Sweet Springtime Midwestern Wedding with Pink Peonies
Show-stopping soirees start and end with the details, and this wedding is has got plenty. From the thoughtfully crafted paper goods that the Bride did herself, to the divine pairing of grey hues with navy gowns, every detail of this Midwestern lovefest is sure to delight. With pops of bright, textured florals and an intimate church ceremony, Shelly Goodman has got all the gorgeousness waiting in The Vault!
From Shelly Goodman...Heidi & Josh had the perfect springtime wedding day - intermittent rain showers included. The rain brought a softness to the mood of the day, and when it would stop, the outdoor colors became more saturated and brighter.
This same contrast was reflected in other details of their day. There was a traditional subtle elegance with Heidi's lace-appliqued Melissa Sweet gown, the choice of deep navy blue for the bridesmaids' dresses, the men's tailored gray suits, freshwater pearl jewelry from the Philippines, and the invitation & program designed by Heidi herself. But I absolutely loved that Heidi, with her great aesthetic taste as a graphic designer, chose to add a bold pop of color with an over-sized peony bridal bouquet - the prettiest I've ever seen! Absolutely perfect for a springtime wedding.
From The Bride...Josh and I met the first week of our freshman year at Auburn University. A friend of mine from high school had invited me to a campus ministry barbecue not realizing it was only meant for guys. Josh and I met at one point in conversation, and I instantly had a crush on him. Later that fall, I invited him to my sorority’s formal, and after that our friend groups eventually converged into one. All of my friends knew that I liked Josh, and despite lots of pressure from both of our friends on us to date, we never broached the topic. By the end of the year, I decided to try my best to just be friends with him until he decided to change that.
During fall of senior year, when Josh got back from his last term working away from Auburn, I started to see him again in different settings—gameday tailgates, church, friends’ birthday parties... Slowly I started to realize how much I had missed him as a friend when he had been gone the past couple years. There were certain times during that fall when I wondered if he was interested, but I quickly convinced myself that I was making up the romance in my head like I had freshman year. I remained guarded, but couldn't help the attraction that was creeping in again. But after a camping trip with friends and a trip to the Auburn National Championship game over Christmas break, Josh asked me out on our first date in January of our senior year. We dated for just under a year before he proposed.
We got married at my family’s church, Trinity Presbyterian, in St. Louis, Missouri. It was really special to be married by my pastor from high school, and the small sanctuary made for a very intimate setting. One of my favorite memories from the ceremony was singing our congregational song, “In Christ Alone,” and hearing our friends and families sing with us as we started our married lives.
We had initially reserved the DoubleTree pavilion in Chesterfield, but hailstorms the day before the wedding ended up tearing the roof of the tent. God provided in awesome ways though; it turned out the grand ballroom ended up being available, which amazed us! We were just thankful to have a place to celebrate and dance for that night.
I studied graphic design at Auburn, so I knew I wanted to design the invitation suite and programs. As a lover of paper, I had my heart set on letterpressing the invitations and envelopes, and Kempis Press in Birmingham, Alabama did a beautiful job. I wanted to design something simple and classic with a focus on the typography: something I wouldn’t get tired of looking at years later. I also designed a photo guestbook where our friends and family could write notes to us, and now it sits on our coffee table at home.
Josh and I wanted the whole day to be bright and joyful but also timeless and elegant. We wanted the day to be reflective of our personalities and beliefs, but we didn’t feel the need to break tradition on certain aspects. I knew I wanted the colors to be in the yellow, orange, coral, pink range, and I told Sisters Flowers that I wanted everything to feel bright, textured, and natural—and that peonies would be awesome too. The ladies at Sisters completely exceeded our expectations in the beauty they brought to the day! We used the flowers from the church and the bouquets to decorate the tables at the reception.
While planning, I had decided I would love to have our photos shot with film if possible. We were so pleased with our wedding photos from Shelly Goodman Photography! She captured all of the things you hope to remember about your day as well as moments that you didn’t even realize were happening. And she did it with such an artful, lovely eye for composition and lighting.
One of my sisters in the wedding party was pregnant, so I decided to let the girls pick a short navy dress of their choosing so that they would feel comfortable that day. Navy was easy to match, and their bright bouquets popped beautifully against it. Josh picked out the menswear and decided to buy a suit he could wear later instead of a tux he would have to return. Since we got married in May, we decided to go with a gray suit to feel less formal and navy ties to match the bridesmaids’ dresses. I loved my dress and all the layers and details. I felt very bridal and elegant, and the ballroom skirt was so much fun to dance in.
This same contrast was reflected in other details of their day. There was a traditional subtle elegance with Heidi's lace-appliqued Melissa Sweet gown, the choice of deep navy blue for the bridesmaids' dresses, the men's tailored gray suits, freshwater pearl jewelry from the Philippines, and the invitation & program designed by Heidi herself. But I absolutely loved that Heidi, with her great aesthetic taste as a graphic designer, chose to add a bold pop of color with an over-sized peony bridal bouquet - the prettiest I've ever seen! Absolutely perfect for a springtime wedding.
From The Bride...Josh and I met the first week of our freshman year at Auburn University. A friend of mine from high school had invited me to a campus ministry barbecue not realizing it was only meant for guys. Josh and I met at one point in conversation, and I instantly had a crush on him. Later that fall, I invited him to my sorority’s formal, and after that our friend groups eventually converged into one. All of my friends knew that I liked Josh, and despite lots of pressure from both of our friends on us to date, we never broached the topic. By the end of the year, I decided to try my best to just be friends with him until he decided to change that.
During fall of senior year, when Josh got back from his last term working away from Auburn, I started to see him again in different settings—gameday tailgates, church, friends’ birthday parties... Slowly I started to realize how much I had missed him as a friend when he had been gone the past couple years. There were certain times during that fall when I wondered if he was interested, but I quickly convinced myself that I was making up the romance in my head like I had freshman year. I remained guarded, but couldn't help the attraction that was creeping in again. But after a camping trip with friends and a trip to the Auburn National Championship game over Christmas break, Josh asked me out on our first date in January of our senior year. We dated for just under a year before he proposed.
We got married at my family’s church, Trinity Presbyterian, in St. Louis, Missouri. It was really special to be married by my pastor from high school, and the small sanctuary made for a very intimate setting. One of my favorite memories from the ceremony was singing our congregational song, “In Christ Alone,” and hearing our friends and families sing with us as we started our married lives.
We had initially reserved the DoubleTree pavilion in Chesterfield, but hailstorms the day before the wedding ended up tearing the roof of the tent. God provided in awesome ways though; it turned out the grand ballroom ended up being available, which amazed us! We were just thankful to have a place to celebrate and dance for that night.
I studied graphic design at Auburn, so I knew I wanted to design the invitation suite and programs. As a lover of paper, I had my heart set on letterpressing the invitations and envelopes, and Kempis Press in Birmingham, Alabama did a beautiful job. I wanted to design something simple and classic with a focus on the typography: something I wouldn’t get tired of looking at years later. I also designed a photo guestbook where our friends and family could write notes to us, and now it sits on our coffee table at home.
Josh and I wanted the whole day to be bright and joyful but also timeless and elegant. We wanted the day to be reflective of our personalities and beliefs, but we didn’t feel the need to break tradition on certain aspects. I knew I wanted the colors to be in the yellow, orange, coral, pink range, and I told Sisters Flowers that I wanted everything to feel bright, textured, and natural—and that peonies would be awesome too. The ladies at Sisters completely exceeded our expectations in the beauty they brought to the day! We used the flowers from the church and the bouquets to decorate the tables at the reception.
While planning, I had decided I would love to have our photos shot with film if possible. We were so pleased with our wedding photos from Shelly Goodman Photography! She captured all of the things you hope to remember about your day as well as moments that you didn’t even realize were happening. And she did it with such an artful, lovely eye for composition and lighting.
One of my sisters in the wedding party was pregnant, so I decided to let the girls pick a short navy dress of their choosing so that they would feel comfortable that day. Navy was easy to match, and their bright bouquets popped beautifully against it. Josh picked out the menswear and decided to buy a suit he could wear later instead of a tux he would have to return. Since we got married in May, we decided to go with a gray suit to feel less formal and navy ties to match the bridesmaids’ dresses. I loved my dress and all the layers and details. I felt very bridal and elegant, and the ballroom skirt was so much fun to dance in.
