Oklahoma Garden Party Wedding

Garden party weddings are right up our alley, and all the better when they take place in the own bride’s family’s backyard. Kori and Jaron not only exchanged vows on family land, but they also had Kori’s sister, the gifted Danielle of Danielle Elizabeth Inc., behind the camera and handling the reins of wedding design and floral arrangements. Talk about talent!

From the photographer and event planner, Danielle of Danielle Elizabeth Inc.: As a wedding planner, I have had the pleasure of working with many brides who are all very special and unique in their own way, however there was something EXTRA exciting when my sister got engaged and gave me full creative reign over wedding planning, event, and floral design. It was a short engagement of only 4 months, which meant a full-time labor of love planning this backyard wedding at our parent’s country estate.

Bouquet recipe: Hydrangea, garden roses, spray roses, ranunculus, craspedia, hanging amaranthus, seeded eucalyptus.

Held in our parent’s front yard, the ceremony was a beautiful celebration of love between my sister and her husband. We had the ceremony arbor constructed specifically for this wedding. Built out of rough cedar logs we topped it off with an oil-rubbed bronze chandelier which now hangs in the home of the bride and groom. The chairs were arranged in a semi-circle pattern to allow for maximum viewing of the ceremony from all angles. The ceremony chairs were adorned with ivory satin sashes and burlap bows. The burlap bows were a fun DIY project created by me and my sister for the wedding chairs. The bride walked out the front door of her parent’s country home and down the aisle where she met her husband-to-be.

The reception began with the guests filing back toward the back yard where they found their escort cards (designed by Teresa Lang Design) attached to jute twine strung inside an old fireplace mantle, which I repainted and distressed for the wedding. That was a fun DIY project as well. The escort cards were a fun interactive way to get the guests excited about finding their seats. They were scratch off cards with their table number hiding beneath the scratch off sticker. From there the guests were led to their seats where they found their place card attached (via clothespin) to a small potted succulent. The place cards (also designed by Teresa Lang) were all a unique design to each guest, with care instructions for the succulents on the back of the place cards. The place settings were made up of eclectic vintage china which was collected by the mother of the groom over the course of the engagement.

The cake table was built around the center tree in the backyard which also anchored the string lights which hung above the tables at the reception in a wagon wheel pattern. We also hung mini chandeliers and lanterns in the cake table tree. The cakes were baked by Rosebeary’s Designs in Baking, and were decorated with succulents by a friend of the bride. The wooden hand carved sweetheart table was decorated with wooden letters spelling the last name of the bride and groom, as well as a flower arrangement in an antique silver pitcher. The bistro tables near the bar were decorated with various antique silver pieces collected by the mother of the groom. Overall, it was an insanely beautiful night. The weather was absolute perfection. Even the taper candles on the tables stayed lit all night long. All the guests danced well into the night and enjoyed the warmth of the fire pit along with the warmth of the love between my sister and her husband.