It is not very often that a wedding stops me dead in my blogging tracks but this backyard ditty has done just that. It’s both a gorgeous display of wedding goodness and sweet, sweet home cooked details almost too perfect to be real. Austin Gros captured this adorable couple and their equally adorable big day and all of it has us dreaming of lovely summer soirées. The flower (yes, the really big, really gorgeous flower), the personalized mason jars, the food truck, we’ll take it all. Welcome to Monday lovelies. Now how about starting things off right with a pretty party in the full wedding gallery.

Click here to see the entire gallery of images!

From the Bride…When I think of our wedding day it plays over in my mind like an old black and white movie… like a rerun I must have watched a hundred times when I was growing up.  I hear the song “home” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zero’s on repeat… with the lyrics “home is wherever I’m with you” ringing like a bell over and over again.  With my fiancé at the time, now husband, being a musician, our “home” was different every weekend depending on where he was playing that night.  So as you can imagine, trying to research, create, plan, and organize the perfect wedding for us was difficult yet rewarding for us all at the same time.

I would start by saying we love all things vintage, the older the better in my book. The rustic-vintage-DIY style was a no-brainer.  I spent more hours than I care to mention researching various unique ways of turning traditional wedding ideas into something that reflected “us” in the best ways possible. We wanted our guest to feel at home and comfortable, kind of like they were at a big family party or a picnic. The look that we aimed for was simplistic, handmade, and whimsical.  Since, our wedding was outside in my now new parent-in-laws beautiful backyard, this wasn’t hard to accomplish.  Our ceremony was probably the simplest aspect of the entire wedding.  We decided on the park in the center of the neighborhood.  It had a circular meeting area in the middle, surrounded by tall trees, with stone seating all around it.  Our families were seated around us, his on one side and mine on the other.   It was just us and the preacher, no bridesmaids or groomsmen.  Following our short but sweet ceremony, our guests released butterflies as we walked back down the aisle & then we paraded down the street with our “Just Married” banner waving in the air all the way to the reception site where we greeted all our guests before heading off to take pictures.

Throughout the wedding process there were three things that I was definitely sticking to my guns on.  The first was our pictures, and there was no one who could capture and truly represent “us” better than our photographer Austin.  His style and what we had envisioned was spot-on.  Next, was our caterer, and for us, a food truck was a must!  I just absolutely love the simplicity and relaxed feeling they bring to an outdoor wedding.  It allows people to come and go with ease with a hint of excitement like kids flocking around an ice cream truck.  To make a long story short, when Taylor (my handsome husband) proposed to me, it caught me off guard so much I actually turned and said, “I am really in the mood for some chips and salsa” before I even realized what just came out of his mouth.  Of course I would say something like that!  So, when we found that Moe’s Southwest Grill had a food truck that could not only cater but would set-up a huge salsa bar as well, we knew they were the ones for us.  Lastly but most importantly were the flowers.  I am obsessed with wild flowers!  I’m a firm believer in you can never have too many flowers.  When in doubt, more flowers!  With our budget we knew that ordering in bulk from Sam’s was going to be our best option.  I highly recommend looking into Sam’s if you haven’t already.  They truly exceeded our expectations.  The “thrown together look” of wildflowers in mismatched vases is a favorite of mine and we made sure these covered all the tables.  The imperfection was so uniquely beautiful making each arrangement very distinct in its own way.

Wedding Photography: Austin Gros / Day of Coordinator: Cari Moretz of Socially Circled / Catering: Moe’s Mobile / Flowers: Sam’s Club / Bouquet and Boutonniere: Making Arrangements / Butterflies: Fragrant Acres Butterfly Farm / Wedding Cake and Pies: Piece-a-Cake Bakery / Wedding Invitations: Baumbirdy / Veil: Velvet Owl / Guest Book/Fingerprint Tree: Bleu De Toi / Just Married Sign: Celebrate With Fun / Venue: Private Residence / Utensils: Birchware.com / Dress: Claire Pettibone via Dream Bridal / Makeup: Darin Wright of Elea Blake Cosmetics / Paper Bags: Scrap Bits / Print: Joceybella Designs