What you Actually Need for an Amazing Farm-to-Table Wedding
Farm-to-table wedding” — sounds dreamy, right? But what does it actually mean? At Pleasant Union Farm, it’s not about rustic clichés or cookie-cutter packages.
It’s about fresh flavors, seasonal flowers, and a celebration that feels tied to the time and place you said yes. The kind of day that feels effortless, elevated, and unforgettable.
Here’s what you actually need for a farm-to-table wedding (and why couples love it).
Seasonal Menus That Actually Taste Like the Season
Forget generic chicken-or-steak menus. A farm-to-table wedding menu means food tied to what’s fresh, local, and at its peak flavor.
Winter: hearty herbs, root vegetables, and cozy flavors.
Spring: tender greens, carrots, and early berries.
Summer: heirloom tomatoes, corn, and peaches that taste like sunshine.
Fall: roasted squash, apples, and crisp seasonal greens.
Appetizers are a great opportunity to highlight seasonal fare. Goat cheese tarts with apples and pickled red onions were a hit at one of our September weddings. Keep it simple with cheese and fruit or veggie trays featuring seasonal produce.
Local, in season produce is picked ripe and used at its peak which means it’s full of flavor that your guests will talk about for years after your wedding day.
Feature seasonal flowers in your bouquet
If you are struggling with what colors you should use for your wedding, using local, seasonal flowers is a great place to start. Nature drives our color palettes even if we don’t realize it – that’s why you see soft, romantic tones more in Spring weddings and rich, jewel hues in Fall. If you look around at what is blooming each season, you find it reflected in color palettes. Using in season flowers will provide you with a palette that blends perfectly with the season.
That’s the beauty of a farm-to-table wedding venue: your flowers reflect your date, your place, and your season.
- Spring: soft, romantic tones (think ranunculus, tulips, snapdragons).
- Summer: bright pops of zinnias, cosmos, and sunflowers.
- Fall: dahlias grown right on our farm, paired with mums and rich jewel hues.
Using local flowers gives you access to items that don’t ship well and guarantees a unique look. One of the reasons you see roses, hydrangeas, and other similar flowers in most weddings is they ship easily and are available to anyone year round. Field grown flowers like dahlias, zinnias, snapdragons, cosmos and more are best delivered within driving distance and provide unique arrangements.
Learn more about choosing local flowers here!
Some of our favorite local flower florists:
Add Local Drinks & Desserts to Your Farm-to-Table Wedding
Take a day to do some wine tasting at local vineyards as part of your wedding planning! In our area of North Georgia, there are several vineyards throughout Ellijay, Blueridge and Dahlonega. Highlight one or two selections in your bar menu for local flavor.
Signature cocktails are also a great way to highlight seasonal flavor. Fresh herbs add lots of flavor to mixed drinks. Pinterest is great for finding great cocktail recipes featuring in season fruit – blackberries, blueberries, peaches, etc. (Blueberry Bellini anyone?)
Highlight seasonal fruit in your cake or dessert
Top your wedding cake with ripe strawberries, peaches, or figs for beautiful decoration and flavor.
You can get more creative and add on pies, cobblers, tarts and more that really highlight the flavor of the fruit. Hand out local fried apple pies to guests as they are dancing the night away in the Fall. During the summer, cool off guests during cocktail hour with fresh fruit popsicles or homemade strawberry ice cream.
Thoughtful Touches for your Guests
Soap, lotion, jams, honey, syrup – there are so many options to be found at local farms and Farmers Markets that will highlight what the community can offer to your guests. Unique items that guests can use or eat are the least likely favors to be forgotten. Share mini jars of local honey in the summer, apple butter in the fall or handmade goat milk soap year round. Add a customized label or stamp, stack them up in crates or place at each setting to fill out your tablescape.
Creating a Farm to Table wedding is a great way to welcome your guests to your wedding and highlight the importance of community.
We love to build on the warmth a Farm to Table wedding inspires by serving a portion of the meal family style to start conversations as guests share food. There are so many ways to build on the intimate feeling of a Farm to Table wedding like sharing seeds with guests to start their own garden, using a tree planting as part of your ceremony, highlighting an illustrated map of where the local produce came from at the sign in table and more.
We would love to hear about any ideas you incorporate in your wedding or share some thought starters with you – just leave a comment below!
Find our more about our Farm to Table Weddings here.
Farm-to-Table Wedding FAQs
North Georgia is the perfect setting for a farm-to-table wedding thanks to its long growing season, thriving community of local flower farms, and access to fresh produce year-round. At Pleasant Union Farm, the setting itself — blueberry fields, gardens, and string-lit porches — brings the experience to life.
A farm-to-table wedding feels different because it’s tied directly to your season and location. At Pleasant Union Farm, that means your menu changes with the harvest, your flowers are gathered from our gardens and North Georgia flower farms, and the whole day feels like it belongs to you — not like a copy of the last wedding hosted here.
Not always. Because Pleasant Union Farm grows flowers onsite and works directly with local farms, many costs are streamlined. Our Farm-to-Table Package is slightly higher than our Classic Package, but what you get — seasonal menus, fresh florals, and an experience that feels uniquely yours — delivers far more value than a cookie-cutter option.
Absolutely. At Pleasant Union Farm, farm-to-table doesn’t mean rustic or DIY. Our light-filled spaces, garden views, and string-lit porches set the stage for a celebration that feels both elevated and effortless. Seasonal menus and local flowers add layers of sophistication — the kind of details that feel intentional, not overdone.
At Pleasant Union Farm, guests notice the difference right away. The food tastes vibrant because it’s tied to the season, the flowers carry a delicate scent fresh from our gardens and local farms, and the whole atmosphere feels welcoming and intentional. Instead of a standard reception, a farm-to-table wedding creates moments guests remember long after the last toast.
Owner, chief dreamer and assistant farmer at Pleasant Union Farm
