Okay, I have to tell you, I’m in love with this board. Which is a surprise, because turquoise and chocolate hasn’t always been a favourite combination of mine. I think it’s because I’ve seen it done tacky too many times, but when bride Klarissa wrote to tell me about her wedding, I knew this girl had style. After all, she chose an awesome venue – Searle’s Trading Post in Greyton. It’s super quirky and rustic and fabulous, and Klarissa knew well enough to work with its eclectic feel and just accent it with her colours. I adore the idea of a trading post ‘theme’ – a mix of found objects and rustic textures like wood and burlap. I started thinking about the sort of things you might have found at a trading post (or at least ones you might have found at my fantasy imaginary one!). How about pretty birds eggs in nests, for example? (Love these for place holders, or as part of the table decor, and they’re a fun DIY.) Old tins full of flowers. Mason jars, old door knobs, suitcases. I stumbled across this image of a poshokkie (what is the English for that, anyway?) with brown paper packages wrapped up in string – wouldn’t this make an ADORABLE escort card display? I also loved the idea of string decorations (this SBB couple did this brilliantly) and a statement turquoise necklace for the bride. It’s kind of a case of ‘anything goes’, but natural textures are the key to making it work – fortunately in a venue like this one, Klarissa will have no shortage of them. Thanks for waiting patiently, Klarissa – hope you like your board as much as I enjoyed creating it!

Colours: Turquoise & chocolate brown

Top row (l-r): Eggs in nest {Pottery Barn}; bride with turquoise necklace {Intrikate Designs}; suitcases {Retro Images on Etsy}; table setting on rough wood {P: Courtney Dellafiora; S: Valerie Metrejean}
Row 2: Blue dyed mason jar; burlap backed invitation; flowers in vintage tin {P: Heather Saunders Photography; D: The Parsonage}; poshokkie; piano
Row 3: Turquoise dress; mason jars with acorns {Pottery Barn}; cake with string ‘love’ topper {P: White Wall Photography}; vintage doorknobs on burlap runner {S: Elissa Keno; P: Kellie Kano}.