Handcrafted Backyard Texas Wedding
This couple’s backyard wedding shot by Ryan Price is artsy, intimate, and everything a wedding should be. Instead of throwing rice or confetti, Stephen and Katy had paper airplanes with a drawing of their faces printed on them for guests to fly in lieu of rice toss. Also, their photo display is another idea worth using: they took advantage of their blah reception walls to display their engagement session photos as well as photos of their parents and grandparents on their wedding day.
From the bride, Katy: Stephen and I are simple people, and our wedding was based on a few simple ideas that helped us fill in the rest of the details. What we really hoped for was a backyard, intimate wedding, with lots of fun and no fuss. I am a great lover of all things green and sunny, especially trees. So when looking for a venue, above all else it needed a large, old tree for us to have the ceremony under. Oak Tree Manor in Spring, TX captured us at first sight with its gigantic live oaks, country house, and backyard garden feel. The relaxed and green atmosphere inspired details like the sage green, barefeet bridesmaids and my mostly green bouquet, which contrasted nicely with my ivory dress and the light colors of the groom and his groomsmen’s attire.
One large, home-made detail was the “wedding wall”. The open spaces of the venue required a partition of sorts to allow the bride to stay hidden until the right time. We used the wall space to display engagement photos on one side for guests to see as they entered and used the other to display wedding pictures of our parents, grandparents, and great grandparents! We even had one of our great grandmother’s wedding dresses in a shadow box. Our guests were absolutely captivated by the heritage shared on the wall. It served as a place for people to congregate, talk about photos of some people who were no longer with us and share fun stories.
To go along with the earthy nature of our wedding, we sent each guest home with a package of wildflower seeds with our lovely mugs stamped right on the front! Aside from the details, one thing I was really excited about was having a dessert buffet in lieu of a groom’s cake. Partially because I’m really just a sugar fiend! But it turned out to be a really fun add-on; our mothers and my grandmother made mini pecan and buttermilk pies, brownies, cream cheese mints, and cake balls. I had also fallen in love with the idea of a simple white cake, with the main interest of the cake being it’s proportions; and I loved it! I also painstakingly made a vintage-style flag banner for the cake topper. I’m still very proud of it, since I’m not particularly skilled at being “crafty.”
We really wanted our personalities and creativity to show through in the wedding. We are a fun (of quirky) couple, and we love people deeply and value our heritage. One of the more quirky things we came up with was having our guests throw paper airplanes at us as we left for the night, which the groomsmen and groom hand-folded and stamped. I was also blessed to be able to wear Stephen’s grandmother’s wedding dress as we departed for the night, which was a really special thing.
We did have lots of handmade details. This is very cost effective, and it lets you really tailor your wedding to exactly how you imagine it. It also just makes it that much more enjoyable seeing the final product! We made our own programs, bridesmaid bouquets, centerpieces, favors, and I also made the toppers for the wedding cake.
One of my favorite details was our guest book, a fingerprint tree, which was made by a lovely Etsy artist, bleudetoi. Her hand-drawn tree print was then “signed” by the guests and now hangs in the wall of our home! So much more fun than just a sign-in book!
View all images from this wedding in the gallery
Wedding vendors (Spring, TX):
Wedding venue: Oak Tree Manor / Wedding photographer: Ryan Price / Wedding flowers: Kat Janssen / Wedding cake: Kathy’s Cakes / Bridesmaids’ dresses: Anthropologie / Fingerprint Tree Guestbook: Bleu de Toi
such a sweet wedding. loving the fall colors!
I was there… two of my little girls were flower girls and they traipsed down the grassy aisle barefoot – just like the bridesmaids. This was one of the most intimate and dreamy weddings I’ve ever attended. Every detail was beautiful and meaningful.
Those couples who won’t marry because economy is down should stop by your lovely blog and take inspiration in these couples.
What one can achieve with a bit of imagination and your inspirational posts…
Thank you!
So incredibly excited to see this wedding published on your site. I want to encourage everyone to click on the link below the last photo to see ALL of the incredible pictures from this wedding. PERFECT DAY!
Just proves you don’t have to spend a lot to have the most memorable event!
This couple is truly awesome in so many ways. One of the most fun people to be around! I’m so glad that you shared their amazing wedding with the world!!
I love the wall of frames
So lovely! The photography is gorgeous.
Great wedding details. I especially love the printed caricature of the couple on the paper plane! Very creative.
The lights on the tree are amazing – WOW!
What a perfect backyard wedding. The bride looks like a little doll. I love the family tree in wedding photo idea. Perfect.
Yay for intimate backyard weddings, tree altars and guys in suspenders! Oh, and for beautiful photography!
I was there and felt a part of a God-centerd fairytale! The details were all so like Katy and Stephen and made their wedding day wonderful!
Lovely set of photographs, the tree with all the lights looks an amazing backdrop. Nice work!