PLANTER

.....back to the wedding.....

The wedding ceremony and reception are taking place at a wonderful venue in Golden, Colorado called ThePinesatGenesee.  They have two outdoor terraces for weddings; my daughter's is taking place on the Aspen Terrace.

We don't intend to do a tremendous amount of decorating, we would rather let the beauty of the landscape provide the backdrop.  Plus, there were some cautionary warnings which were shared regarding real flowers, since the deer and elk have been known to wander in and make a snack of them!  I'm hoping to get up there to begin training the deer to wander in at just the right time in the ceremony...just kidding!!, but wouldn't that be cool?

There are two wooden trellises; one you pass through on the way to the larger trellis which is further down where the actual ceremony will occur.   We felt the trellises needed a little something.

There are very specific policies prohibiting the use of nails, tacks, screws, etc.  in other words, anything which would be semi-permanent and would damage the structures.  I completely respect that given they host approximately 80-100 weddings annually.  Can you imagine what the trellises would look like if every wedding hammered just one nail into the wood?    Anyway, with that in mind we needed to come up with the design as well as the engineering to secure whatever it was we intended to use.

We decided on two simple planters for each trellis providing just a hint of color.   So, here's the finished product attached to one of the trellis posts up at The Pines.

Understated and natural; yet decorative at the same time.  It was really pretty simple.  All the components I found at Hobby Lobby.  My strategy is to either wait until something is on sale (which is fairly regularly), or I use the 40% off coupon that is in every Sunday paper.   I literally am in there at least once a week!  It won't be long before they start calling me by name, kind of like Norm on the old "Cheers" TV show.

Here's what you need:

•  wire planter
•  moss
•  artificial flowers 
•  wheat
•  branches
•  suede belt strapping
•  velcro
•  trusty hot glue gun

The velcro strap was the solution I came up with to attach it to the post without causing any damage to the structure, and as you can see from the first picture, it worked like a charm!

I bought some pre-cut suede belt strapping at Hobby Lobby.  I felt that would be relatively sturdy.

Putting the rest together was simple...I stuffed the moss down into the base...added the wheat, flowers and branches and packed the rest of the moss around it.








After the wedding, I plan to remove the straps and use the ring that is permanently affixed to the planter (for a nail) to attach them to the outside of my home.  I think two of them we'll look great on the back deck!   The other two will probably go to my daughter and her new hubby to enjoy at their new home.