Erica and Steve’s garden wedding at Botanica incorporated all of their favorite local vendors and a fun, eclectic mix of all of their favorite and most important things. Their traditional marriage ceremony was followed by and indoor-outdoor garden wedding reception, a reflection of their love for the outdoors and true to the local Wichita culture. The travel and nature enthusiasts, based their style on their personalities and ended up with an eclectic and occasionally conflicting wedding theme that was truly beautiful: garden and industrial, bohemian with a touch of minimalism, and traditional with a bit of whimsy. Valley Floral created an elegant and earthy feel with flower arrangements and hundred of feet of garland in a natural color palette of ivory and green, with gold details. Kay + Bee captured countless sweet and heartfelt moments, but we especially love how this fun couple donned wigs and party hats with their guests during their reception.
The Couple:
Erica and Steve
The Wedding:
Botanica, Wichita, Kansas
We went back and forth over and over again on whether to do a first look or not. Eventually, we decided that the majority of the day would be spent surrounded by wedding guests, so we wanted a couple of minutes dedicated entirely to just the two of us. And it was perfect. Those last few moments before walking down the aisle are some of the most surreal we’ve experienced, and we were so happy to have spent them together. We’ll remember the words we said to each other, the smiles, the laughs, andthe cries forever.
We are huge Wichita lovers and wanted our wedding to incorporate all of our local favorites and all the best parts about living here. We registered for gifts at our favorite local shop, The Workroom, held our reception at Botanica, The Wichita Gardens, had live music performed by an amazing local band, Jenny Wood and The Watchers, served craft beer from The Hopping Gnome and Wichita Brewing Co, catered in the most delicious meal from TWELVE, and had a dessert bar with tarts and macaroons from La Galette French Bakery.
We wanted our reception to be a reflection of our love for the outdoors. Botanica, The Wichita Gardens was perfect for that exact reason. We had our first dance under the trees, surrounded by blooms, family, and friends.
Processional – ‘Canon in D’ – Johann Pachelbel
Recessional – ‘La Rejouissance’ – Handel
First Dance – ‘Strangers’ by The Kinks
We are travel junkies, nature and outdoors enthusiasts, deeply connected to our spirituality, andlovers of all things Wichita. All we knew was that we wanted to stay true to each of those things. We didn’t have a style type in mind, and we didn’t feel the need to conform to one specific look. We just picked things we loved and things that were important to us and ended up with an eclectic mix of garden, but with touches of industrial. Boho, but with touches of minimalism. Whimsical, but with touches of tradition. And we couldn’t have been happier with how it turned out.
We brought a giant box of old costumes to the reception. Late in the evening, we secretly put on wigs and made an appearance on the dance floor with our new looks. Soon, the entire dance floor was filled with wigs, glasses, hats, and costumes. At the end of the night, guests were welcome to take a piece of a costume home with them as a keepsake.
The Wedding Team:
Photography – Kay + Bee
Event Planning – Ambiance Events by April
Ceremony Venue – Cathedral of Immaculate Conception
Reception Venue – Botanica, The Wichita Gardens
Floral Design – Valley Floral
Catering – TWELVE
Cake – Artistic Cakes, La Galette French Bakery
Videography – Luke Brummer
Wedding Dress – I Do Bridal
Groom’s Apparel – Gentry NYC
Rentals – Action Tents
Congratulations to Erica and Steve and special thanks to Kay + Bee for capturing this fun and beautiful wedding! For more whimsical wedding inspiration, check out this whimsical Asheville wedding at Mount Airy Farm Estate!
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