Micah Ryan Designs

My sister chose a beautiful venue for her wedding. It was an old farmhouse with charm and 3 acres outdoors for the event. The venue came with chairs, pews, and wooden picnic tables for the ceremony and reception.

When I realized that our seating would be entirely these picnic tables, I started searching for inspiration and picnic table decorating ideas online, but came up empty. I started trying to visualize how different decor might look. Though tablecloths might look fine (I didn’t attempt this) I ultimately decided that keeping some of the natural wood of the table visible while still adding color and theme would be the best option to keep a natural feel in the outdoor event.

For the most color I added a terracotta cheesecloth runner. I selected the longest runner I could find (these ate 10ft) so that it would drape elegantly on the ground below. The texture and sheerness of the runner made it look comfortable, like it belonged, in the backdrop of trees and nature.

Brass candlesticks and candles brought in another texture and some height along the length of the runner. Various shapes and colors of glass bud vases brought more visual interest to the area and helped tie in all the remaining colors featured in the wedding.

Filling each vase with live seasonal wildflowers in various colors kept the essence of the nature-surrounded event cohesive down to the smallest detail and created an even greater colorscape across the length of the table.

This concept is simple and easy to execute. It can be accomplished with any color scheme or theme and highlights the most important elements of the event: nature marries color. By keeping the wood of the table visible, you not only create continuity with the surrounding nature, but you also avoid issues like a foot getting caught on a tablecloth and disrupting the decor while trying to “swing your legs under the picnic table”, as one has to do with this type of table.

Letting your colors and textures do the talking allows for this tablescape to be a cost effective decor option that is completely elegant and sophisticated.

If you’re interested to see more photos from this wedding or curious to see how we harmonized the decor throughout the remainder of the ceremony and reception, checkout this blog post with the full wedding: https://micahryandesigns.com/2025/02/25/colorful-vintage-winter-wedding/