Erika and Garrett both love camping and the outdoors, so as soon as they came across YMCA Camp Round Meadow, they knew it was the perfect outdoor venue to have their wedding. They loved the woodsy feel that the camp had, and the forest surrounding the cabins gave them more than enough room to get their dog and huge group of family and friends involved in the ceremony and reception. Gina & Ryan Photography joined in on all the fun, and the entire day looked like a scene straight out of a fairy tale.

The Couple:

Erika and Garrett

The Wedding:

YMCA Camp Round Meadow, Angelus Oaks, California

We were set on having a venue with green trees everywhere. Once we found it, we knew we didn’t need much other decoration aside from lighting and flowers because the trees were already so beautiful. Part of the vibe was inspired by the movie, Twilight, and the rest was from good Pinterest searching.

We personalized our ceremony by reciting our own vows, having our dog as one of the groomsmen, and we had Garrett’s father marry us. We also got help from family and friends to fold one thousand origami cranes and string them from the trees at the ceremony site. It is a Japanese tradition for good luck.

Processional – Tenerife Sea by Ed Sheeran
First Dance – Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran

I ended up wearing a dress that wasn’t anything like what I was originally looking for, but I fell in love with the delicate and intricate lace on the top of the dress. Then, I had the shop design a tulle skirt that I could wear over the dress to give it some volume. It was an ivory, and that inspired the wedding party colors. It was all about colors for us. I loved how the navy, ivory, and tans matched together in the forest with the red accents.

We chose our venue after weeks of research! We knew it was perfect once we saw it because it was big enough to fit 300 people, included cabins for overnight stay, allowed our huge trailer BBQ, and the trees were beautiful. It just had that romantic, woodsy feel that we were looking for.

The best surprise of the night was mine and Garrett’s moms, along with my grandma, his aunt, and all of their other lady friends, did a flash mob dance to “Uptown Funk.” Everyone was completely surprised and had no idea they had been planning that dance for months!

Congratulations to Erika and Garrett on their wedding! For more forest wedding inspiration, check out Jamie and Luke’s black and white log cabin wedding at Camp Tamarack in Bend, Oregon.