I fell in love with this wedding the first time I saw it. Stephanie and Daniel’s casual waterside wedding is so full of colour and quirky details – a retro salon for bridal preparations, a homemade dress and the cutest little dog you’re ever gonna see. And just a word of advice, you’re gonna wanna scroll allllll the way to the bottom on this one. With thanks to Andy Stenz Photography for sharing and bride Stephanie for recounting her favourite details from the day. 

The Dress

“My mom made all my Easter and Christmas dresses growing up, so I asked her to make my wedding dress. I was in South Carolina and she was in Wisconsin, so we shopped for fabric together while in the same chain store across the country and we cobbled patterns together online. Our older guests loved it because they made their wedding dresses back in the day and the guests my age loved it because it was different from the usual showy expensive dresses. I liked it because it was me.”

Color Scheme

“My colors were garnet and gold. I just liked the colors together. My husband enjoyed the colors as well, so we went with it!” They really bring a pop of colour to the outdoor wedding scene.

DIY Projects

“We made the save-the-dates (and envelopes), invitations, menus, favors (fans), programs, some of the centerpieces (in addition to flowers, we made scrapbooks for our parents with photos of the both of us and we made small photo albums for dear loved ones. We placed these alongside the vases.), the guest book, and the hairpieces for the wedding party.”

“During the toasts, we gathered everyone around in a big circle for a few family members to speak. After the toasts, random guests began speaking up and soon we were all cracking jokes and laughing while family members and old friends started spouting off random stories about my groom or me. It helped that we orchestrated the wedding and reception to be as casual as possible, which gave our guests the freedom to be themselves and contribute.”

Advice for Brides or Grooms-to-Be?

“Pick 2–3 things that are the most important and plan around those. Don’t invite everybody. Invite close family and friends; you’ll save a lot of money, the day will be more meaningful, and you won’t stress over people you don’t particularly like coming to your wedding. If people complain, let them. But stand firm on your guest list.”

Paddling on your wedding day? Oh yes please!