DIY English Garden Wedding: Thrifty Decor & Heartfelt Memories

Bride holding a vibrant bouquet of roses and other wedding flowers

Thrifty weddings are some of our favorite! Not only are they the friendliest to your budget but the eclectic miss matched decor elements are a shabby chic delight!
Beautifully photographed by Elissa R Photography, Stephanie and Aaron's English garden DIY backyard wedding has plenty of ideas for you to steal! Plus there is always more to see in the full gallery.

Bride's hairstyle with flower crown and veil, wedding inspiration

Elegant bride in a white dress smiles during a forest wedding

Groom with boutonniere and bride smile at each other in a wedding

The Perfect Wedding Hair

Not only was the brides hair beautifully adorned with fresh flowers but so were all her bridesmaids! We love all of the beautiful styles that each girl chose to rock on this special day. Have you decided how you are going to wear your hair? If you are in need of a few more ideas you can find the perfect wedding hairstyle here!

Woman with fishtail braid hairstyle, smiling with flowers

Bridesmaids with bouquets, showcasing floral hair accessories and dresses

Woman in a blue dress holds a vibrant wedding bouquet

Making Fun Memories

There were tons of tiny details that weren't exactly as planned (I accidentally walked down the aisle with a table centerpiece and not my bridal bouquet!) but these things have become endearing memories we all laugh about. After months of working together on all of the various moving parts that make up a wedding, the event itself arrived to find us all closer than we could have every imagined.

Wedding invitation hanging on a wooden fence, natural and elegant

Wedding ceremony setup with heart-shaped sign and chairs in woods

Ring bearer carrying a pillow that says I love you more at wedding

Bride walking down the aisle with her father at outdoor wedding

Wedding flowers next to a newlywed couple kissing

Rainy day wedding favors: umbrellas and colorful flip flops

DIY-ing up a storm

We went into planning our wedding with the goal of keeping everything as meaningful and genuine to who we are as possible, so we decided to have the wedding in my in-law's beautiful back yard, in the space where my husband grew up.

Anywhere that we could cut a professional service, we did: - the food was cooked by my husband's chef friends - the dishware thrifted over 6 months by my mother-in-law and her sisters - the tables were borrowed from my workplace - my father-in-law and my husband's uncles built the dance floor - they also built the steps on the hill leading up to the ceremony spot

Outdoor event tables set for a celebration with white chairs and plates

Wedding reception table setting with antique plates and reserved sign

Rustic wedding decor with heart wreath and glass personalization station

Helping Hands

The groomsmen were our laborers. My bridesmaids painted all our signs and everyone in the area did their best impression of a magpie and hoarded all the sweet English garden details they could find. It was a lot of work but I was, over and over again, absolutely thunderstruck by the millions of ways that all of our friends and families brought such thoughtfulness, creativity, and love to the creation of our wedding.

Three-tiered wedding cake decorated with yellow flowers and greenery