Oh, what a wedding! I can’t get over the rich, romantic atmosphere of Miami’s Ancient Spanish Monastery where couple Veneca and Jean chose to host their big day. What a treat to see them celebrate with their loved ones, in such inspirational and meaningful style!
What were the top three priorities for you in planning your wedding? We wanted to create an outdoor wedding theme with a natural feel, have a great photographer to capture the day, and to incorporate a tribute to my recently passed grandmother.
Were there any places where you broke the rules in your wedding planning? Why and how did you do that? We broke them whenever they weren’t practical. We did a first look because our wedding was outdoors and there was no way we would have gotten all of our pictures before the sun set after the ceremony.
What was your biggest wedding planning success? The wish lanterns released in honor of my grandmother. People really loved them and it inspired lots of tears of joy from my family.
What was the most important thing that you learned through the wedding planning process and what would you tell other brides-to-be? Make the day what you want it to be. If your gut is telling you you need an extra hour for the reception or that that you should spend a little extra on higher quality vendors, do it. You dont get any do-overs and you dont want to remember your wedding with a “should’ve, would’ve, could’ve” mentality.
What a fun engagement shoot concept Colorado couple Rachael and John came up with to fit their lifestyle – from a little black dress to flannels and fields of wildflowers, this adventurous photo shoot with Chowen Photography had a little bit of everything!
From Rachael: My inspiration for the shoot was a glamorous “little black dress” concept. We went with the Bitter Bar in Boulder as it is a favorite of ours and has that speakeasy type vibe. For the rest of the shoot we went to Chautauqa where my husband proposed. We took our dog Harlow Quinn with us and used the base of the mountain for a natural setting. Heidi and Daniel were beyond amazing and so wonderful to spend the day with. We love them!
From Heidi Chowen, of Chowen Photography: Every so often we get a request to have a “city mouse, country mouse” session with a couple. This works great when the two are fully on board with creating the juxtaposition needed to pull it off. John and Rachael literally transformed themselves when allowing us to shoot their engagement session in Boulder, CO. We started calm and cool with sophistication, speak-easy drinks, and some steamy alley-way moments. We ended with a much more casual feel with nature trails, a sunset atop Chautauqua Mountain, and a family made complete by their faithful dog.
John and Rachael did an amazing job of really stepping outside of “wedding day” mode and just letting themselves relax for us. Their attitude made for some great images and a day they can always look back on with fondness.
Dallas couple Diana and Miguel are simply bursting with joy and personality, and they channeled all of that energy into creating a wedding at the Hickory Street Annex where every detail was a colorful, creative reflection of their relationship and home. I love the way they worked alongside their talented team of wedding professionals, like Grit + Gold, Nest Floral Studio and Nine Photography to put their own fun and funky stamp on their day!
What three adjectives best describe your wedding day? DIY, artistic, and unique.
Was there a decor theme that ran through your wedding? What was the inspiration for that particular idea and how did it reflect you as a couple? We really never had a “theme” because we didn’t want to be confined to one single style. All we wanted was to make the wedding US! From the moment we sent out our save the dates to when we left the wedding, we wanted to make sure everyone knew this was ours! We also wanted them to feel comfortable and at home which is why we gathered a lot of our inspiration from our home décor.
It was a bit of a challenge at the beginning – I think a lot of brides feel like their wedding has to be themed – but when I started to see all the amazing weddings done out of the ordinary, we really let loose! Theres no better way to style a wedding than after your own personalities. As a couple, we are fun, artistic, natural, musical, and vibrant and we wanted our wedding to be the same!
What were some of the different ways you used decor elements to create the beautiful, cohesive event you were envisioning? Since our inspiration was our home, we used the wooden stumps down the aisle, like the wooden stump we use as a coffee table in our living room. We love to decorate with babys breath and ranunculus flowers in our home, so we used those flowers in the wedding décor.
We also wanted to bring our DIY lifestyle into the wedding so we did a lot of projects ourselves. We handmade the banners that hung on the ceiling in the venue that highlighted different areas in the room, i.e. Chow Down for the buffet area, Shake That for the dance floor, and Take a Swig above the bartender. We also made a life-sized replica of our wedding invitation out wood, that stood just outside the venue. We made wooden cake pop holders with our faces stamped on them for pur cake pop wedding favors (made by my good friend Amber Martinez).
We designed and handmade our save-the-dates and wedding invitations my husband created the design and included a drawing of us, which we silk screened onto paper. We made big paper marquee light initials that decorated the entrance hall to the venue. We also made little paper cupcake banners with our faces stamped on them. I made different colored lanterns out of paint swatches a special way to remember my dad (we also used paint swatches to make the seating chart). The bridal party and I handmade tons of paper pinwheels that were mainly used for a colorful installation on the altar wall.
Where did you choose to hold your wedding, and how did the location influence your decor decisions? Our wedding was held at Hickory Street Annex and the fact that they were able to host both the ceremony and the reception was the main reason we picked such a magical venue. They have an outdoor setting thats surrounded by these cool industrial buildings, but the ceremony itself was in an area surrounded by greenery and nature. We loved the combination of the hard, dark, metal/industrial feel and the soft, green natural atmosphere as we said I do.
The reception area was also amazing it gave us a downtown, lofty vibe to take the edge off the industrial ceremony. There were big beautiful hanging lanterns that were absolutely to die for lighting is so important! Everything about our wedding fit us perfectly, and we couldnt be happier with our choice.
Looking back, do you have a favorite project or successful decor idea from your wedding? Tell us what you loved about it! This is such a difficult question because there were so many projects and ideas that I loved! But if I had to choose one, it would be our handmade wedding stationary the save-the-dates and wedding invites. We had so many sleepless nights and the design process was a bit of a headache but the end result was so amazing! We saw the invitations as an opportunity to set the tone and décor for the wedding day itself. They gave the guests a little taste of what to expect, and hopefully made them hungry for more! It was such a joy to make them and for them to have such a vital role in the wedding vibe.
As youve noticed, we put a lot of effort and personal touch into the wedding but everything was well worth it. We know for a fact that our wedding fit our personalities perfectly: it was ours and ours alone. Isnt that how all weddings should be?
Junebug Weddings uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. We also use cookies to show advertising that is most relevant to you. If you continue you agree to the use of cookies on Junebug Weddings.
Terms & Conditions
.jpg "Photographers")
