Real Wedding: Fina + Nathan’s Eco-Chic Wedding

Today I have such a gorgeous eco chic wedding to share with you all. With photography by the lovely ladies of Simply Bloom Photography and all the beautiful succulents and hanging paper flowers, it’s just the perfect combo of some of my favorites elements :) The wedding took place at the Umlauf Sculpture Garden in Austin, Texas. Fina was sweet enough to send some of her thoughts on the day and has some great advice to share with you guys at the end of the post. Thanks so much to Vania + Christine for letting me share your stunning photography on Green Wedding Shoes again! It’s always a treat for me. :)

wedding getting ready cat

wedding first look photos

What a perfect backdrop for the First Look! Remember to think about where you want that to happen if you decide to do a First Look (which I highly recommend) – I think the environment is super important too – it just adds to the entire moment :)

wedding photography simply bloom

succulent bouquet boutonniere

purple wedding shoes and bouquet

j crew bridesmaids dresses

wedding party j crew

paper flowers hanging ceremony

wedding ceremony hanging paper flowers

From Fina, I wanted to recycle or reuse as much as I could, creating something very unique and casual that had my name all over it! The idea was to save money in the decor and graphic area as well. It was all DIY, from invitations to programs, to flowers and favors. The bottles we recycled. I saved them for about 2 years. My family picked on me for saving such things. I would always say, “I will use them for something one day”. When I finally said I was using them for my centerpieces and decor for the wedding, it became a huge joke.  The bottles we not the only thing I saved. I saved scrap craft paper and scrap hemp string that I have had for years and years to create my invitations. Everyone in the family now refers to me as the hoarder. (Jokingly of course)

flower girl and eco chic decor

crossword puzzle wedding

succulent wedding reception decor centerpiece

modern wedding cake

What was your favorite memory from the day? It is hard to pick just one. I couldn’t have asked for a better day. I literally had zero stress, where as Nathan was actually more anxious than I was! I was so at ease, I was able to see, feel, experience every bit of my wedding so it’s really hard to just pick one that isn’t just, in general, the entire day! I thought of my wedding lasting a whole week with so many events and gatherings with family, so I consider my wedding to be that
entire week!

Out of all of those days, my favorite day would be the day after. We woke up late, in a quiet house, animals were peaceful, drank coffee, I made breakfast tacos and slowly started to get ready for our second shoot with Simply Bloom. No stress, no people, just us two enjoying each others company as married couple for the first time. It wasn’t anything special but complete bliss.

And the amazingness that Simply Bloom captured the day after…

wedding portraits in a tree

wedding day after photos dog

wedding day after succulent

wedding day after succulents

LOVE that last photo – so so stunning! Best wishes to you two!!

Any advice for those planning now? The biggest advice I have for those who are planning their wedding is communication with vendors through out. In fact, over communicate with vendors! I was able to be clear about what I wanted, and they were clear with me with what I was getting. No guessing, no assuming. I used a total of 4 vendors for my wedding, Simply Bloom, Austin Catering, Simon Lee Bakery, and Umlauf Sculpture Garden. All of which I established a relationship with and was able to get exactly what I wanted for my wedding day. I had no horrible surprises my friends told me I would have! Nothing happened that was not supposed to happen. I have the professionalism of my vendors to thank for this. I would say, no who you are working with and if you are not comfortable with them, don’t use them. They may not be bad vendors, but they might just not click with you.

Also, organization, organization, organization. What really helped me was creating a task list for everyone who was involved with creating the wedding. I had my list, my husband had one, my mom, my dad, my mom-in-law, my husband’s boyfriend’s girlfriend, and my aunt who lives in a different state! Everyone knew what they needed to get done, and it was done. Simple! I also have them to thank for my stress free wedding day!

A message and extra tips to the DIYers:  I showed up to my wedding with all of my party and even my early guests working! They were placing out centerpieces and favors, arranging flowers, hanging my pom pom strings, filling our planter with soil, so much more. They were working hard, and I didn’t have to ask. What I did do is asked 1-3 people to be in charge of the setup. If anyone had any questions they would go to those people.

Another tip. If you know someone in your family that could provide services for the wedding use them! You will save so much money and it will be much more meaningful. My Aunt, Wyman Wong, designed all of  my flower arrangements. I was lucky to go with her to pick up the flowers and was there when she cared for them for  a week, so they wouldn’t die, or bloom to quickly, or too slowly. You will have so much more appreciation for it then just showing up to your wedding and seeing a flower arrangement you just picked out.

Most of all, just relax. Who care’s if it isn’t perfect. It’s one day and a happy one at that. Don’t let minute details and mishaps take you away from the first day of a brand new chapter with your best friend and soulmate!

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