The rustic wedding theme is popular among couples because it conveys a sense of homeliness, comfort, and ease. Using natural wood, dried flowers, burlap, and other organic materials, rustic wedding décor is not only simple, but also straightforward to achieve.
Weddings with a rustic theme tend to have a more earthy, natural vibe because of the emphasis on the outdoors. Wildflowers and unrefined wood elements are frequently featured in rustic wedding decor. The disorganisation of the components plays a crucial role in the rustic aesthetic. Rustic weddings, with their focus on the natural, have a dreamlike, otherworldly quality.
Rustic wedding themes continue to be well-liked not only for their endearing simplicity, but also for the fact that they can be easily customised even on a tight budget. You can relax about the little things when you decorate your wedding with rustic elements. You can incorporate eco-friendliness into your big day with a themed celebration.
Farm receptions, vintage jars, and burlap are just a few examples of rustic wedding themes. Why then, have rustic weddings become so commonplace? Yet, despite passing time, its popularity has only grown and it remains a popular choice for weddings. To some, the ideal setting for a rustic wedding is a barn, while others envision a wedding in a rural field.
We can't wait to show you some of our favourite rustic wedding ideas, which work for any type of rustic wedding. The term "rustic" is so broad that it can be used to describe a variety of different kinds of weddings, including those that take place in the country, outdoors, by a lake, in the woods, and so on.
Table of Contents
Rustic Wedding Attire
As a rule, wedding attire can be more laid-back in a rustic setting, making it ideal for the wedding party and guests. Inviting guests to wear tuxedos and long dresses to a wedding that is taking place held in a rustic barn or a meadow on the outskirts of a forest may not make the most sense.
When deciding what to wear, you should think about the event setting as well. Wedding dresses with form-fitting necklines and slim skirts are perfect for outdoor ceremonies. As an outdoor wedding, this extra space is crucial for your guests' comfort. Keep your jewellery discreet and simple, but if the dress code allows, don't be hesitant to show some personality. You can wear your most comfortable shoes, such loafers, flats, or even leather boots, something you ordinarily wouldn't wear to a more formal event.
A maxi dress, linen suit, or cotton will give you a more casual appearance than a wool suit will. These choices are appropriate for warmer weather while still looking put together. Wool outfits are perfect for a wintertime or springtime weddings in a more rustic atmosphere. Those who do not like to wear suits may do so by substituting a button-down shirt, dress slacks, and a necktie or suspenders.
Food At A Rustic Wedding
Our favourite type of icing to use on rustic wedding cakes is buttercream because of the way it softens the overall appearance. Instead of a traditional frosted cake, try a bare or semi-naked cake and decorate each layer with edible flowers or leaves. A fondant-iced wedding cake will be more polished looking and could be embellished with things like faux bois designs and burlap ribbons.
Baked pies, pastries, pancakes, and even pie pops are a few of our favourite dessert options for a rustic wedding. With pumpkins and apples, pies are a natural fit for a country-style autumn wedding. Instead of serving cake, visitors can take home portions of pie or even mini pies in takeaway boxes. When it comes to desserts, we recommend cupcakes, candied apple, and flavoured kettle popcorn for a wedding with a rustic or vintage vibe.
Inspirational Rustic Wedding Concepts
Ceremony Seating on Hay Bales
This setup is ideal for a wedding ceremony that will take place outside. If your wedding is being hosted on a farm or other rural environment, consider decorating the hay bales with a selection of quilts and blankets.
Ceremony Arch Made of Wood
Having a handmade ceremony arch is a must for any rustic wedding. Beautiful greenery and garden-style blooms decorate those birch branches.
Boundless Wedding Bouquet
In keeping with the laid-back vibe of a rustic wedding theme, the bride carries a huge bouquet composed of natural components like vines, plants, grass, and other natural embellishments. Flowers like daisy, sunflower, rose, peonies, and poppies are ideal for this rustic, farmer's market style.
Belt Buckles and a Pair of Cowboy Boots
A country party just isn't the same without some good ol' fashioned cowboy or leather boots. These shoes are perfect for a country barn wedding, and they save you money by avoiding the need to buy a new pair due to wear and tear. Pair them with your bridesmaid outfits for a fun, casual wedding.
Lightweight Suit
A suit might be appropriate attire for a rural wedding even if there is no demand for formal attire. Contrarily, linen, tweed, or cotton suits are appropriate for less formal occasions. Sports coats and jeans are a more casual alternative to a complete suit.
Soft, Warm, and Cosy Fleece Blankets for the Couch
Even in the height of summer, the air may turn very chilly at a wedding that is held outside as soon as the sun goes down. Offering guests a basket full of cosy fleece blankets is a solution that serves both purposes.
Accents for the Wagon
A wagon is the perfect addition to a wedding with a country or western theme, whether it is used as a decorative element, to carry the flower girl down the aisle, or to store the ceremony programmes. Choose one that goes with the remainder of your furniture and jazz it up with some ribbons, a garland, or perhaps some flowers.
Killing Off The Bourbons' Way Of Life
It is important to plan ahead of time to fulfil this tradition at the wedding. An unopened jar of bourbon should be buried upside down at the ceremony location around a month before the big day, ideally near the place where the vows will be uttered. Folklore has it that if you pop the cork on the bottle on your wedding day, you'll have clear skies and no rain for the rest of your honeymoon. The two of you can then raise a glass of bourbon in a celebratory toast following the ceremony. Plus, it's a great spot for wedding photos because it looks beautiful.
Candlelit Lanterns
Lanterns, among the numerous features of a rustic wedding, are among the most flexible. Use them to decorate the banquet tables, altar, hallway, venue walks, canopy entrances, stairways, etc. Next, if your venue permits it, burn candles to generate a romantic mood.
Burlap Accents
A touch of burlap, a staple of the rustic wedding aesthetic, can transform a venue into a natural, casual setting. A small amount of burlap can be used to add flair to your wedding's signage, table linens, chair ties, centrepieces, and even invitations.
Card Box Made of Wood
Even if the vast majority of your guests have already sent gifts from your wedding registry, some people may still bring cards to the big day. In addition to the reception hall and the table assignment map, consider placing a made of wood card box personalised with your handwriting or initials on the gift table.
Honey-Dipper Favors for the Big Day
This is such a creative and thoughtful favour to give to your guests, and it goes along with the rustic theme well. Gifting your visitors with jars of honey, preferably collected from a local farm or orchard, and little wooden honey dippers is a lovely and practical gesture.
Warm Colours
Warm colours can be a good choice for an indoor wedding reception. Your wedding will feel more intimate and festive. Put together a garden dinner for your rustic wedding reception with these cosy tones and some cute floral centrepieces, and you'll have a wild and whimsical time. You can have a rustic barnyard wedding with just a few wooden barrels and crates.
Handwritten Calligraphy
A rustic wedding theme is attractive because it evokes a sense of the organic and natural. Your wedding invitations and place cards should reflect this as well. Choose a classy handwritten piece over a statement made in bold print.
Adding handwritten calligraphy notes to your rustic wedding ceremony will make it even more special and memorable.
Lanterns With Candles
Among the many elements of a rustic wedding, lanterns are among the most adaptable. You can use them to adorn your reception tables, altar, aisle, venue walkways, tent entrances, stairways, etc. for your wedding. Then, for ambience and romance, light candles (or use battery-operated ones if your venue doesn't allow real ones).
Burlap Accents
A touch of burlap, a staple of the rustic wedding aesthetic, can transform a venue into a natural, casual setting. A small amount of burlap can be used to add flair to your wedding's signage (like the bow in the image), table linens, chair ties, centrepieces, and even invitations.
Wooden Card Box
It's likely that some guests will still show up with cards on the big day even if the majority of them have already sent you presents from your wedding registry. Put your calligraphy or monogram on a wooden card box and place it on the gift table next to the guest book and the seating chart.
Honey Dipper Wedding Favours
This is such a unique and thoughtful idea for a wedding favour, and it fits in perfectly with the rustic theme. As a thoughtful and useful favour, provide your guests with jars of honey (ideally harvested from a nearby farm or apiary) and miniature wooden honey dippers.
Conclusion
The emphasis on outdoor activities at rustic weddings creates a more organic, down-to-earth atmosphere. The rustic wedding theme is easy to pull off with only a few natural elements like wood, dried flowers, burlap, and other organic materials. You can look more relaxed in a maxi dress, linen suit, or cotton than you would in a wool suit. When it comes to decorating rustic wedding cakes, we recommend buttercream. You can get individual pies or small pies in takeout boxes for your guests.
Fleece throw blankets are soft, warm, and inviting. At the ceremony site, bury an unopened bottle of bourbon with the cap facing upwards. One of the most adaptable elements of a country wedding is candlelit lanterns. If you're having a wedding with a western or country theme, a waggon is a must-have. Guests will appreciate the earthy and natural vibes that a rustic wedding theme provides.
A wedding celebration held indoors can benefit from the use of warm colours. Your rustic ceremony will be even more meaningful and heartfelt with the addition of handmade calligraphy notes. A wooden card box engraved with your calligraphy would make the perfect present. Lighting fixtures like lanterns can be easily adapted to suit the needs of any type of rustic wedding. The addition of just a little burlap can make any space feel more rustic and relaxed.
FAQS About Rustic Style Wedding
Nature and the outdoors are huge components of the rustic wedding style. Rustic weddings are often associated with rural locations, such as barns and other countryside venues, but you can pull off this relaxed aesthetic almost anywhere with the right approach. Rustic wedding style typically combines farmhouse, vintage, and harsh elements, such as wood slices, burlap, baby's breath, mix-and-match vases, barrels, and galvanised metal. You can achieve a classic rustic wedding style by adding elegant details like chandeliers, greenery garlands, candles, and string lights.
The most obvious venues for rustic weddings are barns, ranches, and farms. These venues easily lend themselves to rustic wedding styles because of their outdoor locations and pastoral settings. Vineyards, mountain lodges, and parks or campgrounds are also popular for rustic style and summer weddings.
Some barn or farm venues may close for the winter and early spring, especially if your area is notorious for heavy snowfall. It means that you're more likely to be limited to traditional indoor venues during the winter, and as a result, you may need more decor to achieve a truly rustic effect. If you find a barn wedding venue or farm available during the winter, ask about the venue's inclement weather policy, and don't forget to create a "Plan B" in case Mother Nature has other ideas. Lastly, barns can be very draughty in the winter, so ask the venue if they provide space heaters if necessary. If not, you'll need to factor in the added cost to rent them so that everyone stays cosy and warm.
One thing we love about the rustic wedding style is that it's super versatile. It works with many different colour palettes, and each one can help you achieve a different look depending on the decor you choose.
Popular rustic colour palettes include yellow and navy, burgundy and orange, or coral and turquoise. However, stick with a softer colour palette of pastel hues for a rustic-chic look, such as blush, dusty blue, mint green, or even gold.
Rustic wedding style focuses on handmade details, rugged accent pieces, and repurposed vintage items. However, before you start finalising your rustic wedding decorations, you need to decide if you want your wedding to be traditionally rustic (more on that in a second) or something along the lines of rustic chic elegance.
Traditional rustic decor goes heavy on the outdoorsy elements, like hay bales, twine, raw wood pieces, and antlers. Burlap wedding table runners, mason jars, and baby's breath are popular at traditional rustic weddings. You can even add seasonal details, such as sunflowers in the summer or acorns and pumpkins in the fall, to play up the rustic theme.
Rustic chic style is all about creating a laid-back yet elegant setting. This twist on traditional rustic style keeps the fundamental elements but adds romantic and classic details—think loose greenery, whitewashed chairs, muted metallic accents, and essentially anything you'd see on an episode of Fixer Upper.
Rustic wedding style is all about creating a welcoming feel. So you'll want the bouquets, centrepieces (see our favourite rustic wedding centrepieces here), and floral arrangements to have a loose, slightly undone look. In other words, nothing that feels too perfect or overly arranged.
Most types of flowers work well with the rustic style. Still, we particularly love sunflowers, hydrangeas, daisies, roses, delphinium, dahlias, poppies, and lots of greenery (imagine wildflowers you might see growing in a country field). Of course, baby's breath goes hand-in-hand with a rustic style, but Queen Anne's lace, Craspedia, goldenrod, and even cotton puffs are other whimsical accents that look lovely.
CONTENT SUMMARY
- You can relax about the little things when you decorate your wedding with rustic elements.
- Farm receptions, vintage jars, and burlap are just a few examples of rustic wedding themes.
- To some, the ideal setting for a rustic wedding is a barn, while others envision a wedding in a rural field.
- You can wear your most comfortable shoes, such loafers, flats, or even leather boots, something you ordinarily wouldn't wear to a more formal event.
- If your wedding is being hosted on a farm or other rural environment, consider decorating the hay bales with a selection of quilts and blankets.
- Pair them with your bridesmaid outfits for a fun, casual wedding.
- A wagon is the perfect addition to a wedding with a country or western theme, whether it is used as a decorative element, to carry the flower girl down the aisle, or to store the ceremony programmes.
- In addition to the reception hall and the table assignment map, consider placing a made of wood card box personalised with your handwriting or initials on the gift table.
- This is such a creative and thoughtful favour to give to your guests, and it goes along with the rustic theme well.
- A rustic wedding theme is attractive because it evokes a sense of the organic and natural.
- Your wedding invitations and place cards should reflect this as well.
- Adding handwritten calligraphy notes to your rustic wedding ceremony will make it even more special and memorable.
- Among the many elements of a rustic wedding, lanterns are among the most adaptable.
- for your wedding.
- A touch of burlap, a staple of the rustic wedding aesthetic, can transform a venue into a natural, casual setting.
- Put your calligraphy or monogram on a wooden card box and place it on the gift table next to the guest book and the seating chart.
- This is such a unique and thoughtful idea for a wedding favour, and it fits in perfectly with the rustic theme.
- As a thoughtful and useful favour, provide your guests with jars of honey (ideally harvested from a nearby farm or apiary) and miniature wooden honey dippers.
