Whimsical wildflowers, handcrafted details, and a backyard transformed into an enchanting secret garden: this was the magic behind Star and Dan’s ethereal Midsommar-style wedding.
Inspired by the ancient Nordic Midsommar holiday, this celebration blended charming Scandinavian traditions with meaningful personal touches. There were blossoming flower crowns, flickering candlelight, and a few horror movie references (“minus the horror elements!” jokes Star). The couple said their “I do”s drenched in the sunlight of the summer solstice, then danced the night away under the stars.
In other words, the entire celebration was pure summer romance, as captured by photographer North Arrow Creative. It was the kind of wedding that reminds you just how romantic it is to break the rules and embrace all the magical details that make your relationship so special.
“There’s really no better word than ‘special.’ It was the most magical and meaningful day of our lives,” says Star. What better way to spend the longest day of the year?
If there was one word to describe Star and Dan’s wedding style, it would be lush. From the vibrant greenery to the celestial stationery to the bride’s red velvet shoes, every detail was soaked with personality.
For her bridal style, Star channeled the theme with Jenny Yoo’s whimsical “Louise” wedding dress.
“I ended up finding the most perfect, simple Midsommar-style dress from The Bridal Parlour in Shiloh, Illinois,” she says. “A perfect square neckline, long pooling skirt, and sheer flowy sleeves. Just the most simple and yet most romantic, beautiful thing I’d ever put on. When I put it on, I knew it was perfect. I felt like me, I felt beautiful, and it fit our Swedish Midsommar vision.”
Dan also kept it simple with a white linen suit styled with a blossoming boutonnière. Not only did it fit the theme, but the linen style was perfect for staying cool on the sunny summer day — a pro styling tip for soon-to-be grooms!
How dreamy is the freshly-picked look of Star’s bridal bouquet?! “We designed the flowers to feel like they were growing in the couple’s garden, even sourcing some stems from their backyard so it matched seamlessly,” says Carolyn Cosgrove Payne of Wild Ginger Weddings.
Whimsical Wedding Gowns
Inspired by Star’s timeless and romantic look.
A Whimsical Backyard Ceremony
Instead of jetting off to Sweden for their Midsommar-inspired wedding, Dan and Star brought that idyllic countryside aesthetic to their own backyard with the help of The Coda’s Collective.
“We had our wedding in our backyard to make it extra personal,” explains Star. “We had just bought our first home together the year before our wedding, and it came with the most beautiful big backyard (something rare near the city), so it felt right. Plus, new homes and weddings are both expensive, so it made sense for us to have our wedding in our backyard so we could focus more of our financial efforts on our home.”
Dreaming of a backyard wedding? Check out these 35 backyard wedding ideas for more dreamy inspiration.
“As for the theme, we both just really loved the A24 masterpiece that is Midsommar,” says Star. “We’ve watched that movie countless times, and thought the feeling and vibe of the movie (minus the horror elements, haha!) would be perfect for our big day.”
“And of course, our statement pieces on our wedding day were the incredible flower crown and green-leaved headdress that Carolyn from Wild Ginger made for us,” says Star. They were directly inspired by the headdresses the couple wears in the movie Midsommar.
“She executed them perfectly — I knew it would be a challenge and even told her that a regular flower crown would suffice, but she really went above and beyond in executing the vision! And shout-out to my hair stylist that day for managing to secure the crown to my head. I was able to toss my head around and dance like crazy all night without it budging!”
Another unique detail from the couple’s ceremony was their shared walk down the aisle. “Since we’ve always felt like equal partners in our relationship, it made sense to make the trek down the aisle hand-in-hand,” says Star.
It was an unexpected nod to their theme, too. “With our wedding being Midsommar-themed (a holiday primarily celebrated in Sweden), I also learned that it is a Swedish wedding tradition to walk down the aisle together. It couldn’t have been more perfect for us!”
A simple garden arch and lush flower arrangements were the perfect backdrop for this intimate backyard ceremony. Get more ideas with our complete round-up of unique DIY ceremony backdrops.
Our Musical Choices
“It was really important to us for our wedding to be incredibly personal. We truly didn’t care about pretty much any of the traditional wedding moments,” Star shares. “The things that were important to us were having the people closest to us there (keeping it small), making sure it was fun (making sure the ceremony was short so we could all get to partying!), and overall making sure everyone was comfortable (good food, good vibes, no stuffy dress code).”
The perfect motto for an unforgettable, one-of-a-kind celebration.
An Intimate Outdoor Reception
It was all the unique details that really made Dan and Star’s celebration stand out, from their eclectic table settings to the soundtrack of the day.
“A lot of our wedding was DIY’d,” explains Star. “I made all the signage (name cards, invitations, menus, etc) in Canva, we curated all of our wedding music ourselves (made several different Spotify playlists to play at different parts of the evening), I spent months sourcing secondhand decor and dishes for the day, and we put a ton of work into our backyard garden to set the scene.”
This included giving their outdoor space a little TLC before the big day. “In early spring before our wedding, I grew over 500+ flowers from seed to plant in our garden for our wedding that summer! It was all a labor of love, and so worth it (though I’m happy to never have to plan a wedding again, haha)!”
Vintage-inspired cocktail glasses doubled as the couple’s seating chart. We love creative seating chart ideas that go beyond a classic printed sign!
Our Favorite Memory
For me, coming down to the backyard after getting ready all morning and just seeing the space our wedding vendor team had put together was jaw-dropping. Stunning. It was somehow better than what I had pictured in my head. It was all just so beautiful and I couldn't believe that the months of planning had actually worked out!
“Another favorite moment was the super-long, family-style dinner table (inspired straight from Midsommar, the movie). Sitting down at the head of the table and actually getting to look ALL the way down the table and see all of our friends’ and family’s faces at once was just… incredible,” says Star. “It was even greater than I could have imagined in my head when planning this.”
A private chef served up an elevated family-style meal to match the aesthetic of the reception table, complete with Dan’s favorites like pretzels and beer cheese. And for a sweet finishing touch, two pink wedding cakes topped with fresh strawberries and flowers!
Our Advice
Give yourself plenty of time, don't rush it! And book vendors that seem genuinely excited about the vision for your wedding day. It will make it 1000x better! Also, trust your vendors to execute your vision and give them some creative freedom. If you hire vendors (basically, artists!), they will do their best work with some freedom to make it their own (so long as you follow my first rule of booking vendors that are excited about your vision - that "get" the vision). And just generally try to "unclench" (as my sister says!). Ultimately, the only thing that matters is that you are with the people you love, celebrating love.
And what better way to celebrate their newlywed status than with an intimate first dance under the stars?
Dan and Star ended the night on the outdoor dance floor surrounded by their nearest and dearest — including an unforgettable mother-daughter dance to ABBA’s “Dancing Queen”!
Congratulations Dan and Star on your gorgeous summer solstice celebration! We’re in love with every flower-infused detail and romantic personal touch. Best wishes from all of us here at GWS!
Wedding Vendors
Photography: North Arrow Creative // Venue: Private Residence // Wedding Planner: The Coda's Collective // Florals: Wild Ginger Weddings // Hairpiece: Wild Ginger Weddings
