Desert Wedding

You cannot miss the incredible bridal bouquet in this inspirational shoot. The backdrop of the dry desert, orange-hued rocks, and the white snow – yes, this shoot was taken after a surprise snowfall – allows the stunning bouquet to steal the show. Don’t miss it!

You will also see on the reception table, flashes of the same bright red from the bride’s bouquet. The table setting, in perfect desert colors of clay orange and terracotta, is welcoming and makes one want to be part of the excitement! This Aztec inspired wedding is not to be missed. Take a look and start planning!

What to Look for in a Venue for a Desert Wedding

When you’re trying to bring your dream desert wedding vision to life, the wedding venue is going to play a huge part in whether it all comes together or not. Ideally, obviously, you and your spouse-to-be would be getting married somewhere in or near a desert. Whether this is entirely outdoors or in a hotel or venue with some kind of grounds, there are options here.

However, this isn’t always possible, especially if you live hours away from a desert and don’t want to make your guests travel for a destination wedding. In this case, it’s important to find a chilled location with a sort of Spanish revival architectural vibe to it that you can build your desert wedding theme upon.

Color Palettes for a Desert Wedding

For a desert wedding, there are some pretty strong colors that you can include in your wedding color palette. Think about the base color of a vibrant orangey red that mimics the color of the warming desert sand and build up from that.

For the different detail aspects and elements, you can take your inspiration from the brightly colored glazes on the famous desert ceramics and the shades that are used throughout the patterns native to the desert landscapes. You can also include a lot of different shades of green to represent the pops of color that cacti often provide.

Details for a Desert Wedding

When it comes to the details that make your desert wedding really come to life, think about your surroundings and draw inspiration from there. Focus on the details like the juxtaposition of the prickly green cactus with its soft and bright pink flowers and use that mix of colors and textures to drive your wedding details.

You can also use a lot of locally made and sourced pottery and ceramics as detailing along the aisle, as centerpieces on your wedding reception tables and small details as wedding favors and gifts if you so wish. There are so many options to choose from.

Food for a Desert Wedding

This all depends on which worldwide desert you’re drawing inspiration from, but in the US, you’re going to be looking to New Mexico, Arizona and West Texas for your wedding food inspiration. With this being the case you’re more than likely looking at BBQ, tex-mex, or straight up Mexican food for your reception meal.

Desert weddings on the whole have a tendency to be a lot more casual, with the natural surroundings giving a sort of elopement vibe as standard, so having a formal sit down meal just wouldn’t suit the overall atmosphere that you’re trying to create with your desert wedding.

Table Setting Style for a Desert Wedding

As we’ve just outlined with the wedding meal, desert inspired weddings tend to have an informality about them which means that having loads of separate tables at your wedding reception just doesn’t fit with the laidback, community vibe that you’re building here.

Instead, consider having you and your new spouse sit on a smaller top table and have everyone else on reclaimed wooden communal tables in a sort of horseshoe around you with patterned linens draped across the tables. It brings everyone together, allows everyone to catch up and meet each other, and gives the happy couple privacy without having to be completely separated from their guests.

Budget for a Desert Wedding

The thing is you can take pretty much any wedding theme and blow the budget or penny pinch and have a more wallet friendly wedding day. That being said, some themes lend themselves to budget weddings more than others and fortunately, desert weddings are one of those themes.

Considering that the wedding location does the majority of the heavy lifting when it comes to decoration, the wedding meal tends to be self-serve family style. The bridal party’s outfits tend to be a little bit more low key, so there are plenty of ways to keep your wedding costs nice and low.

Wedding Dresses & Accessories for a Desert Wedding

When it comes to finding your dream wedding dress for your desert inspired big day, you’ve got to think practically as well as aesthetically. Realistically there are two key traits of desert wedding venues that you need to think about: they’re dusty and they’re hot. With this being said, you’re probably not going to want anything with a train or anything too heavy and thick.

In terms of accessories, you also want to think about footwear. If you opt for stiletto heels you’re probably going to spend most of your desert wedding trying not to get stuck in the sand. Cute and comfy boots might be more practical and in tune with the theme.

Bouquets & Boutonnieres for a Desert Wedding

For your bouquets, boutonnieres, and floral arrangements for your desert wedding, it’s important to take your cues from the beautiful surrounding area. After all, you’ve chosen to have your wedding in this stunning part of the world for a reason, it would be a missed opportunity not to use native plants and flowers for your wedding bouquets and floral arrangements.

Obviously, you probably don’t want cacti in your bouquet or for the groomsmen’s boutonnieres (who wants to be pricked and stabbed on their own wedding day?!), but you can use the green leaves that surround them along with the cacti’s distinctive pink flower for a pop of color.

Outdoor Wedding Ideas for a Desert Wedding

Realistically, any desert inspired wedding is going to be an outdoor wedding, otherwise, you’re turning a wedding venue into a giant sandbox. There are a number of things to consider when you’re having an outdoor wedding.

You’re going to be excited, happy, busy, and probably drinking a glass of wine or two – this combination with the desert environment means that you may forget to drink enough water. Make sure there are water stations and bottles of water on hand for you and all of your guests. For the same reason, it’s probably worth having some hats and parasols on hand to protect people from the powerful sun rays.

Groom Style for a Desert Wedding

Similar to the bridal outfits, you’re going to want to have a slightly more casual approach to your groom’s suit. A tuxedo is just going to look out of place here, and with the heat, it’s going to make the day very uncomfortable. Again, you want to have fairly lightweight materials for your suit, so avoid any wool blend suits that’ll just get saturated in sweat by the end of the ceremony.

Color-wise, go for a more earthy, natural tone that matches the surrounding area – think browns, blues and greens – and perhaps ditch the tie look for something more open and comfortable, dressing it up with some suspenders and a nicely cut jacket.

Desert Wedding Inspiration Shoot – in the snow!

A surprise snowstorm added a beautiful layer of lovely to today’s Aztec styled wedding inspiration shoot by Tyler Rye Photography. I would never have guessed that summery colors and a desert theme could look so fabulous against a sheet of white snow!

From Tyler Rye – “We designed this inspiration shoot for a wedding showcase here in St. George, Utah. We wanted to showcase the desert landscape here in southern Utah and tie that in with our décor for the shoot. I built the table for the shoot myself and now it’s my desk!

What we got was an Aztec inspired wedding with a surprise snowstorm that in the end, I think made it look even prettier.”

Credits: Photography: Tyler Rye Photography // Event Design & Styling: Forevermore Events // Floral Design: The Flower Market // Paper Goods: Alex Obering Design // Videography: Red Tie Cinematography // Hair & Makeup: Sarah Garner (Varsity Cuts) // Chairs: St. George Party Rentals // Wooden Boutonnière: The Two Guys BowTie // Models: Mark & Maggie Keysor // Location: St. George, Utah.