Fireplace Feature

Photos by Five By Five Photography & Design

One of Camp Marymount's big features in our reception area space (and my absolute favourite part of the decor) was a huge stone fireplace. We set up our sweetheart table directly in front of the fireplace and it served as a stunning backdrop. The mantle space gave us lots of room to hang beautiful handmade paper flowers, bunting, globe lights and flowers, and there were several built-in areas that allowed us to display photos and hang more lights which came together gorgeously.

One of my favourite photos of the decor! I have the paper flowers and bunting up on our mantle at home now!

These incredible paper flowers were inspired by ones I had seen on Pinterest. Hannah Barker, one of my former youth group teens, is a very talented art student, and she made these flowers by hand using craft and scrapbook paper. After living in a bag for several months, the flowers were hot-glued to a sturdy piece of hemp cord the week before the wedding, and the garland was the pefect length to drape across the mantle.

I had several sections of the bunting shown here, and it was displayed around the reception space in several areas. I made it using brown card stock (to match several other crafts I had put together) for the base, and unbleached craft paper found during the back-to-school season. The sheets were cut into two sizes of pennants and I used an edge punch (purchased on clearance!) to add a fleur-de-lis detail to the edges of each piece. Each pennant was glued together and then hot glued to a piece of wide ribbon. I was very thankful to have several friends help out with the punching process, as it was certainly time consuming! This detail was very special to me, as the fleur-de-lis is found prominently in Louisville, where Jermaine is from, as well as in Quebec, where my Mom grew up. Atop the substantial mantle, wicker globe lights nestled in with small stems of baby's breath.

There were several shelves built into the sides of the fireplace, and these nooks were a perfect place to display photos of Jermaine & I. We found lots of picture frames at Goodwill and they were spray painted champagne to give them a cohesive look. Globe lights (purchased on clearance from summer patio stock) added to the ambience, and baby's breath was interspersed with the frames, continuing with our pastoral theme.

The large scale of the fireplace allowed it to provide a gorgeous backdrop for many photos, as it was visible from almost any angle. This huge feature fit perfectly into the large reception space and the vaulted ceilings allowed the area to feel open and airy, while still being warm and inviting.

Posing with my lovely flower girl!

I'm so thrilled with the way the fireplace added such a large impact on our reception space! While the total cost of the decor, flowers and lights used amounted to less than $50, the crafted items certainly required some time to prep. It was amazing to see the many details I had collected over several months come together in this area, and I'm thankful for the friends & family who helped to bring my vision to life! The flower garland and bunting has a new life on our mantle at home as well :)

xoxo
mrs dobbins