Fall Wedding Flowers Near Raleigh: A Wedding at The Wakefield Barn
The Wakefield Barn · Raleigh, NC
Fall might be our favorite season to design in. The palettes get richer, the local blooms get even better, and North Carolina turns into one big harvest of gorgeous flowers and foliage. To kick off the season, we're sharing a fall wedding at The Wakefield Barn just outside Raleigh, plus a few of the questions we get asked most about designing for fall.
A fall wedding at The Wakefield Barn
This fall wedding at The Wakefield Barn just outside Raleigh was everything we love about the season. The palette ran through rust and terracotta, caramel and burgundy, dusty rose and cream, rich and warm without feeling expected. And it leaned all the way into local fall blooms, from terracotta roses and orange chrysanthemums to zinnias, celosia, and limelight hydrangea in its dried caramel stage, exactly that changing-season look we chase this time of year.
The ceremony
We held the ceremony outside and built it around a full floral arch, asymmetrical and overflowing, with hanging amaranthus spilling down through the center in both deep burgundy and burnt orange. Terracotta roses, sunflowers, snapdragons, and celosia climbed the frame, warm and a little wild against the tree line. Down the aisle, low meadow-style clusters gathered at the chairs, dried hydrangea, butterfly ranunculus, chrysanthemums, and turning autumn foliage, so the whole path felt like it had grown up out of the season.
Inside the barn
Then everyone moved inside, and the barn did half the work for us. The Wakefield Barn has a soaring vaulted ceiling, rows of white chandeliers, and string lights crisscrossing the whole room, so it glows before a single flower goes in. We leaned right into that warmth. The showpiece was the curved staircase, wrapped in light and airy greenery with big floral clusters, blush roses, snapdragons, and bright orange berries tucked throughout, so it spilled down the steps like it had always been there.
The reception tables
On the tables, we mixed heights for depth: some anchored by low, lush arrangements of butterfly ranunculus, dahlias, celosia, and garden roses, others topped with tall statement pieces. Dusty-rose velvet linens, candlelight, and gold-rimmed glassware carried the warmth across the room. Warm, romantic, and unmistakably fall. It is one of our favorite designs of the season.
Why we love The Wakefield Barn
Just outside Raleigh, The Wakefield Barn is one of those venues that gives you so much to work with. The white barn and vaulted ceiling feel timeless, the chandeliers and staircase bring the drama, and the grounds outside are made for a garden-style ceremony. It is a favorite of ours for couples who want something warm and classic near Raleigh, and it takes beautifully to a full, seasonal design. You can see more of what we offer for weddings there on our Wakefield Barn florist page.
The fall flowers
For anyone dreaming up their own fall palette, here is what went into this one:
- Limelight hydrangea, in its dried caramel stage
- Terracotta and blush garden roses
- Butterfly ranunculus
- Orange chrysanthemums and zinnias
- Celosia and snapdragons
- Sunflowers and dahlias
- Hanging amaranthus, in burgundy and burnt orange
- Turning autumn foliage and orange berries
Rapid fire: fall flowers
A few quick questions we get all the time about designing for fall, answered.
What three color combinations feel like fall to you right now?
Burgundy and chartreuse is having a huge moment in wedding florals. We're also seeing couples reach for local wildflowers in bright orange, pink, and yellow. And of course, classic white and green never goes out of style, fall or otherwise.
What's your favorite flower to design with in the fall?
Limelight hydrangea, hands down. It's incredible from August through October. It starts as a stunning lime green, turns dusty pink, then fades to a soft caramel brown as the season goes on. We love weaving it through a palette to capture that changing-season look.
Unlimited budget, one fall wedding. What are you creating?
A showstopper floral arch full of local North Carolina wildflowers: dahlias, zinnias, hanging amaranthus, and cosmos. Then an aisle lined with local grasses and texture. We have some of the most gorgeous fall blooms and foliage right here in our home state, and we would use every bit of it.
One fall wedding trend you're loving, and one you're ready to retire?
Loving: hanging amaranthus. She has always been a beautifully unique flower, and she is really having her moment, all that dramatic cascading movement in a natural green or a deep burgundy. Retiring: the mum plant. There is a whole world of chrysanthemum blooms out there in different hues, shapes, and sizes, and we can do so much more with them. The classic mum plant is tired.
What do you love most about fall weddings in North Carolina?
The sheer abundance of local blooms and foliage. People don't always realize that florists all over the country import North Carolina flowers for their own weddings. We are so lucky to have incredible flower farmers here who take real pride in their blooms, and we love using those varieties throughout our designs.
Venue: The Wakefield Barn
Photography: 1828 Collective
Planning: Vow & Verve
About Wild Flora
Wild Flora is the studio of Christine Crochet, owner and creative director, who has been designing weddings and events for more than a decade. Working out of Chapel Hill and across the Raleigh Triangle, she is known for garden-inspired, color-forward florals that have been featured in Vogue, Martha Stewart Weddings, Style Me Pretty, Southern Bride, Green Wedding Shoes, and The Knot. For Christine, flowers are a way to express something, color, movement, and above all a little joy.
Getting married this fall at The Wakefield Barn, or anywhere around Raleigh, and want florals that make the most of the season's local blooms? Tell us what you have in mind.
