Seriously, when you get married in an outdoor location like Idaho’s Snake River Canyon, who needs to worry about floral arrangements, chair covers, aisle runners, pom-poms or anything else?

To see more of Melissa’s wedding (including the bowling alley reception!), head on over to her page on the OBT.

I have been going round and round in my head for some idea on sprucing up a park ramada in a state park that we are using for our reception. The picnic tables I am not so worried about - those can be covered! But I am trying to make it look fun and festive with out it looking like a) a carnival b) country bumpkin - no offense on that cause I am one! or c) like a 5 year old’s birthday party! Any suggestions on helping me with keeping the natural element but making it look special? -Rebecca

To answer this question, I brought in the best expert I know — my friend Sarah Kelly, better known to those of you who have read the book as Upper Location Manager Sarah! Sarah is an interior designer specializing in organic decor working out of Los Angeles.

• Fabric is good and can be your friend. Drape it, layer it, cover it, use different colors for depth. For a dramatic effect, use deep or contrasting colors. That said, there is such a thing as too much chiffon and organza.

• I am going to go on the record and say that balloons, if ever used, should be used sparingly and only for an effect that can not be achieved by other means.

• I love flowers I know there can be some controversy about using a lot of fresh cut flowers. I get it — call it my eco-sin. I love flowers!

• I’m a big fan of lighting. Here are a few examples of lighting that, if modified and used right, could easily be applied to a ramada:

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Chandeliers are showing up in indie weddings lately — and I don’t just mean literally. I mean sure, there was this amazing (and amazingly expensive) display from photographer Elizabeth Messina’s wedding. I also love these shots of chandeliers in trees.

But chandeliers are also showing up on invites, like the handmade ones here the left from Mary Katherine, these lovely invites from Etsy seller EnfinLaVoila, and these invites from Wedding Paper Divas.

I think the real value in a fancy-ass chandelier comes from the contrast of all that frou-frou-ness in an unexpected environment, like this picture.

Are you looking this picture and thinking to yourself, “Self, I want to know more about those awesome colorful pom-poms and non-froofy centerpieces”?

Well, thanks to a wonderful comment to my old non-floral centerpieces post, I happen to have a link to Crystal’s page full of photos of these here pom-poms and stick centerpieces. Oh, and when I asked Crystal about making the pom-poms, she admitted they were from Martha. But what *I* want to know is whether Martha intended the pom-poms to be abused in such wonderful ways.

My best friend is an offbeat bride and she’s planning an awesome personality-filled offbeat wedding for October. There’s a problem though — centerpieces. We’re trying to find something that’s DIY, doesn’t cost much, and doesn’t involve flowers. Yikes. Any suggestions? —Miranda

Any suggestions?! Even though we skipped centerpieces all-together at our wedding, I inhaled dozens of ideas online during the planning process. Here are a few of my favorites …

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