Our original wedding date was 8/29/2020 and we had a very different wedding planned. It was going to be at an indoor venue and almost double the number of guests. We originally postponed to 8/14/2021 and planned to keep all the same plans. I couldn’t deal with the stress of the uncertainty anymore. So in February 2021, we decided to change our plans and have a smaller more intimate backyard wedding. I wanted some control over our venue so that we could 100% get married on 8/14/2021. My parents were very supportive and offered their property as our venue. We knew it would be a lot of work to change our plans and decided to hire a wedding planner.
Words by Vanessa – Images by Graceful Fawn.
Elegant Backyard Wedding
Bridal Gown
I am a pretty indecisive person and had the hardest time committing to a wedding dress. I knew I wanted a deep V and was leaning towards something simple and timeless. I ultimately chose the Sadie dress by the Australian-based brand, Made with Love Bridal. My veil was custom-made by the bridal boutique I ordered my dress from, Blanc de Blanc Bridal. I’m pretty short and I really wanted the lace on my veil to start and sit at the right spots.
Intimate Ceremony
Our whole ceremony felt so intimate and full of love and joy. Weston and I have cried while reflecting on how beautiful that whole moment was. Exchanging our vows was so special because we wrote our own. Weston’s vows made me laugh so hard and also cry with happiness. They were perfect.
Wedding Flowers
For our original wedding, I was envisioning a modern, clean, and timeless wedding. All white flowers with a lot of greenery and black accents.
When we decided to downsize and have a backyard wedding, I decided I wanted to change our floral plan from all-white to jewelled-toned flowers. I felt like I could do something more fun and thought that colourful flowers would stand out more in a white tent.
Wedding Decor
Our flowers were my favourite wedding day details. Christy went above and beyond for our wedding. I completely trusted her artistic vision and instincts and I am so happy I did because she killed it. She turned our wedding tent into a magical space with greenery and flowers everywhere. Our chandeliers were a focal point and turned out better than I could have imagined.
Wedding Favours
Our wedding favours were homemade hot sauces. When deciding on a wedding favour, I really wanted something personalized but not tacky. My goal was to find something that was a nod to my Latina heritage. My little sister/maid of honour came up with the idea of homemade hot sauce. My dad and uncle had made batches of homemade hot sauce previously and they were always tinkering with their recipe. This was the first time they made it and bottled it in such large quantities (our originally guest count was about 225). In September 2019, Weston and I drove to Buffalo to help my dad, mom, and uncle make and bottle the hot sauce. It was such a fun experience. We ended up naming our hot sauce “Amor Picante.” My cousin Marissa designed the hot sauce labels and I had them printed at Office Depot. Our guests still rave about our hot sauce. Since we downsized, we had a lot of extras and continue giving them away to friends and family.
Wedding Planning Advice
Pick wedding vendors that you trust and are a good fit with your personality and vision. Planning a wedding is already stressful enough, you don’t want to add vendor drama to that mix. If your wedding venue requires you to rent everything etc. I HIGHLY recommend you hire a wedding planner or at least a day-of coordinator. So worth it. Having a wedding planner allowed me to fully detach from wedding logistics on our wedding day and truly just enjoy every minute of our day.
Planning and Design: Social Maven / Photography: Graceful Fawn / Florist: Wild Blossom Hollow / Caterer: Occasions by Osteria / Cake: Ohlson’s Bakery / Invitations: Minted / Signage: Purple Wagon Designs /Rentals: McCarthy Events / Flatware Rentals: Tesoro Event Rentals / Furniture Rentals: Quaint Rentals / Linens: BBJ Linen / Ceremony Music: Williamsville East High School Quartet / DJ and Photo Booth: Toy Bros / Makeup: Cathy Wheeler / Hair: Elle Aire Buffalo /Champagne Cart: Champagne Cart Buffalo / Dress: Made with Love Bridal / Suit: Suit Supply
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