A small, simple, natural and intimate day shared with only our very closest friends and family was always the idea for our dream wedding. We were lucky enough to soon be offered the stunning gardens belonging to a client of mine which would set the scene for our casual outdoor nuptials.
With a small budget the invitations, decorations, styling and flowers were all DIY. I had been collecting jars, old crockery, cutlery and other bits and pieces from every opportunity shop I could find for months. It was a lot of hard work doing it yourself but we were very lucky to have a lot of help from our friends and families to pull it all together, which in the end made it all the more special.
We always wanted our family members to all be involved in the day, so each had their own special roles, including our grandmothers who each held a ring which they then passed onto the best man as a special part of the ceremony. We also wrote our vows together, which we read one vow at a time back and forth between us. It was a bit of fun but we had the crowd in tears at the end of them.
We had both wanted our wedding in the summer so we could have our reception under the stars. So the 40 of us sat down at one long table to share a rustic BBQ dinner, Argentinien style (my maid of honour is Argentinean) with yummy charcoal grilled ribs! Dessert was also a family affair with our mothers and grandmothers each making their signature dessert for the shared desserts table. Although the weather turned a little chilly later on, it actually made it all the more intimate as everyone either huddled around the firepit or kept warm heating up the dance floor.
We had the most amazing day with loads of special memories (and gorgeous photographs) that we will have forever. We wish we could do it all over again!
Photographer: Jonas Peterson // Ceremony & Reception: Private Gardens, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia // Wedding Dress: Tibi and Vintage Lace Belt // Flowers, invitation, event styling, and decorations: By bride // Catering: Senor BBQ
Photography: SugarLove Weddings // Ceremony: St. Thomas’ Church North Sydney // Reception: Le Kiosk Restaurant // Wedding Dress: Dinda Rella // Bride’s shoes: Badgley Mischka // Bridesmaid dresses: Forever New // Flowers and Floral Decorations: Melinda Tualima // Cake: Faye Cahill
When my husband and I got engaged it seemed pretty obvious that we’d get married at my parents’ house, an avocado farm in Carpinteria, CA. It was April and we wanted a fall wedding, so we decided to just go for it and plan it all in 6 months–I knew more time would only mean more obsessing! I also really wanted everything to have a hand-made feel and come out of the talents of our community–we are lucky to know so many creative, wonderful people, so we enlisted them all to make the wedding as homegrown as possible.
I’m a wedding photographer myself, so photography was of huge importance; Nancy was my first and only choice. She led me to Emily, my new friend and dream dress creator. I’d found an old lace dress at a vintage show, and she reworked it entirely, making a hand-dyed ombre slip to go underneath and putting in panels and sleeves made of tulle from my husband’s grandmother’s veil. She also dyed an old silk bedcoat I had lying around to match the dress. The invitations were based on a watercolor I did–the guys at Aardvark letterpress worked with me to create a custom two-ink press so that the colors would bleed like watercolors! I asked my mom, an incredible florist, to do the flowers.
I wanted the tablescapes to feel wild and blowsy, like a fairyland. For centerpieces, she gathered my husband’s family silver and planted it with succulents, then filled in with smaller flower arrangements, pomegranates, baby apples, and acacia branches from one of her trees. I cut napkins out of sari fabric and used painters’ dropclothes as tableclothes. For escort cards, I used cut-up watercolors I’d painted; table numbers were old house address numbers I found on Etsy.
It was an intensely emotional, magical day and Nancy’s photos capture the spirit of the thing so beautifully. Thank you for letting me share it!
Photography: Nancy Neil // Videography: Tyler Rumph // Florist: Monica Fishman (minxy47(at)aol.com) // Day of Coordinator: Hallie Slade / La Boheme Events // Invitations: Aardvark Letterpress // Dress: Emily Harteau(emilyharteau@gmail.com) // Suit: InterMilan // Catering: Animal Restaurant
Photography by Lacie Hansen
Photography by Robert Sukrachand // Event Design + Florals + Coordination by The Nouveau Romantics // Catering by 14 Acre Farm // Vintage Rentals by Magpie Vintage Rentals // Wedding Dress by Leanne Marshall // Groom’s Suit by Brooklyn Tailors // Invitations by Katherine Ahn
