This adorable couple was inspired by their engagement at a local tea and breakfast house and decided to have a Friday morning brunch wedding. And we totally love this idea! Not only does it save you money on your venue, but it’s unique and fun and like the bride said, who doesn’t love breakfast?! They set out to create a colorful chic garden party and that’s exactly what they got. So many DIY ideas were infused into their day and we love the name place cards tied to clementines for a fun pop of color. Colby Elizabeth Photography captured all the fun, early morning details and there’s so much more in the gallery!
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From the Bride…Dean and I are so happy to spend our lives together. We have so much fun together and feel privileged to share our wedding day and story. We were engaged 6 months before our wedding date at an adorable local tea & breakfast house. Mmmm…..we just love breakfast! So much so, we decided to host an outdoor garden party brunch for our wedding!
Most of my inspiration came from traditional weddings…in the sense that we wanted the opposite. While our ceremony was traditional, everything else about the day was not. We created a fun and relaxed atmosphere for all our guests. A wedding day with family and friends enjoying life, love and summer! We definitely stayed true to ourselves with this wedding and realized its okay to show your own style in your wedding.
Dean and I spent many days and nights working together on DIY projects; brainstorming ways to get the most for our money. We used a lot of savvy spending techniques, thought a lot about how we could recycle and we recruited family and friends for help. I created a photo folder on my desktop titled “My Wedding Style” and started searching different wedding & fashion sites for inspiration pictures (including Style Me Pretty!)…this helped a lot!!! Four words to describe my finished folder… colorful chic garden party! We definitely achieved that!
I love thrift stores because you can find great stuff that’s hardly been used for a good deal. By shopping thrift stores I found unique, vintage centerpieces & favors. My mom and I started collecting early. We looked for unique glass vases with an antique feel and teacups. There were two rules when buying… if it’s my style and under 3 bucks, buy it! Teacups and saucers as favors turned out to be a great idea. We collected 70 sets that were all different and in good condition. Then under each saucer I wrote, “Dean & Gianna 6.10.11” in silver, permanent pen, and added a cute pale green “Thank You” tag, all hand written by my grandmother. So cute! Craft stores were a big help too. I made my flower girl a sign to carry down the aisle “Here Comes the Bride” and Dean cut out all the name place cards into the shape of a leaf, which I then embossed. We fastened each one to a clementine as a fun bright pop of color at the place settings.
Brunch was an easy choice, because the food is always good, and who doesn’t like breakfast?! Plus the venue gave us a great deal for a Friday morning. We enjoyed two made-to-order omelet stations, and a waffle and french toast station, with three flavored whipped creams: Orange, Coffee and Vanilla Bean and two flavored butters: Strawberry with Fresh Mint and Brown Sugar Pecan. At the bar we had an all you can drink mimosa and bellini bar. Fresh orange juice, passion fruit, strawberry, peach and pear were the flavors of the day. One of my favorite things from the day was our dessert table that we had in lieu of a traditional wedding cake. Another way we cut costs was having all homemade treats from aunts, mothers and my grandma. The dessert stands were all hand made by myself and a good friend using vintage plates, glued on top of old glassware as a stand. The Dessert Table was finished with a cute handmade “Baked with Love” sign.
After our delicious breakfast we enjoyed visiting with our family and friends. And what would a garden party be without lawn games? Badminton, bocce ball, croquet, and lawn darts were the order of the day. Fresh strawberry lemonade was passed out mid-day for a chilled treat. We decided against a DJ, our venue had a great sound system so Dean and I personally selected every song we played as background music. We created a play list of songs we love, songs our family and friends love, and all-around happy summertime songs! Everything turned out better than I could have ever imagined. We had a fun relaxing day in the sun and celebrated our marriage!
Wedding Photography: Colby Elizabeth Photography / Wedding + Event Design: Firefly Designs / Venue: The Dove House at Lionsgate Center / Caterer: The Breadwinners Catering / Floral Design: Ivy Lane Floral / Wedding Videography: Essential Photo and Video / Music: DIY / Wedding Dress: Alec Milano of Danelle’s Bridal Boutique / Bride’s Shoes: Jessica Simpson / Groom + Groomsmen: Express / Bridesmaid Dresses: Alfred Sung / Jr. Bridesmaid Dresses: Nordstrom