Charming Backyard Texas Wedding

This wedding captured by Abi of Abi Q Photography is a total charmer. The bride, Aly, found her gorgeous vintage tea length wedding dress at thrift store for a whopping 32 dollars! Her handsome groom wore his Army Service uniform instead of a tux, and we all know that’s always a fave amongst the gals. Most importantly, read on to hear Aly’s advice to newly engaged brides. I couldn’t agree more with her!

From the bride, Aly: We wanted a simple, home made, country backyard wedding. We used almost all second hand and borrowed materials from thrift stores and friends.

Three years ago, I just happened to fall desperately in love with a soldier just as I was beginning my college career. Because of this, he has spent 24 of the last 36 months deployed overseas and the 12 months he has been stateside we spent mostly apart because I was in school while he was stationed in upstate New York. We decided to plan our wedding during his 2 week R&R in the middle of his Afghanistan deployment. Since his family agreed to allow us to get married in the backyard of their Texas Ranch home we decided to fly my family out.

Our weddings was vintage, homemade, simple, Texas charm, “something borrowed”. The color scheme was navy and yellow but complimented with many various floral/patterned fabrics from thrift stores used throughout the wedding. Everything about the wedding was DIY. We created all of the centerpieces, decor items, floral arrangements, etc. from found, borrowed, or thrift objects. We made cut-out doves to hang from tree branches, homemade fans and programs. hand-made Texas-shaped boutonnieres. The cake stand and wedding arbor were made by the groom’s father. The entire wedding was catered by family and friends, people brought food anywhere from a 5 minute drive to shipping across the country from North Carolina.

Any advice for brides planning their weddings now?
There is a misperception that a beautiful wedding has to cost a ton of money and you have to micromanage every single detail down to the last minute. I was truly able to enjoy my wedding because we spend very little money, borrowing and buying used. I got my most trusted helpers together and let them know my vision. I sent them photos of inspiration and then left the minor things up to them to figure out. My wedding was in Texas, I live in Savannah, Georgia and my husband was living in Afghanistan. We didn’t get to Texas until 6 days before the wedding and everything still went well. I think the biggest advice I have is to not sweat the small stuff. Things will NOT go 100% as planned. Don’t try to stick to a harsh schedule, go with the flow! This day only happens once and I would rather know I had a good time with my family/friends rather than spending time stressing over little details and traditions.

Monogram Magic In This Textural & Earthy Wedding With Elevated North Carolina Flair

Wedding Songs:
Processional: the Beatles’, “Here and everywhere”
Bridal Processional: Elvis’ “Can’t stop falling in love”
Recessional: Natalie Cole’s “This will be”

Wedding Vendors (Willow Park, Texas):

Ceremony and reception locations: groom’s family ranch/ Photographer: Abi Q / Wedding Dress: vintage, purchased at a thrift store / Veil: DIY by bride’s mother / Makeup: bride’s own / Hair: Elite Salon / Bridesmaid Dresses: My bridesmaids were given basic instructions of buying a knee-length navy blue dress and encouraged to buy them second hand. I gave them matching pearl stud earrings from etsy.com and they purchased matching ivory shoes. / Groom’s suit: Groom wore his ASU (Army Service Uniform) and groomsmen wore tuxes from Mens Wearhouse / DJ: Mike Stewart / Wedding Cake: Crumbs and Cream