As wedding designers, we hear the sentence, “I would love a rustic themed wedding” so much! And because we hear these words regularly, we always strive to modernise themes that have been on trend over the past few years.

Couples who ask for a rustic wedding have generally chosen a nature-inspired venue that is either surrounded by bushland, a countryside setting or nestled in a beautiful garden or a farm-style venue. The venue commonly has natural materials and textures in abundance so complementing the existing infrastructure with a modernised theme becomes easy!


To modernise the rustic theme, we tend to streamline the concept that rustic equals a lot of mismatched elements and challenge the way materials will be used. While you need to have natural textures; this doesn’t always mean raw timber tables, mason jars and hessian. When the architecture of the venue already has natural timber, we can look past the requirement to introduce this material and instead concentrate on complementing the rustic theme in a modern way.


Our interpretation of natural textures is to use a linen table cloth in a natural colourway (using a lighter contrasting tone to the venue’s dark palette) and teaming this with a deeper colour, in this case, a grey napkin which added visual interest and contrast to the table. We designed with a steel grey corrugated iron vessel for the tables, emphasising the use of a rustic material as well as using native foliage and flowers, paying homage to the traditional rustic themed florals. On-trend tea light candle votives where chosen which had a modern two-toned brown and metallic finish.


We introduced black metallic cutlery to bring in another modern element. To complement this selection, we used black perforated steel pendant lights over key feature areas – the bridal table, present table and bar, again bringing in a contemporary material. Keeping the design streamlined is also vital. As an example, the present table had three elements – the black pendants, a ‘non-rustic’ wishing well and rustic blooms in new release white textured vessels.


The little details at a rustic wedding also count. To modernise these details, we chose to tie the napkin with a linen ribbon and add a white native gum berry to each place setting which complimented the custom-designed white and burgundy menus. Table numbers were also custom-designed which a stylish darker timber and oversize copper number.


Rustic weddings will always be popular, and you can modernise the theme so easily. Remember, rustic weddings are about creating a relaxed feel, casual and genuine vibe.

Ms Floral Says: Wow! This is beyond gorgeous. I adore this fresh spin on rustic, and I’m sure so many brides and grooms who are fans of this style will too.

About DUO events Creative Studio: DUO is a full service planning, design, floral and production studio; they create and execute one-off event designs. Their events are more than a gathering they are an exceptional experience. Every detail is bespoke and every element considered suiting your vision.

Duo Events are distinctive, flexible, considerate and meticulous and these principles drive the quality of their work.