Disclosure: The wedding planner book for brides featured in this post is a sponsored (gifted) item. I am honored to help spread the word about my friends’ new collaborative wedding planner book. And in doing so, I decided to have a look back at our wedding at Alda’s Magnolia Hill, one of the top Little Rock, Arkansas wedding venues.
It’s been 10 years, y’all! Ten lovely years (soon to be 11) since I married my mister. And ten years since I began my long-term friendships with our Arkansas wedding planner and Alda’s Magnolia Hill owner Alda Ellis, and our wedding photographer, Lori Sparkman. And I can’t believe that in 10 years, I never shared my Arkansas wedding ideas!
Recently, Alda started a new adventure of her own and published her own wedding planner book for brides! And Lori provided the wedding images for the book. What a beautiful collaboration of two of my favorites in the Arkansas wedding industry!
Flipping through the gorgeous pages of this wedding planner (see photos and more info at the end of this post) has me thinking back to my own Arkansas wedding.
We had our rustic fall wedding on a Sunday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. in early November. We could not have asked for a more spectacular autumn afternoon in Arkansas. Fall weddings in Arkansas can be a bit tricky since fall doesn’t always feel like fall around here. But our day was perfect!
Note: All wedding photos featured in this post are copyright Lori Sparkman.
Arkansas Wedding Venues – Alda’s Magnolia Hill
Alda’s Magnolia Hill in Little Rock, Arkansas is a magical place, led to perfection by Alda and her sweet husband, Buddy. If you are looking into Arkansas wedding venues – particularly, Little Rock, Arkansas wedding venues – Alda’s Magnolia Hill is likely the place for you – especially if you are interested in rustic lake wedding venues!
We looked into several Little Rock, Arkansas wedding venues. Nothing stood out to us as much as Alda’s Magnolia Hill. It is truly a family affair there. Mr. Buddy helps set up and drives the horse carriage.
Mrs. Alda is the wedding planner and is incredibly knowledgeable about everything wedding-related. Their son, Samuel, even played the fiddle at our wedding! Truly, it is a family-centered operation.
Although our Arkansas wedding was 10 years ago, many of the elements we planned are timeless for fall weddings. Rustic themes are timeless as they incorporate nature, and natural elements will alway be around…therefore, timeless. I’m going to highlight a few of our rustic fall wedding ideas. We kept things rustic yet modern.
Rustic Fall Wedding Colors
To get a modern edge on our rustic fall wedding, I wanted bright colors that popped. I chose persimmon, plum, and chocolate brown. I just love the way the plum and the persimmon popped against the muted colors of nature at our lake wedding venue. Of course, there are so many other fun rustic wedding colors for fall. Olives and burnt orange, for example, are a more muted pairing for a rustic outdoor wedding.
DIY Wedding Flowers for Fall Wedding
My friend, Sharon, handled all of our DIY wedding flowers. We ordered fall bouquets through Whole Foods and she handled all of the arrangements. She did a most lovely job! The fall wedding bouquets were made of dried lotus petals, purple Gerber daisies, orange Gerber daisies, and greenery for filler. Our wedding DIY flowers came together so perfectly!
Dessert Bar for Weddings in the Afternoon
Since we knew we wanted a fall afternoon wedding, we decided to simply go for a wedding dessert bar instead of traditional finger foods or a sit down meal.
Alda’s idea to use one of their old trailers to display the food was genius! The food looked amazing nicely displayed on the trailer. Near the trailer of food, we had a large fire pit going so people could roast s’mores. This dessert bar for wedding food was such a cute and unique take on the typical wedding food!
Near the dessert bar was a hot chocolate and apple cider station. We did not serve alcohol at our wedding, and no one seemed to miss it!
Our catering service featured mini pies in seasonal flavors for fall – mini apple pies, mini pecan pies, mini chocolate pudding, mini cheesecakes, and mini pumpkin pies.
Custom Wedding Dress
I was fortunate to have the best wedding designer make my custom wedding dress – my mama! My mom made her own homemade wedding dress – a beautiful 70s style wedding dress back in the day. She also been hired over the years to make other brides’ dresses.
To start, I drew out on paper what I wanted – a wedding dress high-low style with a one-shoulder. The high low wedding dress was great for roaming around at our outdoor Arkansas wedding venue. The front came just below the knees and the back when just to the ground – which accommodated my flat purple velvet shoes I brought home from a recent trip to China.
I do not know how timeless or not timeless one shoulder wedding dresses will be, but I am still in love with the over all look! Like I said, my wedding was 10 years prior to the publishing of this writing. But it was so fun to customize a wedding dress and watch my mom pour so much love into it! Obviously, not everyone knows someone who can offer custom wedding dresses. I am so fortunate to benefit from my mom’s talents.
Displaying Mother’s Wedding Dress
One of my favorite wedding details from our wedding was the wedding dress display. We displayed the wedding gowns of my mother, my mother-in-law and one grandmother using dress forms borrowed from a local boutique. Near the dresses, on a table, were framed photos of our mothers’ and the Hubs’ grandmother’s wedding.
Of course, I don’t believe displaying mother’s wedding dresses is only fitting for rustic wedding ideas. This is a great idea for weddings with a global spin, a modern spin, a classic southern wedding, or what have you!
DIY Wood Slab Centerpiece Ideas at One of the Top Arkansas Wedding Venues
When it came to rustic table decorations, you can’t go wrong with wood slice decorations adorned with additional natural elements. We went with two different looks.
Wood Slab Centerpieces with Branches
We chose to decorate some tables with wood slices, vases of rock and twigs, and small gourds and pumpkins for some DIY tall wedding centerpieces.
Other tables sported the branches centerpieces with small faux birds’ nests, eggs, and candles.
Both sets of wood slab centerpiece ideas were so easy to assemble that most anyone could help with set up. You don’t want something so complicated that your average helpers can’t help with them!
Each table had a simple piece of orange or brown burlap folded under the branches centerpieces. To this day, I still have the burlap in my fall decor tubs in the attic.
We borrowed the vases from friends and requested wood slices from a tree a friend had cut down. We found our own twigs in our yard, collected rocks, and bought a few packages of gourds and small pumpkins to pull these DIY fall centerpieces together!
Our wedding cake also adorned a large wood slab.
Additional Rustic Wedding Ideas from our Arkansas Wedding Venue
The sky is the limit with rustic wedding ideas. You can easily overwhelm yourself with ideas (which I did). In the end, I am so happy with everything we focused on.
Alda and Buddy keep so many displays around for wedding use. This tree was an amazing spot for adorning the photos of my mister and I together as a couple and with friends and family during the time we dated and were engaged.
For our “wedding book” I opted for a fall tree with tiny colorful adhesive leaves that the guests signed their names on. To this day, I keep this framed work of art up in our home (second photo below). I bought mine from a vendor on Etsy that doesn’t seem to offer them anymore. But this Etsy vendor carries similar wedding book trees.
We had so many amazing details in our wedding at Alda’s Magnolia Hill! The groom rode in on a canoe with his best man (his brother). Then, we took our couple photos in the canoe. And I only almost fell out…but didn’t.
We ended the night with fireworks just as it was getting dark (at around 5 p.m. since it was the first day of Daylight Savings Time).
What fun it has been reliving these wedding memories for this post! I’m so thankful to have had Mrs. Alda to guide us through our wedding planning and Lori Sparkman to take these wonderful photos for us!
Alda’s Wedding Planning Book
Now, back to this gorgeous wedding planning book! How fitting that Alda teamed up with Lori for this gorgeous wedding planning book! They are both pros in their field, and I can’t think of a more dynamic duo! Just look at the photography in this helpful planning book.
Not only will this book help you streamline your thoughts with pockets and organized sections, but it makes a great coffee table wedding book ahead of your wedding!
And if you are on the hunt for Arkansas wedding planners and Arkansas wedding venues, be sure to check out Alda’s Magnolia Hill (linked above).
Likewise, if you are looking for Arkansas wedding photographers, be sure to check out Lori Sparkman! I mean just check out all photo shoots she has done for our family over the last 10 years!
Fall Family Pictures in Pink and Green
Family Pictures in Green and Navy
Fall Family Photos in Pink and Black
Leopard Outfits for Family Pictures
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