Ooh, la la. I don’t say that often, but today, with this gorgeous Oregon wedding on my plate, definitely calls for a Ohh la la. The stunning bride and her Prince Charming decided on a vintage garden theme for their special day – and with that, she added a touch of whimsy, a little DIY, and just the perfect amount of fun. The result? A fanciful wedding filled to the brim with amazing little details, from streamers, to vintage milk bottles, to some pretty amazing patterns. The whole affair was captured by the talent that is Stark Photography – and it continues in the full image gallery, where you will get lost in this beautiful soiree!
When Ryan and I became engaged I was so happy and excited but also a bit overwhelmed. I wasn’t the type of person who had dreamed of their wedding since they were a little girl and so wasn’t sure what I wanted my wedding to look like – aside from knowing that I wanted to get married in the summer and that I wanted our wedding to be beautiful and fun.
I began scouring wedding blogs (including SMP) for ideas and inspiration and found myself drawn to many different styles. Modern, rustic, eclectic and vintage weddings all appealed to me and I was a little confused with what style to focus on. Luckily when we found our our venue I was able to draw on it for inspiration. Our venue had a gorgeous grand lawn and an amazing conservatory and English garden that reminded me of a place that would have hosted a fabulous garden party in a later time. I decided to focus on the idea of a vintage, French garden party with some modern and quirky touches to reflect our sense of humor and fun.
Lots of time was spent at antique stores and online looking for vintage pieces that fit our theme and color scheme. I ended up collecting vintage milk bottles (for the centerpieces), along with milk glass, table clothes, cake plates and anything that really struck my fancy. I wanted our wedding to be something that we really loved so I focused more on finding things that Ryan and and I adored more than things that fit into our theme exactly. I also found tons of amazing things for the wedding on Etsy. One of my favorites was a hand-carved stamp of our faces that was made by a woman in France. We used it on our invitation envelopes and our candy favor bags and everyone found it so delightful.
I also decided to do quite a few DIY projects for the wedding (with help from my friends and family) for a more personal touch. My favorite of them was the flags that we made for each of our guests out of muslin that were hand stamped with a “Hooray!” stamp that I had custom made. I intended that they be fun favors and had our caterer tuck them in with our menus on everyone’s reception plate. To my delight when Ryan and I were announcedand made our entrance into the reception area everyone waved their flags and shouted “hooray!” I was so excited!
I love our wedding. We worked with such amazing vendors and even though everything didn’t look exactly as I had envisioned some of it was even better than I had imagined. I will never forget how amazing it was to see my soon-to-be husband (who I had never seen cry) with tears in his eyes when he first saw me in my wedding dress and the joy of having our family and friends around us on such a special day. Hooray!
Photographer: Daniel and Lindsay Stark, Stark Photography / Floral Designer: Solabee Flowers / Wedding planner: EJP Events / Invitation Designer: By Invitation Only / Cake: Beaverton Bakery / Pies: Random Order Coffeehouse and Bakery / Wedding Gown Designer: Watters and Watters via Ania Bridal / Bridesmaid’s Dress Designer: Bari Jay / Bride’s Headpiece and Cuff: Doloris Petunia / Venue: DeArmond Garden Estate