Our Bohemian Elopement + One Tip
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Since Joe & I are coming up on our two year anniversary next week, I figured I would share a little bit about our wedding. A huge reason why I became a Wedding Planner was my own wedding: I loved it. It's such a special day & I still feel so honored when couples invite me to be a part of theirs.
When I met Joe I was 20 years old. Though I wasn’t absolutely sure about my feelings on marriage, I was absolutely positive that I wanted to spend the rest of my days with that incredible human being.
After four years crossing state lines and countless concerts together, Joe proposed. It was simple & elegant & it left me a memory that I will forever love; a reflection of the simplicity that our relationship has always exhibited.
Thus began our wedding planning process.
I swore that I would never become that bride. We all know one; the bride who creates timelines and schedules for her bridal party, the bride who seems to forget that a world outside of cake tasting and venue touring even exists. I even purposely scheduled a three-week trip to Bali to volunteer with children to ensure that I would stay grounded.
But I became that bride.
Somewhere deep inside of Pintrest boards and conversations of colors & themes, Joe and I completely lost sight of the wedding we’d imagined when we first got engaged.
So we did the thing that people don’t do… We changed everything.
Just a few months before our big day was set to arrive, we decided that we would indulge in the idea of having a ceremony separate from our reception, with only family and close friends. And to our surprise, the more we plotted and made phone calls about available dates, we realized this was exactly the kind of wedding ceremony that we both wanted.
On July 18th, with just 30 of our closest friends and family members, we got married under a tree in my family’s backyard. It was magical. The day was beautiful, and filled to the brim with love. I couldn’t have even imagined a more beautiful way to celebrate our love.
So my one and only tip for all future brides is simple: do what you want.
A wedding is one of the most personal expressions of who you are and it's important to focus on what your gut says. When we decided to have a ceremony separate from our reception, everyone demanded an explanation (some even asked for a due date). At first it was difficult for me to find a way to explain to people why we’d made the decision but after a few teary calls to my mom, I realized that it was our wedding and as long as Joe and I were in agreement, nothing else mattered.
Details & Moments that I Loved:
I loved not seeing my groom until I walked down the aisle. I wasn’t too sure about this tradition, but walking down the aisle to him was the most incredible moment of the whole day.
We did a lot to incorporate members of our family who had passed away, this very important to me & ended up being one of my favorite details.
Our Florist / Photographer.
Lace & Lilies did all the floral design for both our ceremony & reception, and let me be clear about this, those women are worth every penny. They are creative in unimaginable ways, but also well organized and easy to work with. To this day, I suggest them to every bride I work with.
Jamie Fisher Photography is a magic maker. She has the ability to capture honest emotion in the most beautiful way. The day I got my photos back, I sat down to look through them & cried tears of joy.