Kansas Backyard Wedding
Jessica and James’ downhome backyard wedding was an adorable affair filled with charming DIYs by Jessica, who is a Prop and Set Stylist by profession. Her attention to detail paid off with the beautiful floral choices, place settings and the giant balloons! Shot by David and Kendrick for Our Labor of Love. Peonies, balloons and riding boots. What’s not to love about this wedding?
From the bride, Jessica: After our engagement we made a list of words to describe what we wanted out of our wedding. The words that continued to come up were celebration and romance. Intimacy was also a big one. Stylistically, we both have a thorough appreciation of shape and color, and we both share a vintage style; however, we also wanted to incorporate Jessica’s Kansas roots into the theme so “rustic vintage, with pops of color” felt right.
I knew that I wanted to be in control of the wedding planning and that we would be doing the decor ourselves. My mother shopped and collected milk glass throughout our engagement for the table flowers. She also did a great job of getting dishes and cool vintage decor. We had acquired some beautiful vintage china from a dear friend. We used it and supplemented with other great vintage place settings so every place was different but they all had the same feel. I got an old radio from Grandma’s barn. A frame of my mother’s used to house Polaroids…I was really happy with the final look.
Jessica’s mother had the idea for the bunting used around their upstairs and lower decks. She found some great vintage music books. With the help of a friend they cut out the pennants and strung them together with twine. The movement in the wind made them a hit!
I cleaned and separated all of the flowers the Thursday before (when they were shipped to us) but the day of the wedding I wasn’t able to do all of the arrangements myself. I left to get my hair done with only a handful of the table arrangements completed. Thankfully, my mother and her friends jumped in and finished the job. Don’t be afraid to let people help! I think it makes it even more special when your closest friends help you pull off something so amazing.
Advice for other couples planning their weddings now: Instead of looking at the wedding as something we had to do we tried to look at it as a celebration of something bigger than ourselves. We wanted to get our closest friends and family in one place and celebrate what love can do and how it can bring us together.
Wedding Vendors (Wichita, KS):
Wedding location: Jessica’s parents house / Flowers: the bride, ordered from Cut Flower Wholesalers. / Photographers: Kendrick Brinson and David Walter Banks, Our Labor of Love / Wedding dress and veil: Purchased at Kelly’s Closet, the gown was by Amy Kuschel / Bride’s jewelry: Highland Row Antiques in Atlanta. / Sandals: Walmart / Makeup (eyelashes): Sarah Pennington / Hair and Makeup: Platinum Salon / Bridesmaids’ dresses: JCrew / Bridesmaids’ shoes: Target / Groom’s suit: Express / Groom’s Alterations: Ann at Avondale Expert Alterations (404) 299-0096 / DJ: Tim Utter, Loverly Brothers DJ 316-871-1628 / Caterer: Bella Luna / Wedding Cake: Tina Brooks at Cake Affairs / Invitations: Kirksey Wells Transportation: Prestige Bus Charters
Love the boots and the sheets of music! Go, Kansas (says the former Missourian)!
I love that you always show weddings that are beautiful, full of warmth and great ideas, but also so ACCESSIBLE for all budgets.
This is such a great wedding! They look like they’re having a blast and the details are so sweet!
holy moly. another dreamy diy wedding shot by the brilliant our labor of love! the balloons, music sheet bunting and peonies galore literally took my breath away. i hope our little beach wedding is just as magical!
xo,
sylvie of silver lining
Love the balloons and all the great details she put together plus always love our labor of love images!!
Simply breathtaking! Everything is so crisp and beautiful!
Awwwww, a wedding from my hometown!!! How charming are these two!? I love it. Love, love, love it!
Ah I’m getting married in May and I love seeing pictures of my future dress on other women! I’ve been hoping to find a great example of precious cap sleeves and this is PERFECT! What perfect weather!
love the balloons! her dress is fabulous too.
what a stunning bride. i can only hope i look that vibrant and happy on my wedding day next october!
cheers,
*heather*
I am IN LOVE with that dress — perfect cap sleeves!
wonderful shots. that rifle tie clip is amazing!
I’m in love with the balloons and music sheets!
Those balloons are so fun! I love the windy day shots!
Her dress is gorgeous! and love the boots. Everything is so bright, pretty and fun!
Love love this wedding! I’m a wichitan and have found it really difficult to plan an authentic (not so cookie cutter) wedding here! Big props to this lovely couple for being individuals :)Totally planned on doing the rustic barn shots, where did u find the white barn?!
Thank you all for the lovely comments and thank you Ruffledblog for showcasing our day! The process was so fun. Having my parent’s backyard was a blessing.
The cap sleeves were great! I ordered extra fabric when I ordered the dress because we knew we’d add some sort of sleeve. She first attached thin straps that took the bulk of the weight and then added the cap sleeve over it. I loved it.
@Amy, We had a location scouted out at Eberly Farms but it rained hard that week and the ground was too wet so my dad and I went out (on the Thursday before!) and drove around West Wichita/Maize/Colwich area. I wanted open field, we stopped and knocked on the door of the old farm house, of course the owners were awesome and said we could shoot there! I’d suggest just going on a location scout near where your wedding will be – and ask sweetly!
AMAZING!!! Is it possible for anyone to tell me where I can find the balloons? We aren’t allowed to attach anything to the walls at my venue and I would like to take advantage of the high ceilings!! Thanks in advance!
Amy, Those are 3′ Latex balloons from:
https://www.balloonsnmore.com/shop/shopdisplayproducts-latex.asp?page=2
They are awesome! Be sure you have enough helium. We had a friend who had the large tank and we used the whole thing! Whatever you do don’t get the small helium tank sets (from target or walmart) it will only fill up 1.5 of those balloons.
My dad and his friend filled them up the day before. It took over an hour. Tying them (I’m told) was the hardest part. They were still looking great on Sunday so you may be able to do them 2 days ahead if you need to.
Good Luck! Sounds like a great idea! I loved how they covered the beams in the tent.
Amazing! Jessica, you are stunning… and you’re wearing our dress! We’re so flattered. Your whole event is beyond charming. XO Amy
Amy – such a lovely comment to read! The fabrics and perfect execution was amazing! The first time I tried it on it fit like a glove. And I love what it did in the wind…xoxo
Jessica
Hi, Jessica, I love the bridesmaid dresses! I’m looking for something similar for my bridesmaid. would you consider checking with your bridesmaids to see if one of them wants to sell theirs to me? you can contact me at [email protected] Thanks!