Ladies' Attire: Formal- Look for modern western wedding dresses in the wedding books in your area. You may have to look into mail order if you are not in a area that would have that. If you would want to do Old West dress, look for American Victorian style dress. Casual- you too could do the blue jeans or a jean skirt/dress.
 

Flowers: Use soft rope to hand tie the bouquets and add wild weed looking accents. (and wear gloves to hold them) Florist are doing more and more of the unusual fillers. Simple wildflower looking boutonnieres for the men. Fill old, odd containers with flowers at the tables. i.e. Buckets, boots, paint cans, tins, baskets, mason jars, use coils of rope to hide the vases. You want it look simple and hand done. In the old west they would not have had a florist and hot house flowers. Also for a casual modern wedding the structured flower arrangements would look out of place.
 

Decorations: Bales of hay, rope, gingham and calico, old boots, mason jars, jugs, bunting and swags, washtubs, wire, livestock, split rail fencing, tree stumps, garlands of greenery and arrangements of fruit. Set the wedding cake on a cool bird bath or pedestal wash basin stand.
 

Transport: Ride to the wedding and the reception on a horse or horse carriage or hay wagon if possible. If you are in the country you could have stage wax bullets or take the wadding out of shotguns shells (for safety reasons) and have a gun fire salute as you are declared man and wife. Please check the laws in your area concerning gun fire. The bride's dad could carry a prop shotgun for a real shotgun wedding effect!
 

Food: The old west or modern cowboy loves his Barbecue! Cook as much as you can outside. There are people that have rolling pits that can come to your site and cater barbecue. Cook simple dishes and see if you can find recipes that they would have really used. There are a lot of books printed for women telling them how to cook and entertain in that time. Also you might find a chuck wagon cookbook. Serve from enameled ware (blue or black speckled ware) and drink from Mason jars. (in Dallas, TX, you can rent the speckled ware from party places. It may be more difficult to get in some areas of the country) Eat on picnic table and benches and extra bales to sit on.
 

Location Ideas: See if you can get a site that will allow you to have open fires. Barns would make a nice backdrop. Think barn dance and check out movies that have those scenes in them, for ideas. Victorian homes, parks, farms that let you rent them for cookouts.
 

Music: Find a band that can do at least one square dance number for mood if nothing else. Violins, banjos and guitar. Look for music to set the mood you are after.
 

Invitations: Formal- Look for heavy rustic papers and Victorian type style for your invitations. Casual- They may have fun ones at party stores for a modern western wedding. Consider making the wedding invites to look like a pony express delivery or old west telegrams.

Western Theme
Locations: Ranch, Barn, Home
Colors: Red, White, Blue, Black, Silver, Turquoise
Flowers: Wildflowers, Daisy, Black-eyed Susan, Sunflowers
Attire: Gingham, Denim, Bandanas, Boots, Hats, String Ties
Special Touches: Buckboard Wagon, BBQ, Square Dancing, Fiddlers, Guitars