture-perfect weather, a breathtaking outdoor setting, and happy faces all around. Bohemian wedding dresses are beautiful, and when worn by a beautiful bride, the result is unforgettable. Looking for the best Melbourne Wedding Decorators to help make your day as magical as possible. Vines of the Yarra Valley, have you covered.

The following are some suggestions for modernising your rustic attire to fit the bohemian vibe of your wedding.

Hairstyles

A bohemian bride will choose a looser braid, like a fishtail or four-strand, rather than a tight braid, loose waves, or a small cluster of flowers, which are all appropriate for a rustic wedding.

The bride's take on the classic boho wedding flower crown. She eschewed using either real or artificial flowers in favour of a crown-like headband. The veil complements her perfectly styled, loose curls, creating a beautiful bridal look. That is such a stunning appearance.

Consider a Boho Wedding Dress

A boho wedding dress is the perfect finishing touch for a casual outdoor ceremony. The dresses worn by Boho brides are known for their free-spiritedness, romance, and abundance of lace and embroidery.

Wear a Rustic Flower Crown in Your Hair

Your inner hippy will be dancing for joy when you wear a flower crown with your boho wedding dress.

Try substituting a flower crown for the traditional wedding veil. Either have your florist make you one, or try your hand at making one using our tutorial.

Opt for Rustic Groomswear

No, the bride is not the only one who can wear something with a country feel. The groom and his guys can rock this look too.

Instead of the standard black, grey, or navy suit, you could try a tweed suit or something in a lighter fabric. These groomsmen look amazing when they pair their outfits with a pair of brown leather shoes and a rustic buttonhole.

Bridal jewellery

Rustic brides and grooms often choose vintage-styled jewellery, especially Edwardian and Art Deco pieces, for their wedding rings and the bride's day-of jewellery. The bohemian bride's neck is adorned with a variety of necklaces, including small and large quartz crystal necklaces, turquoise jewellery, and metallic floral garlands, headbands, and crowns.

You have the dress, you have the shoes? But what about the Wedding Jewellery? Check out our list of Wedding Jewellery Shops here.

Fabrics

The reception table linens and other decorative elements can be tailored to complement the overall aesthetic of a particular rustic wedding theme. Lace, for instance, has a decidedly Victorian air to it, while red and white chequered tablecloths are more casual and country. Woven fabrics, such as macramé and crochet, are perfect for a couple looking to achieve a bohemian vibe. Both the wedding ceremony backdrop and the wedding cake can benefit from the use of macramé. As an alternative, you could use crotched holders to display plants in the reception area or tent.

Consider a Rustic Dessert Table

Wedding dessert tables are a fun way to spice up the traditional meal. Serve the first two courses as is customary, then lead guests outside to an incredible dessert spread.

Keep things on theme by setting out desserts and other sweets on barrels, wooden tables, or tree logs, and decorating with lots of rustic flowers.

Containers and vessels

A rustic wedding isn't complete without mason jars. Guests have used them for everything from placing candles and drinks to displaying wedding favours. Instead of mason jars, use small glass fish bowls to hold candles, test tubes for favours, and other glass containers sealed with a cork or fabric for a bohemian wedding.

Who knew that even your drinks could have a rustic flavour? Serve different types of soft drinks and/or speciality wedding cocktails in see-through dispensers if you're in charge of the bar.

Put fruit in the dispensers, make up some labels, and set them out on a table adorned with natural flowers and foliage to show off your work.

Décor from above

Choose fabric items to hang from the ceiling, such as dreamcatchers or God's Eyes in a variety of sizes and colours, to reflect the rustic look we have all come to love, whether it be string lights bistro-style or a chandelier in a barn.

Feathers

Bohemian weddings are known for their use of feathers as an accent instead of the more traditional rustic options such as burlap, twine, or even horseshoes. Feather garlands could adorn the ceiling, feather boutonnieres could be worn by the grooms, patterned feathers could be used as placecards, and feathers dipped in gold or glitter could be used to decorate the wedding cake.

Invitations

Choose a wedding invitation that accurately depicts the style you want to achieve for the big day. Wedding invitations with a rustic theme often include elements like a chalkboard-style font, wood grain, or big, bold flowers. Feather motifs, dreamcatchers, crystal or geode designs, and more repetitive patterns and geometric shapes are typical of bohemian-style wedding invitations, which also feature a more eclectic mix of font styles.

Brown garden string is the quintessential rustic wedding accessory; use it to tie a bow around your invitations for a beautiful final touch.

It will serve as a subtle hint at your wedding theme long before your guests arrive at the ceremony site.

Do the Same With Your Menus!

String has many more ingenious uses; for example, you can use it to affix the menus to your wedding programmes. We really like how the napkin and menu have been bundled together and presented to each guest at this wedding.

Put some dried lavender or foliage under a string bow with brown paper labels to use as place names.

Choose a Wooden Guest Book

If you're looking for rustic wedding ideas, you can skip the paper guest book and go with this creative alternative.

Each guest can take a jenga brick, personalise it with their name and a special moment from the wedding, and then build a tower. Your guests won't want to leave without signing your personalised wedding jenga game, which you'll treasure for years to come.

Casual Bohemian Wedding Reception

The reception, held both indoors and outdoors, featured vivid accents of colour. The outdoor area went well with the bohemian, rustic wedding theme, and the fire pit provided a cosy spot for guests to mingle. I'm sure their wedding reception was a blast, and that many new friendships were formed.

Write Your Order of the Day on a Wooden Pallet

We can't think of a more charmingly natural way to inform your guests of when and where they need to be on your wedding day than by posting signs on wooden pallets.

For very little money, you can have something that will be one of the first things your guests notice in your home that looks absolutely stunning.

Lounges

At rustic weddings, a lounge-like atmosphere is essential, so renting couches and chairs and placing them outside has become standard practise. Bohemian weddings also aim for the lounge aesthetic, but throw pillows and decorative rugs are more likely to be strewn about the outdoor venue in a picnic-style arrangement. On the premises, you might also find teepees that can accommodate four people.

Don't bother with tablecloths, sashes, or bows; they're not appropriate for a country celebration. Instead, you could rent some old wooden chairs and adorn them with wooden signs and plants. Embracing your theme couldn't be easier than this!

Bouquets

For a more shabby-chic look, a bridal bouquet can be a lush arrangement of flowers, while for a more country feel, a bouquet of wildflowers would do the trick. Large, cascading flowers are the hallmark of the bohemian bridal bouquet, and the significance of each flower in the bouquet is carefully considered. It can feel eccentric, but it should be an intentional eccentricity that provides consistency and insight into who the couple is.

Centrepieces

You can't have a rustic wedding without garlands, wheat, wildflowers, and succulents adorning the reception tables. All the way from deep jewel tones to pastels, the reception centrepieces at a bohemian wedding are sure to impress. Runners made of macramé or other woven decorative textiles can be used to display vessels.

Our list of Melbourne Wedding Decorators have you covered for all your wedding day decoration needs.

Wedding cakes

While naked cakes have become increasingly popular for rustic weddings, bohemian couples are opting for more traditional cakes covered in icing. Buttercream and fondant are acceptable for a boho wedding cake, and many couples use the cake as a way to express their personalities. Semi-naked cakes are a modern take on the naked cake, where the cake layers are only partially covered by icing. Sugar crystal geode and crystal cake decorations are a nod to the themes of quartz crystal inspirations. Real (and large) flowers can be used to decorate each tier or to lay across the cake in a diagonal garland for a more classic look.

While we've all seen the popularity of naked wedding cakes rise over the past few years, 2019 marks the debut of the semi-naked wedding cake.

If you want a more rustic look for your wedding cake, consider a semi-naked cake, in which only part of the cake is covered in buttercream.

Stand Your Wedding Cake on a Log

Once you have your semi-naked wedding cake in your hands, you can set it up on a log slice to display it.

With some added foliage and rustic flowers, this can be quite lovely.

Play Old-School Party Games

That's a really fun wedding game, don't you think? This adorable painted wooden box is the perfect finishing touch to your rustic wedding decor.

This inexpensive rustic wedding idea is not only guaranteed to keep the kids occupied for hours, but it will also add to the overall charm of your wedding. Ideal.

Use Logs for Your Place Names, Too

Logs can serve as place name holders or as a platform for the wedding cake.

These are the cutest names for towns and villages. They won't break the bank and will make for a charming, inexpensive, and rural keepsake for your wedding guests.

Choose Wooden Table Numbers

In order to make each table at your wedding reception stand out, have wooden table numbers carved in a beautiful calligraphy font.

Put them in flower arrangements, whether in vases or watering cans with wildflowers (more on that in a minute).

Swap Vases for Jam Jars

Using jam jars in place of vases is not only a cost-savings hack, but also adds a charming country feel to your tablescape.

To enhance the country feel, wrap the vases in hessian and secure with a string.

This is a great job for your bridesmaids to take on if you are feeling overwhelmed by all of the preparations you must make.

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A bohemian, rustic aesthetic can look incredibly put-together with very little effort. It's a wedding with a "I woke up like this" theme. The colour scheme is typically a set of hues that can be found coexisting peacefully in a garden, and the furnishings are simple but eye-catching.

FAQs About Boho Weddings

The simplest way to think of each of them is to remember that a rustic theme pertains to natural elements, lots of greenery, and an organic mindset. Boho, on the other hand, is more whimsical, romantic, and eclectic.

Rustic Boho. Using natural materials, and an earthy palette, you can tone down the glitz of boho styling without losing its signature mix-and-match look. Add pops of colour for extra boho flair, but keep the large furniture pieces neutral to ground the room in solid tones.

A rustic wedding theme needs a natural colour palette with plenty of organic shapes and textures. Think wood, lace and hessian plus country flowers, grasses and foliage. Perfect for barn weddings, rustic-inspired weddings are all kinds of beautiful and can be incredibly romantic.

Bohemian weddings are all about channeling effortless, elegant style. The elegance of this gown—paired with a soft, loose updo and a delicate flower crown—evokes a free-spirited nature.

Vintage. Many people get mixed up between boho and vintage, but they're not the same. While boho focuses more on the flowery look of the 60s, vintage incorporates all kinds of old-school clothing from the 20s to the 90s.

Conclusion

A wedding can be either "rustic" or "boho," two styles that couldn't be more different in tone and meaning. The tables at a rustic wedding should be made of wood and the napkins should be made of rough linen. Fringing and macramé add to the relaxed atmosphere of a boho wedding. It is common to see boho brides with long, loose hair and simple, natural jewellery.

The wedding dresses that Boho brides wear are famous for their free-spirit, romance, and abundance of lace and embroidery. Wedding rings and other jewellery worn by the bride on the big day tend to take on a vintage aesthetic for rustic nuptials. Feathers are a staple decorative element at Bohemian weddings. The ceiling could be strung with feather garlands, and the groomsmen could wear feather boutonnieres. Placecards made from patterned feathers and a cake decorated with gold-dipped feathers would be a lovely addition to any wedding reception.

The guests can sign their names and a meaningful wedding moment onto a jenga brick to take home with them. You can have one of the first things guests notice when they enter your home for next to nothing. When planning a rustic wedding, it's important to rent couches and chairs to create the desired lounge atmosphere. The semi-naked cake is a contemporary spin on the traditional naked wedding cake. A boho wedding cake can be decorated with either buttercream or fondant.

A garland of real (and very large) flowers can be draped diagonally across the cake or used to decorate each tier. A bohemian or rustic style can look very polished with minimal effort. Putting flowers in old jam jars instead of vases gives the table an endearingly rustic vibe. Tie a piece of hessian around each vase and secure with a string to give them a more rustic appearance.

Content Summary

  • A rustic wedding theme To pull off a rustic wedding theme, the colour scheme and decor should be as close to nature as possible.
  • As the main points of interest, employ a plethora of props.
  • A great way to complete the look of a rustic wedding is with neutral bunting.
  • If you're going for a rustic theme for your wedding, stick to simple elements like handwritten fonts, earthy colours, and natural motifs for the invitations.
  • Add some opulence to your boho wedding without feeling guilty about it.
  • Float your own wedding decorations!
  • The bride and groom have set the scene for a fairytale wedding with the help of a fairy bridge, log stacks, and hay bales.
  • The bride's take on the classic boho wedding flower crown.
  • A boho wedding dress is the perfect finishing touch for a casual outdoor ceremony.
  • Your inner hippy will be dancing for joy when you wear a flower crown with your boho wedding dress.
  • Try substituting a flower crown for the traditional wedding veil.
  • A rustic wedding isn't complete without mason jars.
  • Instead of mason jars, use small glass fish bowls to hold candles, test tubes for favours, and other glass containers sealed with a cork or fabric for a bohemian wedding.
  • Choose a wedding invitation that accurately depicts the style you want to achieve for the big day.
  • Brown garden string is the quintessential rustic wedding accessory; use it to tie a bow around your invitations for a beautiful final touch.
  • If you're looking for rustic wedding ideas, you can skip the paper guest book and go with this creative alternative.
  • Each guest can take a jenga brick, personalise it with their name and a special moment from the wedding, and then build a tower.
  • The outdoor area went well with the bohemian, rustic wedding theme, and the fire pit provided a cosy spot for guests to mingle.
  • We can't think of a more charmingly natural way to inform your guests of when and where they need to be on your wedding day than by posting signs on wooden pallets.
  • While naked cakes have become increasingly popular for rustic weddings, bohemian couples are opting for more traditional cakes covered in icing.
  • If you want a more rustic look for your wedding cake, consider a semi-naked cake, in which only part of the cake is covered in buttercream.
  • Once you have your semi-naked wedding cake in your hands, you can set it up on a log slice to display it.
  • This adorable painted wooden box is the perfect finishing touch to your rustic wedding decor.
  • Logs can serve as place name holders or as a platform for the wedding cake.
  • Carve wooden table numbers in a lovely calligraphy font for your wedding celebration.
  • To enhance the country feel, wrap the vases in hessian and secure them with a string.

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