As a wedding blogger, people always ask me what I’d plan if I could have a wedding day do-over. And time and time it comes back to one key component – I’d keep it intimate. Just like this Colorado couple. With just 20 guests to bear witness, these sweeties planned the whole shebang in two months flat and snatched Laura Murray to capture the day. Go ahead and get lost in this family style affair sitting pretty right here.
From the Bride…. The vision we had for our wedding was intimate modern rustic. We wanted to elevate our outdoor DIY interests to an elegant affair that did not lose connection with its roots. As much as we could afford to, we tried to have a hand in everything from using at-home garden ingredients in the meal, to constructing farm tables to sewing and hand-dying linens. To keep it intimate, we limited the size to immediate family and a very few close friends. This allowed the evening to be relaxed, slightly informal, and most importantly comfortable. The convenience also provided a level of flexibility that helped to avert any problems that might have come up through the night, like weather.
The weather did not start out being cooperative and forced us into having a better ceremony location than we had planned. Having a small party afforded us to pick a lovely location for all to stand as we had a short, non-traditional ceremony. The sun eventually came out and we kept our reception dinner out under a big oak tree.
Our family style meal under the hanging lights on the tree was accompanied by an acoustic guitar played by a longtime friend. After a lovely meal of smoked brisket, mashed sweet potatoes, homemade mac ‘n cheese, and garden vegetable Carpaccio, we decided to forgo the traditional wedding cake and served an assortment of miniature cheesecakes and French Macaroons (a token to the study abroad trip at the beginning of our relationship). We followed our meal with some casual dancing and song requests and ended our evening in conversation around the fire. And I can’t forget to mention the s’mores!
From the Photographer… It was an intimate affair – just 20 people and they planned the entire thing in 2 months! They booked me just 2 weeks prior to the wedding day!
She handmade the napkins using gold paint, she did the calligraphy herself, and their friends who are not caterers cooked up the family-style meal (and it was the BEST food I have ever had at a wedding). They flew in another friend who played the guitar acoustically which provided the ceremony/reception music, as well as the first dance song.
Their day was SO rainy! It started right when we arrived and did not stop until right before sunset. There was talk of moving the ceremony/reception inside– however their main vision during the planning was an outdoor celebration under the stars. So we waited out the rain. The original ceremony location was soaking wet and full of puddles, so we moved it last minute to a spot that was a bit more convenient logistically. As the sun set and the rain had finally ceased, they said their vows with their family and friends standing around them.
Another little detail that I noticed was that the candles they burned were scented—this was the first wedding I have been to where they used scented candles as normally at weddings they burn the unscented kind. Swapping out the candles for scented filled the reception space with such a divine smell!
Since we had no time for bride and groom portraits due to rain and running out of natural light, we returned to the gardens the following week to capture those.
Photographer: Laura Murray Photography | Bouquet: The Perfect Petal | Ceremony & Reception Venue: Chatfield Botanic Gardens | Chair Rentals: Chairs with Character | Macarons: D Bar Desserts | Table Florals: Garden Path
© Style Me Pretty, 2013. |
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