When a floral designer has her own wedding, you know you are in for a treat! Not just any wedding venue would do for this couple who met in high school and reconnected 20 years later, so they decided to create their own elevated backyard wedding with decidedly boho touches. The bride and owner of The Wild Dahlia filled the day with a spectacular array of blooms in autumn hues, featuring none other than dahlias of course. She turned to Brilliant Events to help bring her Big Day dreams to life, and the result is a spectacular celebration of love. Catherine Band was there to capture every magical moment, you can see it all in the full gallery.
From the bride… I’m a floral designer who owns The Wild Dahlia and I finally married my high school sweetheart I recently reconnected with. Due to covid, we did things a little out of order so our son was in the wedding as well as my stepdaughter. I couldn’t choose a venue because all New England venues felt like “work” to me since I’ve been doing this so long. We decided on a small but very “us” backyard elevated wedding that was a little boho and a little rock and roll. I hope you think it’s as cool as I did!
We are proof that timing is everything. We have been close friends since high school who took separate paths 20 years ago only to have them come back together. Seeing Arthur as a father made me fall in love with him and took him out of the friend zone and solidified that we are soulmates, it just took some time to figure it out. Our wedding planning took a pause when we realized we were expecting our son, during the peak of a pandemic, wedding planning was put on hold. Entering the busiest wedding season of my life in 2021 the last thing I wanted to think about was planning a wedding. We searched for a venue I hadn’t worked at, that felt unique and intimate but fell short so the decision was made to tent our sweet little backyard. It was the perfect blank canvas to paint the day we wanted. Autumn is our favorite and the flower choice that time of year of course was an important factor. My company name is The Wild Dahlia, I needed dahlias of course so we chose October. We have a passion for adventure and international travel and we really wanted to reflect that in our special day. I was inspired by a trip to India where marigolds symbolize passion, positivity, and happiness to be bestowed on the newlyweds, so I knew I wanted to incorporate marigolds everywhere. It was such a special experience to have my employees hand make some decor and for fellow vendors to help bring my vision to life. I’ve made hundreds of bouquets and to finally make my own was truly a special feeling. I chose dahlias, foraged foliage, California garden roses such as distant drum and honey dijon, and ranunculus gifted from a dear florist friend. Mustard hues were incorporated throughout the day as it’s my favorite and is totally underused, underrated, and unexpected in weddings. I’ve brought hundreds of weddings to fruition and it was finally my turn to create the day I envisioned.
Arthur’s parents are from Greece and we were so happy they were able to be there with us. We asked my aunt to marry us, she was someone who has worked hard to make Arthur feel welcome into the family. We wanted our event to be small and intimate with just family and our best friends. It was everything we wanted and perfectly us. I walked down the aisle to Led Zeppelin’s acoustic version of “thank you” and we exited to The Beach Boys “wouldn’t it be nice”. We are both big fans of rock music and ditched a quartet to create a vibe that felt like us. I had a beautiful Anais Anette custom-made gown unapologetically paired with a pumpkin beer straight out of the can. Our day was about us and was perfectly us. I see couples get caught up on the Pinterest ideas and what others have done, we stuck to what felt authentic. An elevated, upscale, backyard celebration that lasted all night. Arthur chose a HUGO BOSS suit, a Hermes tie that was the perfect burnt orange hue. A handmade boutonniere from his bride, and the Omega watch he had been eyeing that I gave to him as a wedding day gift.
Photography: Catherine Band | Event Design: Brilliant Events | Floral Design: The Wild Dahlia | Wedding Dress: Anais Anette | Invitations: letter meets paper | Catering: alden park | Groom's Attire: HUGO BOSS | Rentals: Kadeema Rentals | Rentals: borrowed BLU