Inspired by the Great Outdoors, This Escort Card Display Is Every Nature-Lovers Dream

Lauren Megerdichian
July 21, 2022
Categories: Real Weddings, Rustic, The Blog, Whimsical

Love is an adventure! With the creative direction of Magnolia Avenue Events, Kailey & Kyle’s wedding day is a celebration of their love for each other and for the outdoors! Inspired by the colors of a mallard duck’s feathers and the boundless beauty in nature, flowers are the focal point of this moody and intimate soirée in the bride’s family barn. Weddings By Scott And Dana captured all the rustic chicness! So, go ahead and discover the full gallery filled with love and wonder – don’t forget to stop and admire the jaw-dropping floral installation by The Posh Posey that gracefully hangs over the dance floor!

Kyle’s a captain and owns his own charter fishing company out of the Bay Area. Kailey is an avid fisher(wo)man and they met when she chartered one of his boats. They knew it was a heavenly match and the rest is history.

The thing I love most about Kailey & Kyle’s wedding is that they unapologetically included design elements that reflect the two of them. Some would call it a near-impossible challenge to have a high-end wedding that had a hunting and fishing theme, but Magnolia Avenue Events delivered. The wedding design truly embodied the passions they share, and it was beautiful and fabulous!

From the Bride… The way Kyle and I met was so fun and unexpected! I went on a chartered fishing trip with friends from work and he was the captain of our boat. I have always loved fly fishing for trout on the rivers, but I had never been deep sea fishing, so it was totally new to me. When we arrived on the boat at 5:45am, Kyle was there with his dog, Gator. We instantly connected and spent the whole day getting to know each other. At the end of the day he invited me to go fishing with him the following weekend. It is so special to us that we both met doing what we both love. Fishing will always be a huge part of our lives.

Nine months after meeting, Kyle and I went to Island Park, Idaho for the weekend to fly fish and visit with good friends. He and my great friend Kelli arranged for a quick hike before dinner where Kyle proposed along the bank of the Henrys Fork River. It was perfect. They had also organized dinner with our friends where we celebrated and had a wonderful weekend.

From the beginning, we knew we wanted our wedding day to represent us and our love for the outdoors and traveling. Ever since we met fishing on the ocean, it has been such a huge part of our relationship. We truly cherish all the time we get to spend adventuring together and we wanted that to be reflected on our day. Our design was also inspired by the feel of hunting lodges, which is why we incorporated different textures like the leather pouches on the tables, the leather couches, the velvet table cloths, and the suede bar menu. Our color pallet was inspired by the feathers on a mallard duck. The bow ties for Kyle and his groomsmen were made from mallard duck feathers.

Getting married at my parent’s home was such an easy decision for Kyle and I. Family is so important to us, and we thought it would be extra special to get married where we spend so much time laughing and creating the best memories with family and friends. We are very rooted in our relationships with family and close friends, and we feel that it made our wedding much more intimate. For us, it truly only made sense to have our wedding at our family home.

As for the ceremony site, I really wanted it to feel as if it was a church in a field of flowers. The beauty of the bright flowers surrounding the church pews was magical. Then, we transitioned to moody vibes for the reception. The flower arrangements lining the pathway to the barn from the ceremony site were ombre, starting off super light and bright at the ceremony site, and then slowly getting darker as they got closer to the barn. For the reception area, we really focused on bringing the moody textures of nature into the design to make our guests really feel as if we were outdoors. The seating chart was placed at the entrance of the barn and was the focal point when walking from the ceremony site. It was an 8’ tall wall that was painted with a view from a duck blind and read “Let’s not wing it” across the top. It included a portrait of Kyle’s hunting dog, Rumor along with rocks around the base that had mallard duck decoys mounted on them. We also added taller grasses to really bring in the feel of a duck blind and make it three-dimensional.

The entrance of the barn was also strung with lights, had a seating area with leather couches, a hand-rolling cigar station that had our monogram on them, along with a horse trailer bar serving cocktails. Moving into the barn, the first view was a huge hanging flower installation over the dancefloor, a great big chandelier in the center of the room, and the walls and ceiling were hidden in beautiful gray drapery with market lighting, and flowers covering almost every space in the barn. They complemented all aspects so well. We had a mixture of long tables and round tables that had so many earthy tones. The flowers included dark purples, blush tones, greenery, and elements like ferns. The cake table was even surrounded by flowers that climbed up the table and encircled the cakes. It looked as if the two cakes were growing out of a field of flowers! Both cakes had black fondant with life-like chocolate flowers and were SO delicious!

We also had a dessert wall that was painted black with the song lyrics “sweet like candy to my soul. Sweet you rock and sweet you roll” by Dave Matthews Band. My family has always loved that song. The tables were set with stunning flowers, candles, and place settings. Each place setting was topped with a leather envelope that had their name engraved on the outside. The inside of the envelope had a letter pressed card with a couple mallard ducks on it and the bible verse “they broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts” Acts 2:46. The other side of the card had the menu for the plated dinner. Each guest chose their meal prior to the wedding, they picked from a beef filet, a pork chop, chicken breast, or pan-seared salmon for dinner. Kyle is a commercial fisherman, so he caught all the salmon that was served at the wedding. We had a bottle of wine for each couple to take home for wedding favors. The wine grapes were grown in my family’s vineyard, then we blended and bottled the wine ourselves. We love that we were able to share something that our family created and put so much work into. The bottles had customized wine labels with our monogram as well.

There were so many moments that made our day so special. One of them was after the ceremony and family pictures, Kyle and I snuck up to the barn to have a quiet moment and appreciate all of the barn decor before our guests came up for dinner and dancing. It was so special because we chose to not have a first look before the wedding, so it was nice to talk and have a moment to connect, just one on one. When we were enjoying this moment together, he also revealed to me that he had customized his wedding vest to have photos of us printed on the back. He put so much thought into having that made for me, and I love that he surprised me with it.

Another moment that stands out as special was the morning of my wedding day. I woke up extra early… does any bride really sleep much the night before the big day? That morning it was downpouring rain and I sat next to the fireplace with my parents, as we had coffee and just relaxed for a while before everyone began to arrive. Having that special time with my parents really put me in a good mindset for the day. Even though it was pouring rain, I felt so calm and knew that it was going to be a perfect day.

My advice to brides would be to find vendors who you can trust, communicate, and connect with. Having a great team that you can comfortably share your ideas with is SO important. We took some chances on designs and it all came together perfectly. The day of the wedding I felt so calm and confident that everything was taken care of, and it was wonderful. Trust your vendors and be open to their advice. My team has become great friends and I am beyond grateful for everyone who helped my ideas come to life.