Backyard Wedding at Home with a Banner Backdrop
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Bride Julia knew she wanted the focal design point of her wedding day to be an oversized banner backdrop, so she set to work making it herself — and we love what she had to say about the end result: “It’s perfectly imperfect — just like our wedding.” Julia and Brian’s at-home wedding simply gets everything right, pouring love into every aspect of the day. Of course, props to Scarlet O’Neill, Laura Olsen Events, and Leaf and Bloom for bringing everything together so beautifully!
From the bride, Julia: We wanted our wedding to simply be an extension of us: intimate and casual, but lots of fun. With that in mind, it just felt natural to invite our closest loved ones to our home and backyard, where they could get down while feeling totally at-home with us. Every June our garden is bursting with colour and life, and I knew it would be the perfect backdrop. We complemented the deep greens and whites of our yard with pops of rose gold, pinks and navy blue.
Bouquet recipe: Peonies were the feature, accented with ranunculus, sweat peas, garden roses, delphinium and silver dollar eucalyptus. I love how loose and quirky the bouquets were.
I knew I wanted a big-ass banner for us to get married in front of, and that could double as a backdrop for the rest of the evening. I hand sewed the banner (pretty sure the night before the wedding) and my sister handled the finishing touches. It’s perfectly imperfect — just like our wedding. I designed our wedding stationery, which featured Scarlet’s photos from our engagement shoot. We kept the design details minimal, but I sourced the banners, oversized balloons, letter boards, confetti and noisemakers from local artisans on Etsy. My sister also set up the cutest little guestbook table for everyone to leave love notes, collages and Polaroids throughout the evening.
Any advice for couples planning their weddings now? Savour every single moment you can. We were told our wedding would fly by, but I had no idea just how fast it would go — it felt like a total whirlwind. Slow down when you can and soak in everything that’s happening! Also — have a drink before everyone shows up. Or maybe two.
Wedding Music:
The ceremony was all Van Morrison! My dad walked me down the aisle to Van Morrison’s ‘Give Me a Kiss’, which is this upbeat, Louisiana brass band-kinda love song. It was perfect. My first dance with Bri was to Bill Withers’ “Lovely Day,” and all I can remember was smiling the whole time. I designed the playlist to get more and more questionable as the night went on… one of my last memories was getting down with the bartenders to some uncensored Missy Elliot.
Wedding Vendors
Photography: Scarlet O’Neill
Wedding Planning: Laura Olsen Events
Floral Design: Leaf and Bloom
Wedding Dress: Truvelle via Sash & Bustle
Hair and Makeup: Eryn Shannon
Custom Wedding Rings: Studio 1098
Bridesmaid Dresses: Sash & Bustle
Custom Groom and Groomsmen Suits: Surmesur
I love those intimate weddings.
H.S.
http://www.avangardphoto.com
I love that banner that you hand sewed the night before the wedding. My fiance and I are getting married in two weeks and we are so excited. I would love to have a banner as big as yours for our wedding. Since I have never done anything like this before, I will be sure to reach out to a professional to help us.