As I have been DIY-ing my wedding (which is happening at the end of July), I have seen that modern brides dare to rewrite the script in terms of “traditional” decor, desserts, and overall aesthetic. Gone are the days of exclusively tulle, florescent light bulbs, and everything matching. I realized that I can create an elegant and classy wedding that doesn’t necessarily fit with traditional wedding aesthetic.

I decided to make a wedding arch, but it’s really not an “arch” at all.

I was inspired by the following images (see sources in the caption):

Overall, these two wedding arches inspired me because they incorporate hard lines and geometry with the softness of nature and greenery. I really fell in love with the copper pipes in the first image and the shape in the second image. As I researched the elements of this aesthetic more, I was inspired by these works of art incorporating exposed pipes, pipe fittings, and an industrial aesthetic:

And so I designed a hexagonal arch. My vision was for the structure to be made entirely of copper pipes with greenery and flowers draped elegantly over the top corner and framing the bottom. Furthermore, having some sort of dimming light feature using Edison bulbs would really add a dynamic element to the whole piece. My initial plans are shown in the image below:

My materials include:

• (3x) 10 foot long ABS foam-core pipes (1.5″ diameter)
• (4x) 60 degree ABS pipe fittings (1.5″ diameter)
• (4x) 90 degree ABS pipe fittings (1.5″ diameter)
• (2x) Tee ABS pipe fittings (1.5″ diameter)
• Copper Rose colored spray paint + primer
• Pipe cutters for plastic pipes up to 2″ diameter

And to achieve my aesthetic, I ordered a few garlands of fake wisteria vines (shown below) and some lights from Ebay.

Unfortunately, due to coronavirus, my floral decor did not arrive on time. I will update this post when it does! However, I was scrambling to find a different way to make my arch fit the industrial-rustic aesthetic that I was aiming for. My solution was a whole bunch of straws and some 26 gauge wire! I made these geometric icosahedrons after gaining inspiration from a video (https://youtu.be/MUZes6B537c). Once my flowers and greenery arrive, not only will I drape the sides of the hexagon with it, I will also put it inside the icosahedrons like they are floating planters.

Here is my (not-so-final) final product! Please check back for updates as some more materials should be arriving soon!

I am so pleased with how this arch has turned out so far. In fact, my fiance and I love the aesthetic so much that we are trying to incorporate it throughout our wedding! We designed our invitations from scratch in Canva to have the trademark hexagon. We designed a stamp for our wedding favors (small, ornament-sized slices of natural wood), and we plan to make more icosahedrons and use them in our center-pieces!