The couple were married in Maryland in July. With a laid back approach, and as much help as their friends & family could muster, they planned the wedding of their dreams with little to no stress. “Our family and friends MADE this wedding happen,” explained Natalie when I asked her about her wedding. “Brynn & I didn’t want to have a wedding designer, but I think my mother now holds that title. She spent the eight months of our engagement collecting wine glasses and silverware from thrift stores.”
“Her and my aunt accumulated all the décor and oversaw virtually every design detail. My grandmother sewed all of the napkins and a family friend arranged the flowers for the centerpieces. My father created and made the cocktails and roasted coffee beans for the wedding favors (Brynn’s mother sewed the favor bags). My super-talented friend, the visual manager of an Anthropologie in DC, built the ceremony backdrop & platform and made all the signs. We asked a family friend to bartend. My best friend’s father and my cousins hung all the lights for the reception. One of my friends recently started an event-planning business and she handled all of the insane day-of coordination. Our friend is in a band and graciously offered to DJ the entire wedding.”
“Our inspiration for the ceremony was a combination of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Lord of The Rings”, she continued. “Obviously having the ceremony in a forest was a must. I envisioned my bridesmaids looking like little wood nymphs or fairies. They all picked out a white dress of their choosing and everyone looked smashing. We wanted our reception to be like a party Jay Gatsby would throw. There were lights strung everywhere, non-stop music, endless drinks, and next-level dance moves. Brynn’s brother and best man even secretly got a limo to take us away.”
Natalie had two wedding dresses. The first was a custom made number and her sparkly evening gown was by Free People. They also had a large bridal party – 22 of them in total! “Our wedding party was inevitably large. We had 22 bridesmaids and groomsmen. I wanted to do something that would make the photos stand out. My friends know I’m obsessed with masks (thanks Animal Collective) and I ended up ordering a bunch of animal ones from an online party store. After our first dance the entire bridal party came out with their masks and it was so weirdly awesome.”
“Speaking of the dancing, the first ‘wedding thing’ Brynn and I ever discussed was music. We said no to boring wedding songs and hell yes to artists that actually meant something to us. Camera Obsura and Beach House constituted the processional, and I walked down the aisle to The Walkmen. It was pretty powerful. We both always thought Brynn would cry but I was actually the one fighting back tears. It was important to have someone close to us say something during our ceremony. My grandfather did a scripture reading and talked for a bit, which was completely precious. My favorite part of the ceremony, though, was the vows. We decided to write them ourselves, and it was incredibly romantic to stand there in front of our family and friends while promising to love each other forever, in our own words.”
“Besides the music, the most important thing to us was the photography. I’ve endlessly and outwardly spoken this, but Noa of Feather Love Photography is the bee’s knees. After our rehearsal dinner, the night before the wedding, we ran into each other in the hotel courtyard and she ended up hanging out with our bridal party and us for the night… while everyone was passing around my brother’s apple pie moonshine. She is so down to earth and such a beautiful person, which her photographs entirely reflect.”
“We are forever indebted to our amazingly creative/hardworking/loving friends and family who made our vision come to life”, Natalie concluded. “We are so very blessed.”
Jeez don’t you just love these guys?! The masks and the ceremony backdrop are just aces! Thank you to Natalie & Brynn and their fabulous photographer Noa of Feather Love Photography for sharing these today.
