Sarah + Steve’s Arizona wedding made the desert look tre chic. Dressed in form-fitting Vera Wang gown, bejeweled BHLDN sandals and carrying an exotic bouquet of succulents and flowers, Sarah was ready to say her vows to Steve. Their ceremony was subtly detailed with hanging flower vases, orange, yellow, and red petals, and a vine-covered arch. It was a beautiful highlight to the weekend-long affair, which also included a golf tourney for the gentlemen, a pool day for the ladies, and a trip to the Buffalo Chip Saloon! Kudos to Sarah Rhoads Photographers who photographed the day!

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. Steve and I met 7 years ago at the University of Washington, when I lived in his fraternity for the summer. We became best friends. Steve says he always knew we would be together, but it took me a few more years to figure it out. Luckily, Steve stuck around and I finally realized that our relationship was much more than a friendship. Having been best friends for so many years made dating easy and over the last few years, everything fell into place. Now, I am so happy to be married to my best friend!
Describe the proposal. Having just spent 5 weeks abroad with my family, Steve told me he wanted to take me away for a special birthday trip. We packed the car up and drove out to Suncadia (a resort in Eastern Washington) for the weekend. We spent the afternoon biking, hanging out by the river and relaxing at the pool. We did wine and birthday presents in our room that evening and the last present was my ring. Somehow he totally surprised me! We went out to dinner that night to celebrate my 26th birthday and our engagement and had amazing time!!
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Relaxed, memorable, intimate
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: That it was a whole weekend affair for everyone. We started the weekend with a golf tourney for the boys, a pool day for the girls, followed by rehearsal dinner and a night out at the Buffalo Chip Saloon. The ceremony and reception was on Saturday and we had a farewell brunch at my parents’ house Sunday, before everyone flew home. It was great to be able to spend the entire weekend with our closest friends and family. The entire weekend was perfect and we wouldn’t change a thing!

Photographer: Sarah Rhoads Photographers // Venue: Desert Mountain // Florist: Table Tops Etc. // Wedding Cake Baker: Desert Mountain // Caterer: Desert Mountain // Paper Products: Celebrations In Paper // Bride’s Dress: Vera Wang // Bride’s Hair Accessories/Veil: Marcella’s La Boutique // Bride’s Shoes: BHLDN // Bridesmaids’ Dresses: J. Crew

I love that Yeri + Adam took something that’s a bit played out in the blog world (bunting) and made it fresh and modern, and not at all rustic or vintage, by taking it inside and punching it up with a bright color palette of coral and turquoise. And that cake! Like so many elements in their wedding, it was handmade by a good friend of the couple. The bride took care of the remaining details (no surprise, then, that she has an adorable blog and design business!) Yvonne Wong was on hand to capture all of the details at Eva Restaurant, and she stayed on past the party for a portrait session with the happy couple. Beautifully done, everyone!

And here’s the couple’s sweet portrait session. Yvonne did such a beautiful job!

Describe your wedding cake: My good friend Katie baked the cake to resemble a circus tent. I loved that she carried over the bunting decoration into the cake, which was lemon-flavored with raspberry filling.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? I had to reign myself in because I kept thinking of new ideas. This wedding was the epitome of DIY, from the invitations (screen printed by hand) to the hand-held celebration flags. Each new idea created much more work for me.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? When Adam and I spontaneously did step aerobics on the dance floor. Yes, we’re dorks!
Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? Yes, we both wrote our own vows. My favorite part was when Adam said that he loves me because I give him an excuse to watch the Real Housewives.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? For now we’re focusing on school and our careers. We look forward to starting a family later and living a happy, simple life.

Ooo boy do we have a fun wedding for you today — DIY brides, delight! The wedding invitation designer-bride screen printed the couple’s invitations herself and decked Eva Restaurant with colorful bunting and a cheerful banner stretching across the ceremony space. Yeri, the bride, made it easy for guests to wave their well-wishes with little flags and dab their tears of joy with individually packaged handkerchiefs. The festive air didn’t stop at paper, however. Yeri and her bridesmaid both wore short and fun David’s Bridal dresses, while Yeri opted for a simple dress and veil and completed the look with adorable polka-dotted coral pumps from J. Crew. The bride and her sister arranged all the flowers themselves with the help of her in-laws, who bought dozens of assorted flowers from their local farmer’s market. Special thanks to Yvonne Wong Photography who shared this DIY wedding with us!

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. We met while attending the University of Washington in Seattle. We found out later that we used to attend the same elementary school in Los Angeles!
Describe the proposal. Adam was in cahoots with my sister to pick out the perfect ring. She also made a custom box / ornament for Adam to hang on our tree. I was on my way home from work and was going to pick Adam up to go eat. He kept urging me to come into the apartment. When I went inside, he showed me the ornament and proposed!
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Light-hearted, humorous, and joyful.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: The “Tears of Joy” bundles.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: It was a strapless, short dress. Very simple.
Describe your wedding flowers: My in-laws were kind enough to go to the farmer’s market and buy a large amount of roses and other assorted flowers. My sister and I made our bouquets and the in-laws helped to make the table arrangements.

This wedding is vintage rustic perfection. I’m loving the juxtaposition of the giant wood tables with the delicate floral pattern on the china–perfect for a wedding at a botanical garden, right? While couples often go the extravagant route with weddings, Jennifer + Barret showed off their personalities with small details, like the Polaroids strung in the reception area, chalkboard menus on each table, and the yummy cupcakes, courtesy of Buttercream Cupcakes. We’re even bigger fans of the cake-eating moment captured by Love Me Do Photography and the so-in-love look the couple share in the photo following it.

Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I saw a photo of my dress in a magazine and knew it was perfect for me. I found a store that carried it, tried it on, and I said yes. It was that easy. In a world with endless options, I always feel its best to go with what you know, so I didn’t bother confusing myself!
Describe your wedding flowers: When you get married in a botanical garden, there’s no need to compete! Plus, I think it’s crazy to spend so much money on flowers for one evening. We picked out very twiggy, delicate wild flowers, as well as some herbs for the boutonnieres and lilacs for the bouquets. I wanted everything to look natural and reflect a very whimsical and wispy feel.
Describe your wedding cake: We both hate wedding cakes and, again, were astounded by the pricing. We had our local cupcake lady make us a batch of red velvet with cream cheese frosting, chocolate with butter cream frosting, and vanilla with butter cream frosting. They were fantastic!
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? To be honest, my biggest challenge was overcoming my philosophical issues with the financial investment for such an occasion. While an occasion like this certainly warrants a worthy celebration, it is very easy to get carried away and lose perspective. A wedding is a very symbolic event about what happens afterward, not just about what happens that day. Both Barret and I made every effort to ensure we were able to have a wedding that reflected an attitude of celebration with appropriate restraint.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? It is difficult to pick one as the entire day is so special. I felt the most anticipation about seeing Barret for our “first look.” But for me, having my father perform the ceremony was very meaningful.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? Barret and I are quite settled in our jobs but are looking to sell our home and move a bit closer to his work in Delaware. We plan to make Wilmington, DE the next hip spot, if anyone wants to join us!

I love delicate and feminine details. Jenn + Barret’s ceremony, shot by Love Me Do Photography, is just that. Since the two were married in Bartram’s Garden, the couple chose to go with wispy wildflowers to avoid a floral overload. I personally love that Jenn chose lilacs to carry down the aisle. They’re not a flower you see in weddings often and they stand out fabulously next to her lace Monique Lhuillier gown without overpowering. More things I love about this wedding? The unexpected source for the bridesmaids’ dresses. The satiny gray dresses the girls donned (and with attitude!) are from H&M, but they match perfectly with the rest of the wedding’s vintage details. One last thing to note–how cute are the flower girl and ring bearer?

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. Barret and I are a Match.com success story! We were both urged to join by our friends after Barret moved from Atlanta for his new job at the University of Delaware and after I was politely scolded for hanging out with married couples and working too much. We gave in. I totally submitted myself to the process and went out on a limb and sent him a message. We emailed and talked on the phone for about a month and soon enough, we had our first date at a University of Delaware football game! Nine months later we were engaged!
Describe the proposal. Barret proposed to me at the beach in Charleston, South Carolina. I had a feeling something was up that morning as he seemed a bit nervous. When we arrived at the beach, Barret seemed hell-bent on going to the pier. I kept trying to sit down and he kept saying, “Why don’t we go to the pier?” This made me nervous, but I went. I made us sit down on a bench on the pier, which I think complicated his plan for a one-knee proposal. Fortuitously, some dolphins were swimming by and so I said “look, dolphins!” Barret seized the moment to grab a “camera” from his bag, which turned out to be a vintage cocktail ring with diamonds and sapphires, which Barret’s father had used to propose to his mother. When he opened the box, I could see how nervous he was. He had forgotten to take off his sunglasses and looked down at me through them and asked, “Will you marry me?” I was so surprised at the ring (we had picked out a different ring a bit earlier that I liked) that I said something like, “That’s not my ring! But yes! I will marry you!”
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Intimate, merry, warm
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: Barret’s favorite detail of the wedding was the bluegrass band. They really set the tone for the evening and made everyone comfortable. My favorite detail of the wedding was the farm tables. I think they made for a very intimate, dinner party-like atmosphere while bringing a lot to the whole aesthetic.
What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? Barret did all of his schooling (BA, MA, PhD) in Atlanta, GA and Greenville, NC, and my mother was raised by a cattle farmer in Kentucky, so we both have an affinity for the South. I think the whole wedding was meant to reflect the charm we both sense from Southern living, thus the blue-grass band, the quilts and lawn-games, the farm-tables and family-style dining. The evening was meant to feel warm and relaxed and intimate, like the dinners I remember having at my grandparent’s house in Kentucky, and the fun Barret had with all his friends during school.