Happy Memorial Day, loves! Today is a day where we first and foremost stop to thank those who serve our country from the bottom of our hearts. And then of course eat way too many grilled goodies to celebrate. But even with this unofficial start to summer in full swing, don’t think for a second we’d leave you hanging without some real wedding goodness. In fact, we’ve lined up some extra festive features like this wedding welcome BBQ captured by Matt Edge Photography. It’s casual and sweet and a whole gallery of fun. And what’s even better? We’ve got this couple’s summer camp “I do” coming up next.
From the Bride…We were so excited to be able to set the tone for our wedding weekend with a welcome BBQ for all of our guests. With everyone traveling up to the Russian River for the weekend we wanted to provide a weekend full of events for everyone to relax, enjoy and celebrate. Our welcome BBQ really kicked off the weekend where our friends and family played lawn games, visited and got aquatinted with Dawn Ranch. We wanted it to be a casual and laid back event where our friends could bring their kids, enjoy an all American BBQ menu, drink beer in Mason jars and enjoy great music. Our main goal was for everyone to be casual and comfortable and end up huddled around the bonfire making s’mores at the end of the night.
We kept the decor pretty simple, among such a beautiful green setting we wanted the lush environment, with beautiful redwood trees, to be the focus. We had handmade paper poppy flowers (my mom and I made tons of them) in vintage blue mason jars as centerpieces with a black and white checkered table clothes. We had lots and lots of candles so as it got dark there was an amazing glow from all of the candlelight, stars and bonfire.
Among our many trips to the Alameda Flea market to find treasures for the wedding we found these adorable vintage tins that we used for our s’more bar. We set out a bunch of quilts around the fire for when it cooled down as well as min flashlights to help guests find their way to they’re cottage at the end of the night. My mom made a special slide show with pictures of us from growing up to fun pictures of us when we first started dating that we all watched as it got dark. It truly was a night of love, laughter, kind words from family and the feeling that this was going to be a really special wedding weekend with all of our favorite people.
[dotted]
Photography: Matt Edge Photography | Venue + Catering: Dawn Ranch Lodge | Event Planning Assistance + Coordination: Karin Kamb of Clever Girl Consulting | Rentals: Dawn Ranch Lodge + Wine Country Party | Welcome Signs: DIY | Paper Flowers: DIY, Mother of the Bride | Tassel Garland: Everly Lane Design | Welcome Bags: Wedding Chicks | Welcome Signs: DIY printable from Etsy | Bride + Groom Mason Jars: Etsy | Flash Lights: Amazon | Menu Signs: DIY | Vintage Tins + Metal Heart Stand: Alameda Flea Market | Lawn Games: Mr & Mrs corn hole set was a gift from the maid of honor | Dress: Alice + Olivia | Jacket: Levi