High school sweethearts Michelle + Jimmy had one of the most special and personal weddings I’ve seen in a while! Since they grew up just a few houses down the street from each other, they decided to celebrate at both of their parent’s homes — with a memorable ceremony at a “chapel in the woods”, handcrafted by Jimmy in his parent’s backyard, followed by a gorgeous reception underneath a light-filled Sperry tent in Michelle’s parent’s backyard. Such a sweet way to take advantage of such a unique situation! Here’s a bit more from Michelle about their inspiration for the day:
We wanted our wedding to be about celebrating our love with our family and friends. We didn’t want to have a traditional wedding filled with things that “you’re supposed to do”. We wanted to spend every minute enjoying each other, the day, and our friends + family. We have been together for about 12 years, since high school, and we wanted to embrace that in our wedding. Our friend married us, and everything said and read at our ceremony was something that had true meaning to us. We wrote and read our own vows to each other, which was one of my favorite parts of the whole day.
Big thanks to Pat Furey for the stunning photography + congratulations Michelle + Jimmy!
Walking barefoot up the path in the woods to see Jimmy for the first time. It was such a beautiful setting ... after 1.5 years of planning, the roller coaster of dealing with Hurricane Andrea + all the rain, the moment couldn't have been more perfect. I was so happy to see him. It was only drizzling but we were covered by the trees, and the sun actually came out as we were taking pictures.
Loving Jimmy’s awesome, unconventional attire + Michelle’s pretty, textural bouquet!
Processional: Bridesmaids: Love Story – Taylor Swift; Bride: Pachelbel's Canon
Recessional: Send Me On My Way – Rusted Root
First Dance: Who Are You When I'm Not Lookin' (originally by Blake Shelton), played live by my brother, Matt + my cousin, Dave
In addition to the extremely personal setting, there are tons of lovely details throughout – so much inspiration for all of you throwing a fun backyard wedding!
Pick a few things that are most important to you and your fiancé and stick to making them happen. Let everything else go. Remember that the day is about the two of you celebrating your love, nothing else, so no matter what happens it will be the most perfect day in itself.
photography: Pat Furey // venue name: parent's backyards, New Jersey // event design: Faye and Renee // wedding dress: Wtoo // hairpiece: flowers by Faye and Renee // bride's shoes: Toms // bridesmaid dresses: All different from different stores // hair stylist: Milagro // makeup artist: Glow Artistry // groom attire: Michael Bastian // videography: Endless Wave // paper goods: Art Paper Scissors // catering: Pat Conte // cake: Cupcake Magician // music: an awesome band starring my younger brother, my cousin, and two family friends // event planner: SociaLife // floral: Faye and Renee
Every detail has been planned perfectly! There is nothing untouched. The greenery is stunning
I love the lush foliage and those amazing details – what a gorgeous couple.
Wow! This is absolutely gorgeous!! Amazing images!
so happy to have one of my favorite weddings be featured on my favorite blog.
thanks, jen!
Holy details! That is one beautiful, intricately planned wedding. Love the colours & the rustic details.
Holy geeze! The details of this wedding are absolutely adorable! Love the wooden doors at the start of the isle and the location is perfect. This seemed like an amazing wedding to attend or to shoot.
What a wonderful wedding! The details are so lovely and complement all the greenery so well.
I LOVE this!! I love the setting, gorgeous. They look so in love, perfect! Congrats from all at henorstag.com
wow wow wow! love the heavy details and the dark green contrast. Nice editing!
Oh my gosh I pinned so many pictures from this wedding onto nearly all of my wedding boards. This wedding is certainly in my top 3 weddings I’ve ever seen. Like, I wanna cry from the beauty!! Congratulations to the bride and groom! Oh, gosh. Just.. so magical.
This has got to be the most pretty outdoor wedding ever, the rusty chic is sure going to be a 2014 trend, so country.
Where were these photographers when I got married?
Incredible set of images, what a stunning wedding!