The actual physical location of your ceremony and reception will largely be determined by where you live and what you can afford. With that said; determination, imagination and some creative tricks can go a long way in minimizing both location and money obstacles. One of my brides wanted to marry in Hawaii but for several reasons that was not possible, eventually agreed to an evening wedding to be held in the backyard of the parents of the brides’  1960′s ranch style home for about 75 guests. The bride and groom decided they still wanted an island wedding and so I began to create a tropical setting right smack in the middle of landlocked suburbia. The first thing was to was rule out all the old cliches; wooden tiki god statues, coconut cups, volcanoes with flowing lava, grass skirts, plastic of any kind and of course the thatched roof bar. This was a wedding not a clam bake.

The bride and groom wanted a casual but somewhat sophisticated look and feel and this is how they got it. The emphasis was on creating an illusion. When planning a theme don’t try to recreate an exact replica, it is impossible especially when it is a location theme. What you want to do is create a mood, an illusion really, an abstract much like what is done for a theatrical stage production. The human imagination is an incredible thing; when the senses are teased with sound, sight, taste and scent the mind begins to fill in the blanks and the illusion becomes an experience.

I began by measuring the area and drawing a rough plan of where things would go. You don’t have to be an artist and the drawing doesn’t have to be perfect but you do need to get the scale and size fairly accurate or you’ll end up with too much stuff in too little space. When my drawing was completed I had a pretty good idea of what and how I needed in the way of props and I began renting an assortment tropical trees and plants of varying sizes and textures. Garden burlap was brushed with floor adhesive then covered with sand and draped over and around the trees and plant containers creating what looked like small sand dunes.

The look was completed by adding stems of tropical flowers that had been inserted in water tubes and placed randomly throughout the display, rocks, bunches of bear grass and both Spanish and sheet moss were also used. And a focus area was created for where the actual ceremony would take place and where the cake would be setup later. Tiki torches and string and up-lighting defined and accented the area for the ceremony and the reception; the wedding took place at early dusk and two sound systems were used; one for the music and the other for an ocean soundtrack that played softly and continuously throughout the evening. This is very important; if you are going to have a location soundtrack (ocean, rain forest, etc.) it needs to be unobtrusive. It is subliminal background noise and should be soft and continuous just as it would be if you were actually at a beach house in Hawaii or in a forest.

Place the speakers around the perimeter or in the trees or shrubbery. It is better to have several small speakers than a huge pair of speakers blasting away, save the huge speakers for another time. The reception featured Hawaiian music and light jazz; the buffet consisted of roast pork, vegetables, assortment of tropical fruits and breads, sushi, jasmine rice and a tropical signature drink available with or without alcohol. The guests were asked to dress for an evening in Paradise. Round picnic tables were used instead of the traditional luau seating (on the ground) out of consideration for the older guests and the table umbrellas were lined with lights. Tiki torches were originally planned but did not provide adequate light. The umbrella pole and table opening were covered with Spanish moss, sand, tea-lights, and flower petals extending out about 8 inches in diameter create a tropical centerpiece.

The bride kept personal flowers to a minimum, there were no corsages or boutonnières, attendants carried one orchid stem and the bride carried only a small casual bouquet of orchids and gardenias and wore an orchid lei and the groom wore a traditional Hawaiian Maile Lei. The slab style patio was used for the dance floor. Tropical plants were again used and placed around the patio highlighted with up lighting. The buffet table was placed away from the patio but close to a door that opened to the garage which had been set up as a prep area by the caterer making it easier to bring food and beverages to the table. The table was lit using string lights underneath the table skirting and with small tiki torches that were inserted into the three large tropical arrangements placed on the three buffet table’s setup in corner style. Silverware and cloth napkins were already on the reception tables, making it easier for guest to maneuver food and beverage. This wedding turned out to be one of my all time favorites. The lighting, the mood, the music, the food… it was all perfect. So many small details made this wedding great.

Lighting and audio played such a major role and because of that electrical cords posed a real problem. To eliminate the trip hazard posed by the cords I created a pattern using twine and stakes by positioning the tables and other traffic areas that required lighting; then the using a flat shovel the sod was cut at an angle along the pattern and threading the outdoor electrical extension cords through PVC pipe, the pipe was then slipped into the cuts and the sod flattened over the top. Writing this it seems so easy but it actually took a great deal of time to create a workable pattern, threading and connecting the pipe and making safe connections but this small detail made an enormous difference.

Another detail that made a big difference was using burlap as an under-liner for the all the sand used and it made clean up a lot easier as did the fact that the tropical plants used were for the most part rented and kept in their original containers. Let us not forget the parking which is always a major concern for home weddings. This particular home was located in a cul de sac which offered very limited parking. In this case a nearby church was contacted and the family was given permission to have their guests use the church parking lot and a shuttle was provided to and from. In short, never dismiss your dream and never overlook the details and never underestimate the time it will all take to achieve the illusion. You may not have the exact thing but you can come close even if you’re 3,000 miles away.