Backyard Mesa Wedding
Not only have newlyweds Lauren and A.J. known each other since childhood, they also made the leap from engaged to married in a whopping two months — yes, two months! We’re in awe of what the bride and her friends and family pulled together in such a short time frame, all captured by the wonderful Cami Parker.
From the bride, Lauren: A.J. and I met at a church camp back when I was 14 and he was 15. I always had a crush on him, ALWAYS. I mean, who couldn’t love a red-headed skater boy? We had kept in contact afterwards, but didn’t start dating until August of 2011 when he was 21, and I was 20. We got engaged in April 2012 and were married in June 2012. That’s right, we had a 2 month engagement. It may sound crazy but I wouldn’t have had it any other way! Of course we were stressed, but we didn’t have to stress for months and months and months. We just wanted to be married to each other!
Our wedding day turned out to be just as I imagined it. I wanted something outdoors and fun! We had a lot of DIY projects and I tried to save money where I could. We made the book paper balls, the book paper board with the moss letters, the envelope board, the painted canvas, planted all the succulents that were spread throughout the reception, and more! I love the fact that I was able to create things for our special day, it just made it that more us!
I think my favorite part of the evening was the exit when A.J. and I were able to run past all of our family and friends. It made me so grateful to have all of those people there to support and celebrate with us. Everyone had a sparkler and let go of a giant white balloon into the sky as we left… it was magical! We feel so blessed for all of the help we received on our wedding day and leading up to it. It couldn’t have been any more perfect.
View all images from this wedding in the gallery
Wedding Music:
First Dance: “First Day of My Life,” Bright Eyes
Father/Daughter Dance: “I Loved Her First,” Heartland
Couple’s Dance: “True Love Ways,” My Morning Jacket
Bouquet Throw: “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” Cyndi Lauper
Garter Toss: “Are You Gonna Be My Girl,” Jet
Cake Cutting: “I Feel It All,” Feist
Wedding Location: Mesa, AZ / Wedding Photographer: Cami Parker / Ceremony Venue: Mesa LDS Temple / Reception Venue: Private Residence / Wedding Dress: White by Vera Wang / Bride’s Shoes: Francesca’s / Groom’s Suit: Forever 21 / Wedding Flowers: Cornflower Blue / Wedding Caterer: Bride’s grandmother and family friends / Donut Holes: Bosa Donuts / Wedding Cake: Melissa Lee / DJ: Ryan Scow / Chair Rentals: Brian and Kaitlyn Wright / Table Rentals: Classic Party Rentals / Wedding Invitations: Designed by the bride
That’s a sharp-lookin’ wedding.
All of that in two month?! What a gorgeous couple and wedding. I love the color scheme and the antique furniture that was used, along with the great songs the couple choose. All of my favorite colors and songs? No wonder I like this wedding so much!
I Love those mason jar lights! That is so neat. Would love to know how to make those. =)
What a beautiful wedding and it looks like so much fun! They did a fantastic job of pulling it all together in such a short amount of time:)
Please tell us how to do mason jar lights! Amazing!!!!!!
Gorgeous wedding! Love everything about it! Congrats! Where did your bridesmaids find their dresses?
Some great ideas there… love the cake and doughnuts 🙂
Congrats guys oxox
I am seriously DYING for ALL of this wedding. It is just perfect!!! Soooo unique and beautiful!
Was the reception at one of the family’s backyards or was it rented out?I’m looking for a backyard reception but neither of us have a big enough back yard!
Hello, do you know where this location was? And is it available for rent?
Mina & Rylee….
Location is listed up above as ‘private residence’