How To Turn A Garden Wedding Into A Living Art Nouveau Painting!
Art inspires us, even if we know little or nothing about it. A style or time period may speak to you in ways that only you truly understand but the innovation it provides when fully realized is what makes some of the most impressive designs. This next wedding is one of those masterpieces that we would never have seen coming, the combination of a midsummer garden party with the delightful whimsy and grace of the Art Nouveau!
Keep scrolling to find out how these two themes came to be a fully fleshed out wedding day and be sure to visit the full gallery here to see every last one of Wedding Nature Photography's beautiful images.
Dress Dreams!
From the Bride: My Claire Pettibone dress was an absolute dream. I saw it online a few years ago, but it was no longer purchasable on her website. I figured it was gone for good. Turns out, there was enough fabric to make one more dress, so I ran to her LA-based salon as quickly as possible. I tried on the dress and it was even more magnificent than I could imagine. I was lucky enough to get the last Heart’s Desire dress in existence and it just seemed like fate.
One of our favorite memories was spending time alone together between cocktails and the reception. We were done with portraits and we took the small window of time to walk around the beautiful venue and reflect on the fact that we had just gotten married!
Garden Party to Living Art
My family has Scandinavian ancestry that I have always felt strongly connected to. In 2015, Michael and I traveled there just before their midsummer celebrations and were so captivated by the ethereal beauty that surrounded us. A Midsummer Garden party seemed like the perfect atmosphere to emulate for our wedding. With Midsummer magic floating in my head, I began to refine our vision. I wanted to make every choice perfectly harmonious.
To provide our theme with a more refined design lens, I paired it with the supporting vision of Jugenstil (also know as Art Nouveau). Our color palate actually comes directly from the Jugendtil buildings that we saw while exploring the streets of Ålesund, Norway. I decided to take on a majority of the design details myself.
DIY projects
Some of the DIY projects that we took on included: invitations and save-the-dates, our altar Maypole, ceremony awning floral ribbons, decorative plates and boxes, seating chart and ceremony timeline (including a Jugedstil-style illustration of me and Michael in our wedding garb!), menus, painted lanterns, lace tambourines, and custom napkins, coasters and pillows. Ask for more details!
Taking on so many projects was definitely stressful but so rewarding. Our wedding day was unique to us and nothing seemed forced. Our guests were so appreciative of the time that we put into everything and commented on how sincere and effortless the day felt.
A Tradition for Every Detail
Our venue was naturally filled with a plethora of gorgeous flowers and we wanted the floral arrangements to look like they were plucked from the garden. There is a Scandinavian Midsummer tradition that says if you pick 7 types of flowers and place them under your pillow, you’ll dream of your future husband. It makes for such a perfect story for a wedding bouquet, so our florist did just that.
Our cake was a beautifully handcrafted kransekake, which is a traditional dessert for Scandinavian celebrations. Our amazingly talented friend and baker Deeann Moss took on the challenge of creating her first kransekake just for our big day. Everybody loved it!
- Bridesmaid Dresses: ASOS
- Cakes & Catering: Deeann Moss (Friend)
- DJ: PRISM DJ's
- Favors & Gifts: Kirstin Makela (bride)
- Flowers: Casi Cielo Events and Flowers
- Gowns & Veils: Claire Pettibone
- Hair & Makeup: All Tressed Up
- Jewelry: Petal Spell Jewelry
- Photographers: Wedding Nature Photography
- Rentals: Command Performance Catering
- Rentals: Maravilla Gardens