Whimsical and Fun Wedding

This is the sweetest backyard wedding! To describe the feelings I’m getting while perusing this adorable whimsical wedding would take a while. Let me just say that I’ve had a big smile on my face the entire time.Where did you get your dress from? My dress came from BHLDN Weddings (www.bhldn.com), which is the wedding side of Anthropologie. I was very nervous about ordering a wedding dress online, but I knew it as soon as I saw it…. that was my dress. I was lucky enough to have one of my bridesmaids double as a co-worker, and she measured me right there at my desk to guarantee that we got exactly the right size. I ordered the dress that day, and that beauty arrived at my door not even a week later. It fit like a glove!

Where did you get your bridesmaid dresses from? Our bridesmaid dresses came from an Etsy shop called Coralie Beatrix. The owner of this shop went above and beyond for our order, and was incredibly responsive throughout the entire process. I loved the idea of all of the girls having the same dress, but being able to style it in their own unique ways. I knew that I wanted a grayed lavender, and this color was perfect. It looked absolutely beautiful on each body type, skin tone, and hair color. Some of my bridesmaids came from out of town; so when I finally saw everyone together on my wedding day – it took my breath away!

Where did you get the men’s suits from? The Groom’s and Groomsmen suits came from a local Jos. A. Bank.

What inspired your wedding? My ultimate goal was for it to feel like we invited our closest friends and family over for a dinner party, and there just happened to be a wedding ceremony thrown in there. I never pictured our day being to “wedding-y”, because that’s not really us. I wanted to introduce people to who we are separately, and then who we are as a couple. The centerpieces incorporated classic books and framed quotes from great love stories because my husband is an avid reader. There were coffee mugs and coffee party favors because that is my happy place. The flowers were a bright and cheery mishmash of my favorite colors. There were porcelain flying pigs and iron dachshunds statues tucked in random places. Different things that may not make sense to anyone else, but they just make my husband and I happy. My favorite detail of the wedding had to be the first look. To my husband’s surprise, I chose to hide behind a yellow umbrella, which was inspired by “How I Met Your Mother” – our favorite show. My husband’s favorite detail was undoubtedly the meal we served – Breakfast for Dinner.

What was the planning process? My husband and I realized fairly early in our relationship that we wanted to get married, so technically the planning started before the proposal. Around January/February my husband asked me, “Do you need a ring to start planning a wedding?” I replied, “No sir, I need a wedding date!” Vendors are not necessarily concerned about seeing an engagement ring, but they do care about booking a date! And so, the venue hunt began. We found The Historic Rucker Place sometime in the beginning of March. It felt like a warm home. Standing under the arch in their courtyard, I knew this was the place where we would share our vows. We booked it that month and I started calling the other vendors! By the end of April we were engaged.

Advice to future brides: Pinterest is your frienemy. It certainly helped me a great deal in the beginning while trying to set my game-plan, but towards the end you risk getting sucked into buying “one more thing” or changing “one more detail” because you saw something else you liked on Pinterest. Brides with a longer engagement have more wiggle room for changes, but this 6-month Bride couldn’t do it. Also, DIY’s are not as easy as you think! I tried to “save money” by doing a lot of things myself, but ended up spending just as much on the supplies. I certainly did craft some items myself, but you definitely need to be wise in picking your battles. You don’t want to cause any more added stress. A very valuable lesson learned. Photographer: cotton + clover photography | DJ: Feel the Beat Entertainment | Event Venue: Historic Rucker Place | Cake Designer: La Dolce Vita | Floral Designer: Lillie’s | Caterer: Savoie Catering | Bride’s Dress: BHLDN | Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka | Bridesmaid’s Dresses: Etsy shop Coralie Beatrix