Now that it is truly officially fall, I wanted to share some of my favorite fall wedding details, which will also help me get in the mindset for designing for the season’s weddings!

We used seasonal fruit and flowers for the decor on this cake, mini pears (purchased through a local produce distributor) and seeded eucalyptus were the perfect accents for the spiced carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.

I love the deep rich colors and multitude of textures that you can get in fall foliage. Lots of grasses, blooming shrubs, and heartier plants are perfect for filling in on flower arrangements. Of course, many roses are available year round so they add the needed softness for wedding arrangements. I also like to play with the different types of containers to give that seasonal look- we used stained wooden planters as our centerpiece containers on the tables.

Shrimp and grits have become a staple at Southern weddings, but in the fall quail shows up on many menus throughout Georgia, and North and South Carolina.

For this wedding, the mother of the bride is famous for her banana walnut bread, so as favors she made mini loaves for all of the guests. Along with her famous apple butter. Packaged in peach baskets, these were the picture perfect fall favors.

For this seated dinner wedding in late October, the pale pinks and peaches were warmed up for the fall season with moss greens, and golden hues. I also anchored the tables by using a heavy suede material for the linens. They were so soft and luxurious to sit against!

What I look forward to the most for fall weddings are the food options. I love love love soup, so passing individual versions for cocktail hour is a great option, or here we served a trio of soup “shots” plated beautifully as an appetizer course.

I think this detail always makes for fantastic photos, and if it’s a simple dinner party that you are hosting, this is a great way to give your guests a special touch. Hollow out a small pumpkin and place the soup vessel in for serving.

Red wine will definitely be a favored drink at the bar in the fall. We used the couple’s personal wine collection here for guests to be able to sample new varietals throughout the evening. Or, you can talk with your caterer about pairing different versions of reds throughout the dinner.

Something else to think about is instead of passing a “speciality drink” you could set up a speciality bar or station. Decanting the drinks and setting them out with identifying tags is perfect for a self serve station..Or having a bartender serve a few chosen cocktails is a great way to keep it simple.

photos by Velvet Raptor, Gayle Brooker, Liz Banfield, and Elizabeth Messina