James and Veronica dreamed of a quiet elopement in the middle of the forest. And they succeeded in doing just that. Everything they had hoped for and more came true at their Oregon Airbnb wedding. What’s more romantic than declaring your love to your soulmate while surrounded by sky-high trees, moss-covered walls, and a hazy mist?
Using a soft ivory and mauve color palette, whimsical florals, flowy drapery, and twinkling lights, they turned the little greenhouse in the middle of the woods into an enchanting space for their “I dos.” Their ceremony felt even more sacred because of how private and magical the woodland was. After exchanging emotional vows and a spectacular confetti toss, they enjoyed an intimate reception on the deck of their Airbnb cabin, which looked out over acres of private forest.
If you and your partner have been dreaming of an epic secluded woodland affair just for two, you’ll want to check out this wedding. Keep on scrolling and draw inspiration from these spectacular images captured by Sadi Brooke.
The Couple:
James and Veronica
The Wedding:
Oregon, United States
How Their Woodsy Oregon Airbnb Wedding Came To Be
We wanted a quintessential Pacific Northwest woodsy elopement feel. The amazing florals and rustic decor our planner came up with complimented the beauty of the forest and stunning natural surroundings wonderfully. The Woodlands House was tucked away in the gorgeous Oregon woods. It seemed quaint, exclusive, and ideal for our wedding. We adored how smoothly things went all day. And I’m proud of us for just being there for one other, stress-free, and enjoying the day.
How They Set Their Wedding Budget
We decided what was truly important to us and spent money on those things. Then, after going through a list of additional factors, we chose which ones we could save on and which ones we didn’t even want to include in our wedding. Our advice is don’t let others pressure you into spending more than you budget. It’s your day. Do what you and your partner want, not what everyone tells you to do. The day is about your love, and it can be as big or as small as you want. Don’t overspend because it seems like you have to.
Congratulations to Veronica and James on their moody woodsy Oregon Airbnb wedding. And many thanks to Sadi Brooke for capturing the magic of their celebration from every angle. If you and your partner are searching for a unique location to tie the knot, check out these Airbnb venues that are perfect for your “I dos,” no matter the size.
With everything from a 1940s-style confectionery venue and rustic autumn decor to fantastic fall fashion and meaningful handmade details—Brian and Brian’s Lucas Confectionery wedding had it all. Sharing a deep love of nature and the magical ambiance of the season, the pair brought their dream autumnal theme to life by setting a stunning scene using warm tones and rich textures.
Playing off the exposed brick and industrial features of the space, an eye-catching chuppah covered in overgrown fall foliage and fresh blooms was the statement piece of the ceremony. For the reception that followed, long wooden tables were adorned with moody centerpieces, moss table numbers, and candles for a moody woodland feel. Meanwhile, overhead string lights gave a warm glow to the cozy affair.
With the help of their fantastic team of vendors, the couple pulled off a gorgeous and relaxed celebration, allowing them to enjoy every moment with their loved ones and each other. To see how the two grooms infused their big day with their own unique styles and combined it with the spectacular details of fall, scroll through these images captured by Natasha Shapiro.
Why They Wanted A Fall Inspired Lucas Confectionery Wedding
There was no question that our wedding would have an autumnal forest vibe, as we’re both autumn and nature lovers. We went for a color palette with various tones of green, burgundy, burnt orange, and pops of metallic copper to give a tasteful but not overly themed feel. Our chuppah and table arrangements were where the forest vibe shone through with an explosion of fall foliage, stunning florals, velvet mushrooms, and candle-lit lanterns with a tree branch motif to give a moody, magical ambiance to our venue. It can be challenging to see the big picture when all the bits and pieces come from different vendors, websites, and stores. But everything worked together beautifully to create the vision that we had in our heads.
Choosing Wedding Attire That Reflected Their Individual Style But Kept With The Theme
For our outfits, we went with suits that fit our vibe and personal aesthetics. I wore a forest green suit with a stag’s head neck piece in place of a bowtie. Brian L. wore a fitted burnt orange plaid suit with an oak leaf collar chain in place of a bowtie. We also had an incredible dried floral artist from Etsy create two unique boutonnieres that tied the whole look together. Topping it off were two matching white kippahs with a tree branch and leaf motif. For our wedding party, we continued the theme with velvet dresses in varied shades of fall foliage for the ladies and ginger-colored pants with coordinating leather suspenders and velvet bowties for the gentlemen.
Mixing Jewish And Irish Traditions To Create A Blended Lucas Confectionery Ceremony
For our ceremony, we had our lovely friend, Karen, officiate. We worked with her for two months, crafting our dream ceremony. I am Jewish, so we wanted to have many Jewish wedding elements in the ceremony. These included a ketubah, a chuppah, a wine blessing, and smashing the glass at the end of the ceremony. Brian L. is Irish, so we also wanted to include many elements from his heritage. These included the tree of life and other symbols and doing a handfasting portion in our ceremony. We each wrote our vows, and rather than doing the typical Seven Blessings, common in Jewish weddings, we had eight of our friends and family write their blessings for us and our new lives together. And lastly, we had our corgi, Merlin, as one of our attendants.
Having An Intentional Moment Alone To Take It All In
The most memorable part of the day was right after the ceremony. In Jewish weddings, couples often have a yichud, which stems from the Hebrew word for “together.” This is when the couple comes together and spends time alone before the reception. We enjoyed doing this because it allowed us to take a moment alone to breathe and enjoy each other’s company as a newly married couple.
Autumn-Inspired Personalized Lucas ConfectioneryWedding Favors
Brian L. owns a candle company called Puck’s Offending Shadows, so we gifted each of our guests with an 8-ounce candle. We worked together to design the unique scent, which featured notes of black amber, plum, apple, cinnamon, and cedarwood. Each candle was in a matte green jar with a copper lid and a label we designed ourselves. The end product was simply stunning.
Personalized DIY Autumn-Themed Lucas Confectionery Wedding Details
We created several decor and accessory pieces to enhance the autumnal forest vibe, including flower girl mossy birch bark baskets, complete with metallic copper skeleton leaves. We also designed and crafted several signs for our donut flavors, signature cocktails, gift area, and guestbook. These signs were enhanced with pressed floral stickers to give them an antique botanical print look. Our guestbook was also DIY’d. Our guests wrote their well wishes on large river rocks with a copper pen. We laid these in a hammered copper bowl on a bed of moss. It was really quite beautiful.
Advice From The Couple: Carve Some Time To Relax Before The Wedding
As simple (or unrealistic) as it may sound: relax. With all of the stressful planning and work that goes into the wedding process, it’s essential to take a step back and appreciate everything that’s going on. To help us relax for the big day, we did a spa day a few days before the wedding. It really helped us chill out and enjoy each other’s company before our guests came to town.
Congratulations to Brian and Brian on their cozy and rustic Lucas Confectionery wedding. And, of course, a special shout out to Natasha Shapiro for capturing the magic of their special day.
If you and your partner are drawn to the rich hues, falling leaves, and magical transformation that autumn brings, elevate your own big day with these ideas for a stunning fall affair.
Image by Savanna Sturkie. Keep scrolling for our 12-month wedding planning timeline.
You’re now officially engaged. Congratulations! After you’ve shared the good news with your loved ones and given yourselves time to bask in newly-engaged glory, it’s time to start the wedding planning. This year-long journey involves many details—from finding your vendors to writing your vows—and it is no easy feat. But with the right systems in place, the time leading up to your wedding can be exciting, not stressful. And luckily for you, we broke down the 12-month process into an easy-to-navigate wedding planning timeline.
A wedding timeline is crucial to ensure everything goes according to plan. It also holds you accountable for completing all tasks on your to-do list at the right time. Depending on priority, availability, and requirements, some should be completed at the very beginning, while others can wait until closer to your wedding day. We’ll begin our timeline from the 12-month mark. But if you have a shorter engagement, write the tasks down in order of priority, and adjust the timeline to fit your schedule.
You’ll lay the foundation for your wedding preparations during these initial months. We can’t stress enough how crucial it is to begin by setting your budget before considering anything else. Your budget will help narrow down the list of venues to consider, dictate how large your guest list can be, and help you prioritize what’s most important to you and your fiancé. Because talking about money has the potential to be stressful, we highly recommend making a date night of it with dinner at home, a bottle of wine, and a totally open mind.
Once you hammer out those all-important numbers, you can move on to more fun things, like creating your mood board, touring venues, and researching vendors. The key in this 10-12 month timeframe is to align your values and expectations and do your research so the rest of the planning process can be smooth sailing. Here are some of the big-picture items you should start getting checked off your list:
Figure out what type of wedding planner is best for you and hire a planner that will fit your needs
Browse our lists of the best wedding vendors around the world to research wedding photographers, wedding videographers, bands and/or DJs, caterers, florists, and rental companies
You’ve spent the last four months setting your budget, creating a vision for your day, deciding who will stand beside you, and doing tons of vendor research. Now is the best time to hire your photographer and videographer as soon as possible since they book up quickly. Consider arranging an engagement session. It’s the perfect opportunity to get to know your photographer, practice being in front of the camera, and capture this unforgettable time in your relationship forever.
This 8-9 month window is also when you’ll focus on guest-specific tasks, such as creating a wedding website, registering for gifts, and reserving hotel rooms for out-of-town guests. Since guest lists are one of the most challenging elements of wedding preparation, continue to work on them to decide if you want to stagger invites to narrow down your list. Junebug Tip: Find the perfect design suite and elegantly communicate with your wedding guests every step of the way with Lovebird. Do this 8–9 months before the wedding:
Now that you’ve got many big decisions crossed off your list, you’ll be focusing on assembling your vendor team, choosing wedding day fashion, and announcing the wedding with save-the-dates in the next several months. You must finalize your guest list because everything from here on out depends on knowing how many guests to plan for.
If you get too overwhelmed with that decision, remember the end goal and start thinking about that honeymoon. This is the perfect time to research honeymoon destinations around the world and decide if you want your honeymoon to be full of adventure or straight-up relaxation. Here’s what to do 6-7 months before the wedding:
Finalize your wedding guest list and compile the list of addresses in a spreadsheet
Buy your wedding invitations (if not already bought last month)
You’re officially more than halfway through the wedding planning process—congratulations! Now is the time when most of your details will start to fall into place, so be prepared for a whirlwind of decision making. You’ll want to set everything up for the rehearsal dinner, including deciding who will be invited so you can prepare invitations.
You’ll also want to focus on your bridal look by setting up your first dress fitting and getting your groom’s look squared away. As a reward for making so many decisions, now is also the time to eat all the cake so you can pick the perfect flavor and start thinking about your bridal shower and the bachelorette/bachelor parties. Decide who you want to invite to each event, and then start putting together inspiration to create your perfect party looks. 4-5 months before your wedding, you have to:
Do a cake tasting and order your cake
Check on the status of your wedding invitations (if staggering, send your first round of invitations now)
At three months out, it’s time to cross off some of those tiny details that can easily get overlooked, such as finalizing your food and printing menus and ordering favors. Trust us. You’ll be glad you got these little things out of the way so you can focus on bigger details in the coming months. Since there are fewer big-ticket items to book or buy, this is also the perfect time to plan your wedding ceremony.
Schedule a night to choose your ceremony readings together. Find readings that speak to you as a couple and reflect your feelings about love and marriage. Then, when you meet with your officiant to plan the rest of the ceremony, discuss other ways you want to make your ceremony personal, and ask for advice if you’re feeling stuck. The ceremony is, after all, the most important moment of the wedding day, so take as much time as you need this month to make sure it will be exactly what you’ve envisioned. Here’s what to do three months before the wedding:
Work with your caterer to finalize the menu for your reception dinner
The time has finally come to send all of your wedding invitations. Since this isn’t quite crunch time yet, use this month to meet with or get in touch with all of your vendors to ensure everyone is still on the same page and send as many final payments as possible.
We recommend meeting with your photographer to discuss day-of planning and final questions. You’ll also need to meet with your DJ or live band to finalize the playlist and provide them with songs you do and don’t want to play during the reception. Then it’s time to party! You’ve earned every bit of relaxation and fun your wedding party has in store, so live it up at the bach parties and let the stress of wedding planning melt away for the night (or the entire weekend). Next month is crunch time, so rest up now! Do this two months before the wedding:
Send out your wedding invitations (or a second round of wedding invitations, if staggering)
Meet with your photographer to discuss wedding day plans
Review the playlist with the DJ or band and give them your “don’t play” and “must play” lists
You’re officially one month away from the best day of your life, and this is the month that all of those details that are still on your to-do list will be checked off. Most importantly: get your marriage license. Laws vary from state to state and country to country on how far out you need to get your license, so make sure you know the ins and outs of making everything legal.
In addition, you’ll want to schedule your final dress fitting and buy all the accessories you need, decide if you’re going to change into a reception dress (and buy one if you do), create your wedding day timeline, create your seating chart, and buy gifts for everyone on your list. You should also have received lots of RSVPs by now, so update your spreadsheet, call anyone you have yet to hear from, and prepare a final list for the caterer. Here’s what to do one month before the wedding:
Get your marriage license
Have your last dress fitting and buy your accessories (veil, jewelry, lingerie, and shoes)
As you get into the right mindset for your wedding day, there are just a few last-minute things to cross off your list or delegate to your loved ones. This week, spend your time circling back with vendors, the wedding party, and any other family or friends who need to be in the loop to ensure everyone is on the same page and knows exactly what to do on the wedding day. You’ll need to get the final guest count to the caterers and plan for day-of payments.
We recommend filling out checks and putting them in marked envelopes that you can easily hand off to your coordinator. Then, finally, it’s time to indulge in some last-minute relaxation, packing for the honeymoon, and getting everything together, so you’re feeling your absolute best come your wedding morning. Here’s what to do one week before the wedding:
Check in with all your vendors one last time and ensure they have the wedding day timeline
Delegate any last-minute tasks to friends and family
Send your wedding day timeline to everyone in the wedding party
Send the final guest list to the caterer
Break in your wedding ceremony and reception shoes
Ensure you have checks ready for day-of payments and vendor tips in clearly labeled envelopes
Book a day at the spa
Pack for your honeymoon
Schedule a date night for you and your fiancé to de-stress before the wedding day
Review our tips for feeling your best on your wedding day
Your only responsibility on your wedding day is to be fully present and enjoy every minute of the day. All the details are planned, you’ve handed off your phone and email to a friend or family member, and your planner or coordinator has everything under control. You just need to bask in the glow of being pampered, spending the day with everyone you love, and marrying your best friend.
Now that you’re home from the honeymoon, there are just a few loose ends to tie up before you settle into newlywed life. Don’t worry. There are few things left to do. The most important is circling back with all your vendors to ensure everyone has received their payment. If you have any outstanding balances, this would be the time to pay them all off.
Then you can move on to more important things, like opening gifts you received on the wedding day and sending “thank you” notes. To ensure you remember everybody, we recommend using your guest list spreadsheet to note all the gifts you received. That way, all the information is in one place when you start writing notes. Here are the last few things to wrap up after the honeymoon:
Take advantage of registry discounts to buy any registry items you didn’t receive
Officially change your name (if you choose to do so)
Research life insurance plans and figure out the right coverage for your relationship
It can be tempting to begin planning your wedding as soon as you are engaged. How far in advance you start planning for your big day will determine how long it takes. Some couples decide to have a lengthy engagement, while others could be ready to tie the knot right away. There’s no need to rush into planning if your wedding is more than a year away.
Planning your wedding is a huge undertaking, so don’t try to do it all at once. You want to remember your wedding as an incredible and beautiful time in your life, not as a stressful one. And our 12-month wedding planning timeline will allow you to sit back and enjoy the process.
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