Bright, vibrant, and full of love – it’s hard to look at this wedding and not be overcome with joy. Every single image sitting in this gorgeous gallery from Kirsten Shultz is overflowing with pure happiness and style, making me one seriously happy wedding blogger today. See it all here.
From The Bride…Our “perfect wedding” vision was to create a contemporary, elegant, colorful, and whimsical event that would focus on family, close friends, and our perspectives on what being in a relationship, and in love, encompasses. These were the guiding elements that played into every facet of our wedding.
We felt fortunate to be able to celebrate our day in my aunt and uncle’s magnificent garden. A wildfire had broken out the week before and was raging close by, and there had been evacuations in the area that week. We knew our wedding day would be threatened by smoky skies, but we hoped nothing worse. Miraculously, our day was completely clear; vivid sunshine and azure skies. We exchanged our vows surrounded by our closest family and friends in this beautiful family garden that bordered dramatic cliffs along the Big Wood River.
We chose a vibrant poppy orange as our main accent color for flowers, bridesmaid’s dresses, groomsmen’s ties, and table décor to match my Aunt Jane’s garden that had many amazing elements including a “wishing well” where guest could leave ” well wishes” for the two of us.
Other personal elements to our wedding décor included a “guest tree” where guests were asked to sign and add their ” leaf ” thumbprint to our family tree that Jay and I had painted together. Also, all of our tables were all named after some of the many things that we find important in our relationship, including “Love,” “Play,” “Trust,” “Smile”, and “Dance”.
There were far too many memorable moments just to pick one, but some of the highlights were my “reveal” to Jay before the ceremony that we had planned in advance so we could have a special moment together before our friends and family arrived. Jay waited in the garden by a stone bench overlooking the river, and I walked up behind him and had him turn around – it was an incredibly exciting and emotional moment.
We also had written our own vows and during the ceremony read letters that we had written to each other before making them. The ceremony, we wanted something lively and fun so Jay placed bubble guns below the guests’ seats and had them raise their guns in a “bubble gun salute,” shooting bubbles as we exited to a classical quartet playing the Beatles, “All you need is Love.”
Our reception, set in a beautiful, three-peak, sailcloth tent in the garden, was more fun than anything we could ever imagine. We entered the tent to the band, the Groove Merchants (from Utah), playing Macklemore and Ryan’s “Thrift shop,” which set the tone for the rest of the evening followed by incredible food and drink, emotional speeches, and an amazing band. We chose Dave Matthew’s “You and Me” as the song for our first dance, and they nailed it! They kept all of our friends and family on the dance floor all night long, and at one point played the longest (and fastest paced) Hora ever. When the band took their one, short break my talented brother and cousins performed “Ho, Hey” by the Lumineers, which was touching and kept the spirit of the event alive. The energy and love from that night will forever be etched into our hearts.
Photography: Kirsten Shultz Photography | Videography: The Story Is Told | Event Planning: Taylor’d Events | Floral Design: Taylor’d Events | Wedding Dress: Anne Barge | Cake: The Sweet Crumb | Wedding Invitations: Willow Papery | Bridesmaids' Dresses: After Six | Catering: Judith McQueen | Hair & Makeup: Danielle Anspach | Entertainment: Groove Merchants | Grooms Attire: Vera Wang | Groomsmen Attire: Men's Wearhouse | Venue: Private Residence | Tent Rental: Diamond Rental | Bridal Hangers: Hanger Design Center | Bridal Shoes: Badgley Mischka | Bridesmaids' Robes: The Fancy Pigeon ( Etsy ) | Groomsmens' Socks: Hugo Boss | Wedding Rings: Barry Peterson | Wedding Signage: Sweet Carolina Collective