A Fall Wedding at the Roger Sherman Inn Filled With Jewel-Tone Florals & an Iconic Baby’s Breath Arch

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m + b

Emma and her team at First Blush were incredible to work with from the beginning. Emma was able to make sense of all the ideas floating through my mind and created the most beautiful floral designs. Our ceremony featured a baby's breath arch that our guests continue to talk about! The candles that she carefully placed throughout the property provided the warm and romantic ambiance I was looking for. I have nothing but positive things to say about First Blush and absolutely recommend!

Some fall weddings feel quietly elegant, and some feel like warm October sunshine wrapped in velvet and dahlias — this one managed to be both. Hosted on the lawn of the charming Roger Sherman Inn, this intimate al fresco celebration paired rich autumn florals with the dreamiest cloud-like baby’s breath arch (yes, the arch — the one everyone saves on Pinterest). It was the perfect mix of cozy New England charm and elevated, restaurant-style dining under the trees.

Sculptural baby’s breath ceremony arch creating a cloud-like frame on the lawn for an outdoor fall wedding.
 

Fall Florals With Depth, Texture, and Drama

For the bouquets and personals, we leaned into a lush, saturated fall palette filled with texture and movement — the kind of bouquet that looks hand-gathered but undeniably intentional.

The star players:

  • Dark ruby dahlias

  • Dark scabiosa with their moody, near-black centers

  • Cottage roses in deep coral and berry

  • Sahara roses for softness

  • White anemones for contrast

  • Inkberry and white snowberry for seasonal texture

  • Chocolate Queen Anne’s lace for depth

  • Wisps of maidenhair fern to keep everything airy

  • Local autumn olive foliage to ground the palette

The result? A bouquet that felt garden-inspired but still editorial — rich, romantic, and striking against the groom’s velvet black suit. The colors played beautifully with the setting: early fall leaves just starting to shift, the inn’s creamy clapboard siding, and the natural wood tones of the ceremony chairs.

Outdoor dinner beneath the trees with candles, fall florals, and warm early-evening light.
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Bridal bouquet with dark ruby dahlias, scabiosa, Sahara roses, and autumn olive foliage for a fall wedding.
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Groom in a velvet black suit with fall boutonniere and rich seasonal tones.
Groom in a velvet black suit wearing a simple fall boutonniere with seasonal blooms.
 
 
 
Editorial-style gypsophila arch used for both ceremony and reception at a New England fall wedding.
Fall bouquet with berry-toned cottage roses, maidenhair fern, and seasonal local foliage.
Ethereal white baby’s breath arch with thousands of stems forming a soft, modern, cloud-inspired installation.

The Baby’s Breath Arch That Broke the Internet (In the Best Way)

Let’s talk about the main event: the baby’s breath arch.
Even long after the wedding day, this installation still makes the rounds online, and for good reason.

Instead of leaning into traditional fall foliage or greenery-heavy structures, we created a full, sculptural cloud of baby’s breath — thousands of stems layered into an airy, monochromatic arc. It floated just above the lawn like a soft white halo, instantly transforming the ceremony space into something serene, ethereal, and unexpectedly modern.

Photographers adore it. Pinterest cannot stop pinning it. Guests couldn’t stop taking photos of it.

And because every hardworking floral moment deserves two lives, we moved the arch behind the reception tables after the ceremony. It became the backdrop for dinner, portraits, and those perfectly moody twilight shots where the whole scene glowed.

Truly, it’s a piece we’ll be referencing — and recreating — for years.

Aisle view leading toward a cloud-like baby’s breath arch for a romantic autumn ceremony.
foliage for a fall wedding.
 

Al Fresco Dining With a Warm, Easy Elegance

Dinner was hosted outdoors beneath the trees in a layout that felt like the perfect extension of the inn’s cozy restaurant style. Round tables dressed in crisp linens were dotted with low garden-style centerpieces — relaxed arrangements mixing dahlias, scabiosa, roses, berries, and delicate bits of autumn olive.

Each arrangement was slightly different, giving the tablescape that collected, organically beautiful feeling. No two comps were identical, but all spoke the same warm, textural fall language.

Clear glassware, simple taper candles, and natural wood chairs kept the look timeless and seasonally appropriate. Paired with the crisp air and the rustle of early fall leaves, it created the atmosphere of an intimate dinner party rather than a formal ballroom reception — exactly what the couple wanted.

Low garden-style centerpiece with ruby dahlias, cottage roses, and berries for a restaurant-style fall reception.
Outdoor fall wedding ceremony on the lawn at the Roger Sherman Inn with warm autumn light and romantic jewel-tone florals
Collection of mini compote centerpieces in rich fall tones on reception tables
Jewel-tone floral centerpiece mixing dahlias, scabiosa, roses, and autumn olive foliage.
Close-up of dark scabiosa used in fall bridal florals for rich seasonal depth.
 
Fall bouquet with berry-toned cottage roses, maidenhair fern, and seasonal local foliage.
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Why This Design Worked So Beautifully

A few elements came together to make this wedding feel so cohesive:

1. Saturated fall tones grounded by soft neutrals.
The mix of deep ruby, coral, blush, and cream created a palette that felt autumnal without slipping into predictable fall colors.

2. High-impact textural blooms.
Dahlias, scabiosa, Queen Anne’s lace, and berries thrive in fall — and using them generously created lushness without heaviness.

3. A hero installation that tied everything together.
The baby’s breath arch acted as the visual anchor for both ceremony and reception, giving the entire celebration a sculptural focal point.

4. A setting that allowed the florals to shine.
The lawn at the Roger Sherman Inn is already charming — the florals simply elevated what was naturally beautiful.

Close-up of fall wedding décor featuring saturated berry florals and soft seasonal textures at the Roger Sherman Inn.
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Al fresco reception setup with round tables, soft linens, and garden-style fall centerpieces under the trees.
Couple standing in front of a baby’s breath arch repurposed as a reception backdrop
 

If you remember 2020 weddings, you know: al fresco wasn’t just a vibe — it was survival. Guest lists were trimmed, floor plans were reimagined, and suddenly every celebration needed good airflow and a little extra flexibility. But somehow this wedding managed to feel less like a compromise and more like the dream dinner party version of a fall wedding. The jewel-tone florals, the crisp October air, the clinking glasses under the trees — it all worked together in that “wow, this is actually perfect” kind of way.

And then there was the baby’s breath arch. Floating behind the tables like a cloud of soft white, it made the whole evening feel intentional rather than improvised. Proof that intimate doesn’t have to mean scaled-back… sometimes it just means you notice the beauty even more.

 
Ceremony chairs arranged outdoors for a fall wedding with natural wood and warm seasonal light.

Whether you’re dreaming of a sculptural baby’s breath moment, jewel-tone fall florals, or something completely your own, we’d love to help you create a wedding day that feels intentional, personal, and effortlessly beautiful.


Reach out anytime — we can’t wait to dream something up with you.

Photography: Danila + Lana Photography | Venue + Catering: Roger Sherman Inn | Florals: First Blush Weddings + Events

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