This ultrarefined palette of green and white is fresh. You’ll be amazed at how much we can do with a seemingly limited range of tones. There’s a wonderful boldness that happens when you allow green, which normally finds itself in a supporting role, to be paired with crisp whites. I’m rather obsessed with the green and white color palette. It can be challenging to work within an extremely tight palette like this, but in general it forces you to be more creative and to dig a little deeper that you would have otherwise. This palette can work just about anywhere, from an intimate backyard event to a lovely daytime affair, or even brought to life in a traditional ballroom. As you might know, I love taking objects I’ve found and giving them a whole new life. Pictured above, this vintage Haeger vase was a great find- it has the rich green hue and an old-world feel. The vessel’s height allowed me to work with some tall and woody hydrangeas, giving the whole arrangement real presence. A display of this size is meant to greet your guests as they arrive at your ceremony or reception. Pictured below, this vintage punchbowl from the 1930’s was another great find. The beautiful, bold centerpiece of hellebores, Phalaenopsis orchids and leafty ferms is a chic and effortless look against a crisp white tablecloth. If you have a really tight palette like we do here, consider using a special glass like these green ones I chose here. White-glazed ceramic pots filled with oregano, sage, peppermint, parsley and spearmint serve two purposes here. They are a useful favor for guests and they bring life to an escort table as well. Also below in this color palette, I’ve shown white napkins that I wrapped in climbing fig vines, viny spirea cascaded beautifully down the railing and around a banister with Dendrobium orchids tucked in to add a touch of the exotic and a garden bouquet. I wanted to focus on using the color green alone in the bouquet to invoke a rich botanical vibe. I kept layering Scabiosa, Dianthus, hellebores, Hypericum berries, bunny tail grasses and different ferns to achieve the oval shape and lush look that I envisioned.

Matthew Robbins is the author of Inspired Weddings: Designing Your Big Day with Favorite Objects & Family Treasures and is a regular contributor to Martha Stewart Weddings.

All photographes from the book are by Thuss + Farrell and were used with Matthew Robbins permission.