Welcome to Monday my dear friends! You know, for a time it never occurred to me that some people do not like fruit.
I find the idea mind-boggling- like when people say they do not like chocolate- my brain nearly short circuits trying to understand how things like that can happen in life! And you know what’s even better than fruit or chocolate- fruit in chocolate and then marshmallows and dollops of ice-cream and…o.k., o.k. I digress.
Fruit- in addition to being a wonderfully delish (I stand by that!) addition to your menu, can also be incorporated as wedding centerpieces, favors, escort or place cards and can also be used to garnish bouquets (yes, bouquets!), as well as cakes and desserts.
Images- Style Me Pretty (Lisa Lefkowitz Photography), Wedding Chicks (Ryan Ray Photography), White on Rice Couple, Pinterest, Project Wedding (Shelly Kroeger Photography), Pinterest, Cedarwood (Kristin Vanzant Photography), Style Me Pretty (Christine Szczupak Photography), Ruffled (Kate Osborne Photography), Design Sponge (Jen Huang Photography)
Brides who live here or in other tropical countries should definitely consider incorporating local fruit into their events as a loving celebration of their culture.
For you destination brides- it’s an idea to embrace because it allows you to not only experience and immerse yourself within the location you are having your wedding, but it’s also a unique opportunity to give to your guests as well!
Now, specifically for Barbados, I have to stress on the word ‘local’ because imported tropical fruit is very expensive here. Use what is in season and available. It’s relatively easy to find someone who grows fruit, and if you can’t, talk to a local farmer or market vendor about what you need. Barring that, another great idea is buying from places like Hotel Food Supplies or PriceSmart (or Cost-U-Less) where you can get fruit in bulk.
Here are some weddings and styled shoots using tropical and non-tropical fruit within the décor to give you some ideas:
Papaya (known in Barbados as ‘Paw paw’)
Images- Style Me Pretty (Jose Villa Photography)
This is a great example of the way fruit is used to complement the colour scheme and here, it also adds to the lovely rustic feel of the tablscape.
Coconut
Images- Style Me Pretty (A Brit & A Blonde Photography) Marry Me- The Wedding Planners, Style Me Pretty (Kate Webber Photography), L’Amour Photography & Video
I know it is not décor, per se, but I love this pic of the coconut being used to hold drinking straws- it’s a simple idea but it reminded me of the fact that though we take it for granted, we can pretty much use natural elements for almost anything.
Think about having your flower girl toss petals from a coconut shell or use one to make a nice, eco-friendly ring bearer pillow!
Pomegranate (not associated with the Tropics but grown locally)
Images-Elizabeth Anne Designs (Hannah Suh Photography), Style Me Pretty (Erin Kate Photography)
All of these images save the first, were taken from an inspiration shoot showing the many different ways you can use fruit throughout your wedding. I really love the rich colour palette generated in the design- you can see more of it here.
Pineapple
Images- Justin Marantz Photography
For this wedding, the pineapple was a motif used in the table numbers in addition to the centerpieces. Usually when I see pineapples used in events, it can be done in an over-the-top, ‘look-at-me-I’m-tropical’ kind of way. This incorporation was subtle and highly effective.
Before I leave, here’s one nifty idea I love- this couple used fruit as ceremony décor at their beach wedding. I have seen this done with coconuts as well. Quite pretty!
Images- Style Me Pretty (Heather Payne Photography)
So what’s your take- is it all too ‘fruity’ for you or does the idea make your mouth water?
Images- Snippet and Ink (Meg Smith Photography), Snippet and Ink (Ali Harper Photography), Martha Stewart
