Pumpkins are a staple of the fall season - pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice, jack-o-lanterns. They're as impossible to escape as autumn leaves. If you're a fan of the fall aesthetic, there's plenty of ways to include pumpkins in your wedding day, too! Let's talk about that.
Small Pumpkins As Bouquet Accents
Just like pine cones, charms, or gems, you can add small pumpkins into your bouquet to give it more texture, dimension, and/or POP! Nestled in amongst your greenery or dried grasses, little pumpkins are an adorable way to bring "fall" to your special day. Read on to see the variety of choices you have in regards to pumpkins!
Pumpkins in More Than Just Orange
Of course, orange is the staple color of a fall season pumpkin, but did you know that pumpkins come in a wide variety of colors via crafting stores and other places that have fall sales? Fake pumpkins can come in any color you want and you could even dip your pumpkins in glitter if you really wanted to! Popular colors on Instagram include white, gold, light pink, and grey.
Pumpkins as Decor
Jack-o-Lanterns
Full-sized pumpkins are a popular way to decorate the ends of seating rows, decorate the arch at the end of the aisle, or even use as centerpieces at your tables. Some couples have jack-o-lanterns (real or synthetic) as a testament to their shared spookiness. However, if you're a less-than-spooky couple, you could have jack-o-lanterns that aren't so sinister or menacing. Think, for instance, about having two pumpkins at your head table with "Mr." and "Mrs. " carved into them. Foam pumpkins can be a great way to have custom but easy-to-clean-up jack-o-lanterns no matter what style you go for. Really, jack-o-lanterns are a fun way to express your unique love for each other and celebrate the season at the same time!
PSA: Remember to be as safe as possible with your jack-o-lanterns, as your guests may get rowdy and the last thing you need is a fire on your special day!
Photo credit: @alyssa.l.schlegel
Small Pumpkins
I've seen small, tennis ball-sized pumpkins used in a variety of colors in the floral arrangements, to decorate place settings, as bases for name card holders, and even in a bride's crown. The possibilities of small pumpkins are endless and can serve as an accent or as a centerpiece.
Gourds and Squashes
We've talked a lot about the traditional pumpkin so far, but before I let you go, I want to bring up a pumpkin's near cousins, gourds and squashes. Gourds and squashes naturally come in a very wide variety of colors (although they can be any color artificially, too) and shapes! They can give your wedding a unique and zany aesthetic while maintaining a fall feel. Gourds and squashes may fit best into a rustic-style wedding, but they could also have a place at a spooky or elegant wedding, too!
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Don't Sleep on the Stem Style
You might let this go right over your head if you aren't a fall aficionado like myself, but pumpkins (and gourds and squashes for that matter) have a wide variety of stem styles and it's important that you pay attention to them. If you want a more polished, elegant look for your decor, you'll want your pumpkins to have a clean-cut stem. Meanwhile, if you have a more spooky or rustic theme, your pumpkins could have any number of vines, curls, and leaves to their stems. It's all in how you choose to present your pumpkins!
On the Menu
If you still aren't a fan of the pumpkin aesthetic, I hear you. It's not everyone's cup of tea. But, if you are having an autumn wedding, you might still consider having a pumpkin pie or tart available to your guests as an elegant nod to the season of your wedding. Then again, I may be biased since I think pumpkin pie is the best thing on Earth, but your wedding is up to you!