Most weddings use flowers and foliage as part of their venue decorations, so their inclusion alone will not be enough to create a natural wedding setting. Adding some wood to your wedding decor will add an earthy rustic appearance to your venue, creating the ideal environment for a natural wedding.

1. Wedding Invitations

Image: Serendipity Beyond Design

You can set the tone for your natural wedding by sending your guests nature-inspired invitations. An invitation printed to look like bark, with the details 'carved' into the surface can look very effective, or for a chunky, textured invite, some companies can print or engrave on slivers of tree trunk. No guest could throw away such a beautiful invite!

2. Wedding Rings

Image: The Warmth of Wood

Image: Simply Wood Rings

For a permanent reminder of your natural wedding, choose wooden wedding rings. These environmentally-friendly pieces are made to order, and can be customised to your tastes. They require more care and attention that a typical gold or platinum ring, but are gaining in popularity, and make a clear statement about your values and principles.

3. Driftwood Arch

Image: Seedling Life

Many outdoor weddings take place beneath a gazebo or wooden archway. However, the engineered design, and perfect finishes of these outdoor structures are not in-keeping with a natural wedding. For a rustic alternative, get a bespoke driftwood arch made. After the ceremony you can keep it in your garden as an unusual memento from your day. To help the arch blend with your colour scheme, paint it with a thin wash of colour to give it a beach bleached appearance.

4. Table Decorations

Image: Pinterest

Image: Exquisite Weddings

Once the photos are taken, the table becomes the focus of your guests' attention for a number of hours, making it one of the most important areas to decorate effectively. There are a huge number of ways to use wood on your tables. Small hollowed out logs make excellent tea light holders, or lanterns, like our natural tree lantern. If you make your own, make sure the candle is placed inside a glass jar to eliminate the risk of the logs catching fire. Another way to use wood to hold candles is to lie a thin branch or log horizontally, and place tea lights on small flat spots etched out the sides. Slices of tree trunk make excellent placemats, while thicker wedges can be used to elevate flower arrangements from the table. Tree branches set inside planters also make excellent mini tree centrepieces and are a fantastic way of bringing the outdoors in. Skip the table cloth if you have access to solid wooden tables for that extra rustic touch.

5. Tiered Log Cake Stand

Image: The Farm Events

One of the most effective but unusual ways to incorporate wood into your colour scheme is to use trunk slices to form the tiers of your cake stand. Make sure the bottom of each cake level is protected by a hygienic layer, such as greaseproof paper, but don't let any poke out or you will spoil the effect. Use natural, earthy colours on the cake to bring the whole design together.

From table numbers to seating arrangements, name holders to wedding favours, wood can be used anywhere in the decorations for your natural wedding. Remember not to get too carried away, as a few carefully chosen design ideas will be far more effective than blitzing the venue with every possibility you can think of.