I love a good backyard wedding and this one from Katherine Stinnett is too sweet! The perfect example of family and friends coming together to create a relaxed and intimate celebration.
When Matt and I began planning, there were a few details that we both agreed were important to us both: music, food, and fun. We wanted to have a party foremost, celebrating us both and the union we were making. Most of the decisions were made with that in mind. I had a limited budget, so we decided to hold the wedding in my childhood home backyard. My father had built a pegola there where my sister also had a wedding ceremony, so the setting was pretty perfect. My dad had passed away suddenly last December, so that made it all the sweeter. Having the wedding there saved us some money, which we put towards alcohol and a live band. My cousin records music in Nashville, so I had him put together a band of guys he plays with and they rocked it out for several hours that evening with lots of funky music!
I had no color scheme in mind and kept everything very non-matchy, just buying things that caught my eye. My bridesmaids were told to pick anything they felt pretty in; I love the way it all turned out and ended up flowing together, each girl looks perfectly herself! It’s great!
The ceremony was short and sweet. One of my sweetest friends flew in from Texas to sing a song as the bridal party walked out. We had a couple of our friends read scripture dear to us. Then we spoke a few words to the people we love as they stood around us and read the vows we wrote each other.
Matt lives most of his life through his stomach, so that was the one task I gave him when the planning began: come up with a menu. He settled on chicken and steak kebabs, macaroni and cheese, Greek salad, cornbread, and 3-bean salad. I had decided pretty early on that I’d rather have pies than a cake, so I had my aunt bring 24 different pies from my mom’s hometown of Winchester, Indiana. The Wick family (of famous Mrs. Wick’s pies) were originally from the same small town and still have a restaurant called Wick’s. They sell their pies at a steal, and these were the ones my aunt brought down. The food preparation was a bit more complicated. I enlisted the help of my bridesmaids, aunts, grandma, and my brother’s chef girlfriend in order to get all the food made. A few pies were burnt in the process of getting everything made but it was all perfect!
All of the decorations were homemade by myself. I ordered old saris from a man in India that I used to make the table runners. The plates and trinkets on the tables were assembled after a few months of Goodwill runs every Saturday. I labeled all the food with chalkboards and craft paper that I bought at Hobby Lobby. I handpainted watercolor invitations with craft paper envelopes. It was so inexpensive and added so much.
The best memory of the night was when the band was playing their last song I jumped in the pool that was located right behind us. Several people followed and the band played a few more encore songs! It was a great ending to the evening.
Photography | Katherine Stinnett | Pies | Wick’s | Dress | Badgley Mischka | Shoes | Gentle Souls | Earrings | Judith Bright | Men’s Attire | J. Crew
