Maybe you’ve never heard of Crowley, Louisiana before today but I guarantee you’ll be happy to virtually visit with this hometown affair. The photographer-turned-bride brought a thoughtful eye for style to every component of the day, including the reception dinner hosted in the couple’s own backyard. Catherine Guidry photographed and we’re thrilled to welcome these stunning images to our pages.
From the bride… Guy ask girl to be his wife, girl says yes. The rest is history. Well, this was not exactly our story. After eight years of long distance dating, we both finally settled in our hometown. We bought a house that needed a complete renovation. With my architecture turned photographer background and my husbands handy skills, we worked endlessly on our flip house. One night after a long days work, I said, “We’ve been dating eight years, adopted two cats, and renovated a house…ok, do you want to get married now? ” He laughed and replied, “Sure!” No ring, no fancy proposal, but it was our story and I love it.
As a photographer, I envisioned a romantic natural light, outdoor wedding for our special day. We opted to host our wedding in the city that is most dear to our hearts: Crowley, Louisiana – rice capital of American and our sweet hometown. I designed our wedding crest made of rice, which was the theme for the day. This crest was printed on the invitations, napkins, cookies and more.
Our color palette was storm blue, ivory, and peach using inspiration from my dress and the rice theme for our decor. It seemed fitting that my main color was “Storm Blue” as it rained all day until 10 minutes before walking down the isle. As I was waiting in the vintage Cadillac to walk down the aisle, the sun peeked through the clouds. I looked at my dad, he smiled and said, “It’s your day, I knew it would all work out my sweetie!” He was right, I could not have dreamed it better.
We decided on the “Moody Property,” a secluded piece of land surrounded by 100-year-old oak trees, for our ceremony. Our childhood homes are three miles away from each other, the Moody Property is exactly in the middle of the two. We thought it was perfect middle ground from where we both grew up to celebrate with our 30 closest friends and family…including our 9 nieces and nephews dressed in heirloom lace attire. The violinist softly played “Sicilliano” by Birckenstock in the background as we read our handwritten vows to each other. I was so excited to see the ring he chose for me when we changed our vows. I had technically proposed to him, so he waited until our wedding day to give me the non-traditional, yellow gold, vintage-inspired ring that he said “looked like it was made just for me,” it was perfect. We exited hand-in-hand with the sweetest petal toss by all the kids.
For the reception, we celebrated over a lovely catered dinner in the backyard of our newly renovated home. The reception was full of personal details such as individually monogrammed napkins, my grandmother’s china, hand-written signage and the bar my husband built. My favorite part of my wedding day was sitting on the swing with my new husband watching our families mingle, seeing our nieces and nephews running barefoot in the yard chasing our two cats, and watching the sunset from the rainy day that turned out to be so beautiful. What was most important to us was executing a vision that was not only personal to the place but to us as a couple.
Photography: Catherine Guidry Photography | Floral Design: Brianna Belton Design LLC | Wedding Dress: Tanya Kochnova | Cake: The Cake Room | Invitations: Jolie and Co. | Shoes: Bella Belle | Groom's Attire: J.Crew | Bride: Lindsey Rogers | Candles: Creative Candles | Children's Heirloom: Auraluz | Cookies: Southern Sugar Custom Cookies | Embroidery: The Patterned Pecan | Laser Cutting : Letters To You | MUAH: Joie De Vivre Salon Spa | Rentals: Event Rental | Rentals : Pure Vintage Rentals | Signage: HeyHalle | Violinist : Lauren Baker