This whimsical garden wedding from Megan Saul Photography is full of amazing eclectic handcrafted details. Using their personal talents – and talented friends – Andrea and Chris were able to create their perfect day with variant shades of yellow and a sunny disposition. Stunning bride Andrea is here with us today to share her planning insight:

What (or who) helped you most in your planning process and/or on your wedding day?

We were so fortunate that we had the willpower to save money to hire our friends Summer Redwine and Jennifer Cohen of Orange Grove & Honey Bee to help with the organization of our wedding and day-of tasks. They had previously worked on the wedding of our friends and we just knew that they would perfectly execute our vision…or rather….my vision. I think we were super lucky that Summer is as organized and detail oriented as I am because it is EXTREMELY hard for me to let go of the reigns. Had it not been for her…I would have probably tried to do everything myself day of. The moment I arrived at our venue I cried because everything I had put my heart, sweat and love into was just perfectly tied together. Not only that….but Summer was six months pregnant at the time of our wedding. So, dang. She’s basically an angel.

What was the most important thing to you when deciding who to work with for your wedding?

From the beginning, we knew we wanted to give our friends the opportunity to display their talents. We wanted to work with people who we loved and we knew were on the same page as us in terms of our style and personalities. From the beginning, we knew we HAD to have Megan shoot our wedding. We saved every last penny so that we could have her capture our day. She has been such a dear friend and she knows the way Chris and I are as a couple. We chose our friend Melissa Hyams of Slice Cake Shoppe to do our pastries and basically told her what we liked but that we wanted her to have fun. As the budget played a major part of our day, we knew that we would rather pay our friends and support their talents rather than hire people we didn’t know, pay them and not get exactly what we wanted.

What was your inspiration for your wedding details and/or design?

From the day Chris proposed, I knew that I wanted our wedding to focus on our individual talents and ability to be resourceful. We knew that we were not going to have an unlimited budget…and that was okay. We knew that if we pulled together we would make it what WE wanted and still make it beautiful. I definitely knew that I wanted it to be unique, creative and display our personalities. Whimsical was a word that I threw around a lot when we first started planning and thinking of what we envisioned our day to be. I wanted the colors to be bright to reflect the venues natural aesthetic. Just a really fun and visually stimulating atmosphere. We didn’t want our guests to be bored at any point throughout the night.

What was your favorite thing about your wedding?

It’s hard to pick just one thing that I loved about our wedding. The entire day couldn’t have been more perfect for me and Chris. Everything was exactly what we wanted it to be. I spent so much time crafting, putting together the background for our photo booth, making the signs for around the venue, creating our cake toppers that the moment we actually stepped foot onto the venue….it was such a great and emotional moment. I would say that something that was incredibly special was that in being able to utilize our talents, Chris had remembered a moment we had first started dating and how I told him that I wanted my first dance to be “Nightingale” by Saves the Day. I told him how the song perfectly described how I felt about love and what I wanted marriage to be. Chris spent months recording a jazz version of the song so we could make it our first dance. When it came time for our first dance, I didn’t know what to expect. He told me that he had a surprise, an announcement he made in front of our closest friends and family, and the song began playing. I cried and laughed the entire time we danced because I couldn’t believe he had pulled one over on me like that. I think amongst my many favorite things was seeing how much fun our guests had. To this day they still tell us it was just a really, really fun celebration. Also, I am super happy that we were able to repurpose some of our wedding crafts and display them in our home. They remind us every day of one of the most perfect days in our lives.

What is your best piece of advice for other brides?

My best advice to brides is to follow your heart and do what you think is going to reflect you and your loved one best. I can’t tell you how many times I heard “I just can’t picture it” or every time I brought a crazy idea to my dad (such as the wooden background wall with the frames) he would say “I don’t think it will work…” Trust your gut. If you think it will work…. make it work. For me, the devil is in the details so working endless hours and getting creative not only helped keep our budget at bay but it made our day that much more special. The day of, so many people came up to us and said “NOW IT MAKES SENSE!” Remember that it’s your day and you have the ability to make what you want of it.

Wonderful advice, Andrea! My favorite detail had to be the “Treat Yo’self” dessert table. I love a good Parks & Recreation reference and those baked goods looked beyond picture perfect. How about you? Are you planning a dessert bar or candy table? I’d love to hear your sweet ideas.

Happy Planning!
Carlee

Vendors who made it all happen…