DIY Yosemite Wedding: Brianne + Louie

bride and groom

Brianne + Louie’s families had never met, so they really wanted to have a celebration that lasted a few days for everyone. Paradise Springs in Yosemite, California was the perfect location for their three day celebration with their families. They were on a strict budget of $10,000 and spent most on lodging for all their guests at the venue, so the rest of the day was DIY to the max! Since each person that they invited was so incredibly special to them, their favors to all their guests were personalized letters to them. So sweet! Brianne wore her grandmother’s wedding dress + veil (and her grandmother even saw her walk down the aisle in it!). Such a sweet + personal celebration. Congrats to Brianne + Louie and thanks so much to Othello Silla for the photos!

wedding sign

bride

bride

wooded ceremony

wooded ceremony

wooded ceremony

curtain altar

bride and groom


The gift Louie got for me was a box filled with 5 novels as pictured. They contained every text/ picture message we had ever sent to one another. He designed and put them together all himself and then got them published. And to finish it off, he went looking for a vintage box to put them all in; I am quite the lucky girl!

book for couple

book for couple

book for couple

bride and groom

bride and groom

bride and groom

bride and groom

bride and groom

pinecone bouquet


Love the fun pinecone bouquet Brianne made!

yarn wrapped letters

wine

Our Favorite Memory From The Wedding

It is amazing how great our friends and family really are. Our families had never met, and by the end of the two days they were having three hour long conversations. Seeing everyone able to become ‘family’ gave us so much joy.

There are two specifics that we wouldn’t trade the memory of for the world. One was sitting around the campfire at the reception; no pressure, no awkward conversations, no feeling like we didn’t have time to eat... It was the most relaxing and amazing thing. Another was the moment we had everyone break into groups and pray for us during the ceremony as we took communion. This didn’t get us until we watched the video footage back and could hear all the prayers. We might have both cried.

string lights

mr and mrs table

first dance


For our honeymoon we were looking for somewhere that wasn’t touristy and was extremely pretty. It landed us in Iceland and we are so happy it did. It totally fit us and it was a trip we will never forget. We saw so many things including wild horses walking up to us, amazing views of the landscape and our favorite, the Northern Lights. If anyone is thinking of going there, here are some tips! We stayed at the Hotel Glymur (we stayed in the villas) and our favorite eats were: Stofan Cafe, The Fish Market, Hotel Glymur and Hotel Holt. Some awesome things to do: hiking, driving the island (waterfall “Gullfuss”, Geyser – hot springs, and many more natural beauties), talking to locals, visiting the Blue Lagoon, shopping in Reykjavik, finding our authentic Icelandic woolen sweaters…

Our Advice To Those Planning Now

Bride: First... Venue is so important. Not that it is the most pricy or impressive...but it needs to reflect you as a couple and the kind of wedding you want

Make memories. Mess ups and mishaps will happen and they become what you laugh about. Make the smiles on people’s faces and the laughter in the room be what you remember and focus on. You’ve done your planning; now enjoy the love being sent your way and do your best to not let the little things get to you!

Groom: Don’t let other people’s opinions get you down; you and your soon-to-be husbands opinions are really the only ones that matter for this day. You want to be able to look back on the day with no regrets.

photography: Othello Silla // venue name: Paradise Springs, Oakhurst, Yosemite, California // bride's shoes: Yes To Style // hair stylist: Andrea Lewis // officiant: Richie James // sign painter: Kenny Keyes // flowers: Brianne Bookout and Hannah Adams // guitar: Byron Aram // make-up: Andrea Lewis // invitations: graphics by Louie Bookout (groom), art by Kenny Keyes // food: Todd's BBQ, Brent's Deli // bride's dress: Vintage (bride's grandmother's), purse and earrings were Vintage // veil: Vintage (bride's grandmother's), purse and earrings were Vintage // groom: Shirt from J.Crew, Suspenders from Urban Outfitters, Pants from Topman, Shoes from Kenneth Kole

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