This homespun wedding at the Marin Art and Garden Center is like a warm smile and a hug from your mom. Every homemade detail from the burlap table runners made by the actual bride’s mom (hug) to the wildflower bouquets made by the bride’s loved ones and the bride herself are artfully preserved in these sun soaked images by Jessica Burke Photography. These made-with-love florals, decor, and more are not to be missed, so see it all now the full gallery!
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From the Bride… Brendan and I have known each other since high school. I would have never guessed that the very quiet and shy boy who asked me out four times before I agreed to a date would become my husband. After dating for eight years, we became husband and wife on a beautiful September day, surrounded our family and friends. The day turned out just as we had imagined — perfect! We knew we wanted to get married close to home, and when we saw the Marin Art and Garden Center we knew it would be prefect. The beautiful gardens created the wonderfully comfortable and casual environment that we wanted for our big day. The gardens were also located down the street from St. John’s Episcopal, the church I grew up in, which made it very convenient to go between the two locations. It was a great way to combine our traditional ceremony with the fun of an outdoor wedding.
From the start, it was our goal to have a part of us show in all aspects of the wedding. With much help from our friends and family, we made it a truly unique and DIY affair. The style we wanted was casual, rustic and homemade. We made invitations, menus, banners, table number flags, hanging jar lanterns with tea lights, a cake topper banner and so much more. I had such a fun time scouring blogs to find ideas to bring that homemade touch to our wedding. We spent time hunting for rustic and vintage finds at flea markets, where we found the wonderful blue mason jars and window frames used for the seating chart and other signs. The day before the wedding, friends and family gathered at my parents’ house to assemble the floral arrangements and bouquets in the collection of jars I had accumulated. I love the wild, freshly-picked look that we had with the flowers. The light pinks and creams of the arrangements complemented the colors we chose for the wedding. My mom sewed all the burlap table runners that really pulled together the rustic look. She also made an amazing assortment of jams that we used for favors for our guests, as well as a few family favorites for appetizers during the cocktail hour to accompany the amazing food from Delicious, Inc. The personal touches and small details were so instrumental in making the day unique to us and wouldn’t have been possible without the help.
Although Brendan humored me by helping with the crafty projects and even cutting and gluing and trying to sew a few things, his main priority for the wedding was making sure that everyone was well fed and had plenty to drink. We had so much fun sampling the food, the drinks and the cake for dessert. One of our favorite parts of the night were the speeches, our friends know us so well and were able to make everyone laugh with their great stories. All of our guests told us they had such a wonderful time and enjoyed the delicious food and the night of dancing. The whole event was captured beautifully by the amazing photography of Jessica Burke and the images express exactly how I remember the whole day. She had such attention to detail and captured all the important moments from beginning to end. It was truly one of the best days of my life and I couldn’t imagine it have turning out any better.
Wedding Photography: Jessica Burke Photography / Ceremony: St. John’s Episcopal Church in Ross, California / Reception: Marin Art and Garden Center in Ross, California / Flowers: DIY by the Bride / Catering: Delicious, Inc. / Wedding Cake: Red Hill Cake and Pastry (415-457-3632) / DJ: Feet First Entertainment / Wedding Dress: Adrianna Papell / Ceremony Shoes: Badgley Mischka / Reception Shoes: TOMS / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Banana Republic