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Bright, Fun, And Sun-Filled Phoenix Backyard Wedding

Nothing was raining on Molly and Chelsea’s Phoenix backyard celebration. Almost. The morning of the wedding, rain clouds dispersed and the skies filled with desert sunshine—the perfect wedding day weather. With the help of their loved ones, wedding planner Bloom & Blueprint Event Co., and a talented team of vendors, this couple was able to transform an ordinary backyard space into the dreamiest wedding venue. 

Their big day was filled with sentimental and nostalgic pieces. From the wedding venue—Molly’s parents backyard and the place their love blossomed—to the hand-written and personalized vows. Every wedding day detail was carefully curated with intentionality and purpose in mind. 

We can’t take our eyes off the sweet, memorable moments that were captured by Mary Costa Photography. Grab your tissues and get ready to soak up this powerful and heartfelt ceremony. It perfectly celebrated both Molly and Chelsea’s love for each other and marriage equality. 

More From Mary Costa On This Phoenix Backyard Wedding

Molly and Chelsea’s wedding was heartfelt, beautifully styled, and full of joy. It took place in Molly’s parents’ backyard and was full of personal touches. It was pouring rain the morning of their wedding—which is a rarity in Phoenix, Arizona. As luck would have it the sun came out just after Molly and Chelsea finished getting ready, and the talented team of planners from Bloom & Blueprint Event Co broke down dozens of small tents to create a beautiful space in record time. Their ceremony was incredibly heartfelt, including a candle lighting with all the guests. We also caught the last bit of daylight in the Phoenix mountains. Such a beautiful couple and a stunning day!

The Couple:

Molly and Chelsea

The Wedding:

Phoenix, Arizona

A Backyard Turned Dream Wedding Venue 

We really loved how the design came together. We worked very hard coming up with concepts and colors and sourcing pieces for our day and we transformed the backyard into a “venue” that other people started asking to get married in!

Nothing Could Rain On Molly And Chelsea’s Parade 

Our wedding was extremely memorable. It started with the rainiest day of 2020—a flash flood warning, thunder, lightning, and a torrential downpour covering the Phoenix valley. We had our first look under the eaves of the hotel we were staying at. Suddenly the rain stopped and the clouds parted. We ran out into the sunshine to get as many photos as we could before it started to rain again—but it never did! Sun poured over the yard and we had the chance to have a gorgeous outdoor  ceremony, cocktail hour, and dinner. As guests took their seats, the grass was so wet from the rain that the chairs were sinking, and people were dropping like flies. Our dresses were muddy and our shoes were dark brown from all the mud, but at that point we didn’t care!  

A Unity Ceremony To Honor Loved One’s Support 

We said personal vows that made us sob and we’re not sure anyone actually understood what we said—haha! We also had friends of ours read the Marriage Equality Supreme Court decision during our ceremony—it was an extremely powerful and heartfelt moment. We also had a reserve unity candle ceremony. We had each of our guests light a candle to represent the light, warmth, and love of their support as an LGBTQ+ couple. 

A Venue With Sentimental Value 

Our venue was Molly’s parents’ backyard. It was the place we spent our high school summers together when we were just falling in love. It was nice to get married at home and have that additional sentimental value. 

DIY Signage Doubles As Wedding Keepsake  

Molly’s Mom learned to use a laser cutter to design, cut, paint, and display all of the signage at the wedding! It was an incredible gift that saved us a ton of money and really enhanced the look of the decor. Molly also designed and printed the invitations.

The Wedding Team:

Photography – Mary Costa Photography
Event Planning – Bloom & Blueprint Event Co.
Floral Design – Bloom & Blueprint Event Co.
Catering – AZ Inspirations Catering
Cake – The Scookie Bar 
DJ – Camelback Entertainment
Videography – Something New Media
Makeup Artist + Hair Styling – The Beauty Bar Allison
Rentals – The Event Co.

 

Congratulations Molly and Chelsea on their beautiful sun-filled backyard wedding. We are thankful photographer Mary Costa Photography was present to capture every sweet moment from this powerful LGBTQ+ wedding. 

From the backyard venue to the ceremony script—every moment was carefully crafted with intentionality in mind. Whether you’re looking to save money in your budget or dreaming of a venue with sentimental value, a backyard wedding is just what you’re looking for. Check out the ultimate guide to planning a backyard wedding and get started planning your own. 

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Unique Laundromat Elopement Inspiration Shoot

May 27, 2021 | kailey

laundromat elopement

We believe every couple deserves a day that authentically celebrates them. No longer are couples bound to strict, traditional wedding-day guidelines. Want to get married on top of a mountain? Go for it. In a favorite local diner? We support it. Unique wedding ceremonies and locations are some of the easiest ways to make sure you’re authentically represented. From the wedding style to the location, this laundromat elopement did exactly that. This shoot was anything but a cookie-cutter wedding celebration. 

Wedding Planner Haus of Gravity collaborated with a team of talented wedding vendors to bring this nontraditional elopement inspiration to life. Together, this team proved that no dream wedding vision is out of reach. The pop-of-color floral arrangements by Sweet Talk Floral beautifully complimented the retro ceremony vibes and transformed an ordinary space into a dream wedding venue. 

We can’t take our eyes off these sweet, stylish, and inspo-worthy moments captured by Sarah Noele Photography. Every element of this styled shoot—from the Loudon Road Laundromat to the Red Arrow Diner—is sure to be used as wedding inspo for couples dreaming of a unique and out-of-the-box lovefest. 

Recommended reading: Unconventional Wedding Venue Ideas for Unique Couples

 

 

 

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The Wedding Team:

Photography – Sarah Noele Photography
Event Planning – Haus of Gravity
Ceremony Venue – Loudon Road Laundromat
Reception Venue – Red Arrow Diner
Floral Design – Sweet Talk Floral
Videography – Salt + Pine Films
Invitation Design – Paper Cliché
Hair Styling – La Beautique Salon 

If you’re feeling inspired to step outside the traditional wedding box and transform your big day into a celebration that highlights your uniqueness, you won’t want to miss these unconventional wedding venue ideas

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Clyde Iron Works Wedding With Costumes Galore

May 27, 2021 | Junebug Weddings

Attention all our ghosts and ghouls—this wedding is too cute to spook! Kaitlin and Taylor’s Clyde Iron Works wedding blended soft, romance vibes with a dark, Halloween-esque aesthetic. Their unique ceremony took place on Halloween, during a full moon, and in the middle of a global pandemic! Don’t get scared though—Kaitlin and Taylor took as many COVID-19 precautions as they could to keep their guests and vendors safe and healthy, including live streaming their ceremony. 

With gold-dipped pumpkins, dark florals, and gold candlesticks, it only seemed right that they had costumes, masks, and a cameo from Captain Jack Sparrow. Get ready to have your spirits lifted when you see these photos captured by Junebug member Brianna Lane Photography.  

The Couple:

Kaitlin and Taylor

The Wedding:

Clyde Iron Works, Duluth, Minnesota

Prioritizing Health and Safety

The biggest priority for us was keeping our guests safe and healthy. We set up a live stream for the family and friends that weren’t able to travel or couldn’t attend. The most important thing to us was getting married and celebrating with our family and friends in the safest way possible.

Family and Vendors Working Together

We’re proud of our family, friends, and the vendors that we worked with during this whole process. Our family and friends completely understood the hard decision we made to decrease our guest list, and the vendors we worked with were incredibly flexible and helpful every step of the way.  In the end, we decided that no matter what our day looked like, we just wanted to get married and celebrate our love.

Advice From The Bride 

Hire a wedding coordinator and start checking things off your list early! Planning a wedding during the pandemic was very stressful—with COVID safety regulations and venue rules changing often.  Luckily, we had an amazing coordinator who fully supported us, eased our worries, and kept us up to date with COVID precautions. Having a coordinator there to take charge and fix any problems that popped up was unbelievably helpful. Because of her, we were just able to enjoy every second of our day and not worry about the little things!

DIY Halloween Decor 

We kept our decorations to a minimum, the venue was already so beautiful that we didn’t need much to enhance it. Our only DIY project was ceramic, gold-dipped pumpkin candle holders handmade by our talented friend. She created dozens of these ceramic pumpkins, dipped them all in gold paint, and personalized the bottoms with our names and wedding date. We had the ceramic candle holders on the tables during dinner with the gold candlesticks and bouquets. 

A Halloween Clyde Iron Works Wedding

We chose the Malting building at Clyde Iron Works because it perfectly fit in with our unique vision of a timeless romantic Halloween wedding.  The Malting is a recently renovated historic building with beautiful exposed brick and we knew the second we toured it that it was the one.  Taylor and I spent many weekendss on the nearby north shore, so having our wedding in Duluth made it even more special to us.

The Wedding Team:

Photography – Brianna Lane Photography
Event Planning + Rentals- Pure Events
Venue + Catering – Clyde Iron Works Malting Building
Floral Design – Saffron & Grey
Cake – Cozy Hen Cheesecake
DJ – Sounds Unlimited
Videography – Jake Durham
Invitation Design – White Loft Creative
Makeup Artists – Ellen Larson and Anna Purtle
Hair Styling – E’Clips on the Lake
Wedding Dress – Essense of Australia via Raffine Bridal
Rings – Shane Co.

 

Congratulations to Kaitlin and Taylor on their Clyde Iron Works wedding. And a big shout out to Junebug member Brianna Lane Photography for sharing and capturing this day with us. See more of her work in our directory of wedding photographers from around the world. If you’re looking for more Halloween wedding inspiration, check out this Catskills Barn wedding and this Tulum elopement

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