Rose gold is quickly becoming the wedding accent color of choice, and it’s easy to see why in this gorgeous wedding inspiration at Petit Jean State Park. Andy Roberts Photography created an intimate elopement-style session on a cliff overlooking the Arkansas landscape, complete with blush and white roses from Les Amis and a marbled white and rose gold wedding cake by Piece of Cake Lafayette. The bride, who wore an off-the-shoulder dress from Fabulous Frocks Shreveport, and groom, who sported a modern take on a classic look, are newlyweds from one of our best elopements of the year, so they were the perfect couple to bring this session to life!
Brooke and Alex’s backyard garden wedding was as enchanting and fun-loving as a wedding can be! The bride, who looked stunning in a modern Edwardian-style Rue de Siene gown, had dreamt of getting married in her parents’ home since she was a little girl. So, the couple set up a clear tent adorned with twinkle lights in the backyard and used a summery color palette of blues and greens to complement the natural beauty of the space. Sticking to the relaxed garden vibe, floral designers from Coriander Girl created gorgeous white and green garlands that ran the length of the tables and the couple gave each guest a mini succulent to take home. The couple DIYed a lot of the details, but the best personal touch might have been the song Brooke and Alex performed with the band at the reception! The talented photographers at LV IMAGERY captured every enchanting moment of this special day.
The Couple:
Brooke and Alex
The Wedding:
Private Residence, Toronto, Canada
I hand-painted the invitation suite using watercolor and one of my bridesmaids, who is a graphic designer, helped me put them all together. I also taught myself some basic calligraphy skills and addressed the envelopes by hand. This was a great way to cut costs and our wedding guests LOVED the invitations! We also had custom stamps made with a photo of our dog as a special way to include her in our big day.
Our wedding was held in the backyard of my family home and was built from the ground up. Ever since I was a little girl, I have dreamt of having my wedding in my parent’s yard surrounded by the tall pine trees. It was so incredible to have that dreamed realized! The space is truly perfect for a wedding because it is intimate and relaxed – exactly the vibe we were going for!
Alex and I decided to do a tree planting ceremony to honor this beautiful symbolism of growth and strength in a marriage. To compliment this theme, I drew a tree with long branches and asked guests to sign their names on each branch as an alternative to the traditional guest book. It turned out beautifully and now hangs in our home.
Lauren was the best photographer. She was respectful and helpful when we needed direction. So many guests mentioned that they didn’t even notice her or her assistant taking photos during the day. We love that she gave us a mix of candid and classic posed photos. We really appreciated Lauren’s patience as she took many a family group photo (we have large families) and seemed genuinely happy to be a part of the festivities.
We wanted the décor to compliment the garden and tall trees rather than compete with the natural beauty, so we used neutral colors and focused on ferns, local foliage, and rustic flowers. We chose a clear tent to showcase the night sky and used a few standing structures to create a cocktail hour area and the bar.
I am slightly obsessed with succulents, and we felt it would be nice to carry out the theme of trees, nature, and growth by giving our guests a tiny succulent to take home. Our guests loved them! Even people with a supposed “black thumb” have told us how they are tending to their little plant or how it has grown or flowered. It is so nice to have our wedding day live on in people’s homes.
Probably the most unique DIY project for the day was our band. Alex and our friends are part of a band that has a tradition of playing at each other’s weddings. We were lucky enough to have them play at our wedding and, as a special treat, Alex and I sang a song together. We had so much fun practicing together in the months leading up to the wedding and on the day of it was incredible to feel all the warmth and energy from our loved ones while we were up on stage!
Alex and I weren’t keen on the idea of having a traditional wedding cake and we both enjoy pie. My mom had a great idea and suggested we have our aunts and uncles contribute a few pies for dessert. This worked out so well, and it was a great way to have our loved ones contribute something that all the guests could enjoy. The pies were delicious and perfectly paired with ice cream for a hot summer evening.
Congratulations to Brooke and Alex, and thanks to LV IMAGERY for sharing these lovely photos with Junebug! Do you love the idea of a DIY backyard wedding? Well, we’ve got a festive floral wedding in Illinois that will knock your socks off with DIY goodness!
Olga and Chris’ Sauvie Island wedding was a lovely bohemian dream come to life! After a heart-warming first look, the couple exchanged vows in an intimate backyard ceremony where friends and family prayed over them to bless the start of their new life journey. You could see the couple’s style in every detail, from the macrame hangings to the custom wedding invitations to the bride’s gorgeous Dreamers and Lovers wedding dress. At the reception, they shared a feast of Thai food from The Lamb’s Table, then ended the day with dancing and singing in the middle of the woods. Photographer India Earl truly captured the magical energy of Olga and Chris’ special day!
Honestly, what I thought I would wear and what I wore couldn’t have been more different. I found some fun yellow velvet shoes first and thought I would find a fringy fun bohemian dress to wear. Once I went to dress shopping, I fell in love with how this dress looked on me and had to have it! I had to change the shoes and all the details after the dress was decided.
For our gifts to each other, we wrote letters that we read the morning of the wedding. Chris included a little locket with a photo of him from when we first met, and I included tickets to see Sigur Ros (the artist that sings the song we walked down the aisle to).
From the photographer: We drove out to the island for the first look, where we found Chris standing on the opposite side of the lake. They walked towards one another, and Chris dropped the flower he had picked for her because the tears started flowing.
Sauvie Island was always a very special place to us. We’re birding nerds, so we like to go watch birds out there. It’s very peaceful and full of magic. It’s one of the first places we hung out together as a couple, the place where he proposed, and the only place we wanted to get married. The venue we found was the only place we were allowed to hold a wedding on the island.
I wanted the wedding party to feel comfortable and like themselves. The girls all wore different dresses with brown booties and whatever accessories they wanted. The guys wore denim jackets, black pants, brown shoes, and a floral tie. They had a lot of freedom in how they wanted to style it.
Before the wedding ceremony, Chris and I took a moment together, and it was so special. I cried so much before the wedding. I couldn’t believe it was happening!
We had my brother marry us, which was very special to me. We also had all of the guests to come up and lay hands on us as we had a prayer of blessing prayed over us. It was important to us to have everyone at the wedding participate in our union.
Walking down the aisle was especially emotional for us because the song that was playing was a song we would only play when we had a new wonderful experience or saw a beautiful scene, and it held a lot of magic and emotion in it for us. We knew this would be the most magical moment of our lives!
Everything was DIY! We made macrame arches and tassels all week. We even DIYed the napkins. We also made our own wedding invitations. It was a pain in the butt, but I think I can say it was worth it!
It was really hard to stick to just one look/vibe. I just picked the things that I liked and hoped they worked together. Luckily, we had John Dunfee, Chris‘ best man, to help with the overall design of the day, so he filtered all my ideas to create a cohesive look.
Congratulations to Olga and Chris, and a special thanks to photographer India Earl for sharing these beautiful photos with Junebug! Looking for more bohemian backyard wedding inspiration? Take a peak at this bohemian garden wedding in Monteverdi Tuscany – we dare you not to fall in love!
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