DIY Bohemian Inspired Wedding
Sweetly intimate, beautifully bohemian and filled with crafty details at every turn, this stunning backyard affair is the definition of DIY awesome. Think a totally talented bride and groom teaming up with devoted friends + family to create a day that was true to them in every way. Ryon:Lockhart Photography captured every gorgeous moment, from the origami cranes to the night lounging under the stars. Head to THE VAULT to see it all.
From the Bride... Markus and I met at a New Year's Eve party four-and-a-half years ago in the Venice Canals. As soon as we met, it was interest at first sight… Markus was smart, witty, and made me laugh. He called me the very next day to ask me on our first date, and after three-and-a-half years of dating bliss, Markus proposed. His proposal blew me away! It was fun, challenging, and interactive. He created a scavenger hunt that took four hours, covered 12 of our favorite places in Santa Barbara, and included clever riddles, hidden love notes, and three miles of walking. The last clue brought me to the rose gardens at the Santa Barbara Mission where he was waiting on a picnic blanket covered with flowers, take-out Thai food, and sparkling apple cider.
We knew we wanted an intimate, summer wedding in Santa Barbara. For the venue we wanted a house where our family and friends could stay for the week with a nice backyard for the ceremony and reception. You would have thought we were looking for a magic castle, because it was virtually impossible to find, but after contacting over 30 properties we finally stumbled upon an eclectic venue that was just our style. The Spanish style house was just outside Hope Ranch and was filled with decorations from around the world. The property had a pool, tennis court, fire-pit, and teepee! With our venue secured, we set our wedding date.
FOOOOOD! We love different types of exotic food, and we are also vegan, so our next challenge was finding a caterer who could make exciting vegan food (not just the typical platter of sautéed vegetables). We were lucky to find an awesome woman who had never catered but was a great vegan cook. After working closely together to create our dream menu, including some favorite family recipes, we were super excited for our guests to experience the exciting culinary journey that also happened to be vegan.
After we had found the venue and the food, everything else was relatively easy. We made a list of things we loved and tried to incorporate them into the day – white attire, Agua Fresca, bohemian style, Sparklers, string lights, 1000 origami cranes, Shibori dyed napkins, lots of food, and lots of dancing. We used Pinterest for creative inspiration and asked many of our friends and family to contribute their special skills. My sister folded 1000 origami cranes (a Japanese tradition) and compiled our music playlists; my best friend was the MC; my uncle was the Officiant; my brother set-up a DIY photo booth; my dad planted succulents in small pots; my cousin was the videographer; and everyone helped put up lights and decorations. To cut costs and make our wedding a truly unique experience, we really embraced DIY. We bought mismatched vintage silverware on E-bay, we bought linen napkins on Craigslist and Shibori dyed them ourselves, and we used cheesecloth for the table runners.
We love how our wedding turned out. With 40 guests, it was a fun, casual, intimate, and perfect love fest. All of the music was special to us since we handpicked each song. We walked down the aisle to “Bloom” by The Paper Kites, and our first dance was to “Magic” by Coldplay. Our favorite part of the day was the ceremony that was lead by my uncle. We are not very traditional, so he spoke about our relationship, told funny stories, and made everyone cry.
Advice to couples: Choose nice vendors because you will be spending the day with them. And, invest in a great photographer because the pictures they take will capture your wedding memories forever! Our photographers were the absolute best!!
We knew we wanted an intimate, summer wedding in Santa Barbara. For the venue we wanted a house where our family and friends could stay for the week with a nice backyard for the ceremony and reception. You would have thought we were looking for a magic castle, because it was virtually impossible to find, but after contacting over 30 properties we finally stumbled upon an eclectic venue that was just our style. The Spanish style house was just outside Hope Ranch and was filled with decorations from around the world. The property had a pool, tennis court, fire-pit, and teepee! With our venue secured, we set our wedding date.
FOOOOOD! We love different types of exotic food, and we are also vegan, so our next challenge was finding a caterer who could make exciting vegan food (not just the typical platter of sautéed vegetables). We were lucky to find an awesome woman who had never catered but was a great vegan cook. After working closely together to create our dream menu, including some favorite family recipes, we were super excited for our guests to experience the exciting culinary journey that also happened to be vegan.
After we had found the venue and the food, everything else was relatively easy. We made a list of things we loved and tried to incorporate them into the day – white attire, Agua Fresca, bohemian style, Sparklers, string lights, 1000 origami cranes, Shibori dyed napkins, lots of food, and lots of dancing. We used Pinterest for creative inspiration and asked many of our friends and family to contribute their special skills. My sister folded 1000 origami cranes (a Japanese tradition) and compiled our music playlists; my best friend was the MC; my uncle was the Officiant; my brother set-up a DIY photo booth; my dad planted succulents in small pots; my cousin was the videographer; and everyone helped put up lights and decorations. To cut costs and make our wedding a truly unique experience, we really embraced DIY. We bought mismatched vintage silverware on E-bay, we bought linen napkins on Craigslist and Shibori dyed them ourselves, and we used cheesecloth for the table runners.
We love how our wedding turned out. With 40 guests, it was a fun, casual, intimate, and perfect love fest. All of the music was special to us since we handpicked each song. We walked down the aisle to “Bloom” by The Paper Kites, and our first dance was to “Magic” by Coldplay. Our favorite part of the day was the ceremony that was lead by my uncle. We are not very traditional, so he spoke about our relationship, told funny stories, and made everyone cry.
Advice to couples: Choose nice vendors because you will be spending the day with them. And, invest in a great photographer because the pictures they take will capture your wedding memories forever! Our photographers were the absolute best!!
