This eclectic vintage botanical science inspired backyard Bay Area wedding is SO stocked full of goodness, we had to divide it all up into 3 digestible parts. Be sure to stick around as we reveal each one!!
Here’s what you can expect: our interviews with Jessica over at Storyboard Wedding – who styled and coordinated her sister’s botanical science inspired backyard wedding – as well as our interviews with the amazing couple themselves, Christy and James!
- Part 1 – Where in the world this eclectic vintage botanical science inspired backyard wedding theme came from! Including floral, color palette, DIY design and inspiration.
- Part 2 – Christy and James’ describe: their (hilarious) love story (which includes guns – yes, I said guns….), what it was like renovating their home for their wedding (oh, yes they did!), wedding traditions they kept and ditched. Plus getting ready photos and the first look
- Part 3 – All about that epic DIY chalkboard ceremony backdrop and the stories behind it’s creation. Plus, wedding planning advice and tips from Christy!
Yeah… you might want to cuddle up with a cup of tea for this one!! Don’t say we didn’t warn you….
Christy, what was the hardest thing to DIY?
“The hardest thing to DIY was by far the chalkboard ceremony backdrop. I had never really painted anything that large before, and being that it was the focal point of our ceremony, I was quite nervous! I had practiced hand lettering the few weeks leading up to the wedding and thought I had a pretty good handle on it. About 3 days before the wedding, I realized I couldn’t procrastinate anymore! I struck up a sketch of one that I had made and put that up on the board to copy. I was so concerned about my font skills, that I didn’t really proofread my work.
The next morning my sister called to tell me that in order to get the flowers to work the way we wanted, I would have to have the banner lower on the board. Figuring that there was no way that lightning could strike twice and I could recreate this ‘masterpiece,’ I started to rationalize why it would work – until I paused and said, … ’Oh … no, you’re right, I have to redo it’….. My sister paused and said, ‘oh?’ … to which I followed with….’Yeh, Uhm… I left out the ‘R’ in ‘Chemistry’’. Opps!
Obviously, I was always more concerned about the lettering than the spelling as when I really looked at my sketches, I realized I had left the ‘R’ out on all of them as well!!! James’ family was over that day helping with wedding projects and not one person noticed that the ‘R’ was missing. We all had a great laugh as we realized that our backdrop, the key focal point of ALL the pictures, ALMOST said ‘We have Chemisty’ and no one caught it. Turns out, it really is true what they say… “engineers can do a lot of things, but don’t ask them to spell anything for you!”
Jessica, describe that gorgeous ceremony backdrop everyone’s been drooling over in detail:
“While every over detail involved in the wedding was dreamy, it really was the ceremony backdrop that was the true lifeblood and focal point of everything. Nothing short of impressive, the ceremony backdrop was 8 feet tall by 16 feet wide, hand drawn by Christy and James, using my sister’s chemistry notes from college. In an effort to tie in a more botanical feel, the backdrop was surrounded by a garland mix of silver dollar eucalyptus, agonis, green bay leaf and seed willow eucalyptus. Something of such size required a sizable floral accent which we wanted to keep asymmetrical as well. The showpiece was placed in the upper left hand corner featuring a gorgeous mix of dahlias of varying red hues and petal type, roses, chocolate cosmos, veronica, ranunculus and blushing bride protea – just to name a few. To balance out the focal arrangement, two smaller bursts were featured along the sides in an echo of style. The end result was a stunning backdrop that perfectly framed the couple during their nuptials and then immediately became the backdrop for everyone’s photographs throughout the night!”
Interviews continue below gallery (told you, you’d be here for a while ;) ;) …
Christy, what did you love most and what was your favorite moment of the day?
“Hands down, our favorite moment of the day was our vows. James and I are very much in love, but are not the overly romantic type. So when it came time to write our vows, it was time to really put it all out there. Standing up in front of a group of our closest family and friends and declaring our love for one another, was an extremely powerful experience. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house.”
Christy, let’s talk traditions! What did you: Keep, Ditch, and Make Your Own? (continued from part 2)
Made Our Own: Ceremony
“The biggest thing we made our own was the ceremony itself. James and I really wanted to make the entire day unique to us. It was also extremely important to both of us that the ceremony be light hearted and fun! Fun being the keyword. When we realized we couldn’t marry ourselves, we decided to enlist my brother-in-law, Truly. He is a phenomenal speaker and I knew that he would be the one to just ‘get’ what we were after for our wedding ceremony.
We kept trying to meet up over the months to review what he was going to say for the ceremony, but being that we are on opposite coasts, timing was never really in our favor.
Little did I know, that was a blessing in disguise. James and I had no idea what Truly was going to say until we were up there getting married. It was completely wonderful and even more special, as it felt like we were guest at our own wedding!
Truly’s ceremony was full of fun, stories, and science! James and I are so thankful and excited that that was something we let be entirely up to him.”
Christy, now that it’s been about a month from the wedding, let’s talk about any advice you have for other planning their own weddings?
Do: Step Away From Pinterest!
“There has to be cut off point when you decide to not look at pinterest anymore. You have to physically start to do things or else you’ll have this lovely ‘pinterest wedding,’ and nothing to actually show for it in the real world! So my advice is to give yourself time to really hone in on what you want but give yourself, a hard deadline that you will NOT look at anything else. Otherwise, you will never actually start to do your tasks as you’ll always be second guessing yourself or comparing your wedding to someone else’s.”
Don’t: Try to handle EVERY DETAIL on your own, hire a Wedding Coordinator!!
“This was probably my biggest mistake. Do not try to handle every last detail on your own. Have a wedding coordinator or someone who is ‘in charge’ that is NOT YOU! People generally WANT to help you when they offer their help, so do yourself a favor and anytime you make a ‘to-do’ item put next to it who would be great at that task. Trust at least one or two people to take over things for you. Don’t try to do it all on your own or you’ll be so stressed out you won’t even want to have your wedding… which is not ok. Luckily for me, I had my sister to help with all the styling and flowers and James’ Mom to help me with the ‘logistics’ of everything. If it wasn’t for them, I have no idea how our wedding would have been a success. I definitely owe them for life!”
Do: Hire a Professional Wedding Photographer!!
Why was hiring a professional wedding photographer so important to you?
“Hiring a professional wedding photographer was so important to us because the entire wedding day was a complete blur!! It goes by so fast – it’s just crazy and kind of unbelievable!! We were purely living in the moment on the wedding day and if it was not for wonderful photographer documenting every last detail, moment and emotion – we would have missed a lot of key moments. It was almost like enjoying the wedding twice once we got our photos back! It is something so special that you can physically hold onto forever once everything else has been enjoyed and used up…”
What did you love most about collaborating with Angie Capri as your wedding photographer?
“Fun and Bubbly Personality: Check
Easy Going and Flexible: Check
Imaginative and Creative: Check
Great Photographer: Double Check!!!
If you’re visiting this website you’re probably scouring the internet to find a great photographer to shoot your special day. Well look no further you have found her! Angie Capri Photography is the one stop shop you’re looking for. From Boudoirs to Baby Showers Angie can do it all.
This is what really attracted me to Angie, every single one of her photos in her portfolio was flawless! Each client no matter what shape, size, age, WHATEVER they were ALL beautiful!!! This is how I knew that I could trust Angie to take our wedding photos and ensure we had some GREAT memories to look back on.
The day of the wedding Angie showed up right on time and began shooting RIGHT AWAY. She got to work and did not stop until she was satisfied with what she got. That is a real virtue! Having a photographer that takes each session very personally to be sure it fulfills their clients wants and needs is really special. Especially when you are a bride! You can’t be stopping to look at the camera to see if she got the shot. She just DOES!
Fast forward to the big reveal and …
Holy CRAP you guys! We looked like a million bucks! Who were these people that Angie managed to capture? Each time we look at the photos we got pretty sappy because one thing you’ll notice about Angie’s photos is there are NO standard poses and stiff positions. All of her photos flow and move and capture the real emotion of the moment. I don’t know how she does it but looking back through our photos its as if you’re re-living the entire day from all the many photos she took and her special editing to make sure what was really important shined through!
My husband and I were very pleased with Angie’s services! If you’re having any doubts just have a look at her portfolio! It really does speak for itself!”
What do you think you could have lived without?
“Rushing to the finish line! One thing that I heard before I got married is, “just enjoy being engaged before you start planning your wedding.” I always thought this was funny as the point of being engaged is to get married, so why would I wait? However, in one way I really do wish that we did enjoy our engagement a bit longer. The way that weddings are planned these days, I think forces a lot of couples to pick a date that fits best with what the ‘venue’ has available, but make sure you take time for yourself and your fiancé too. Everything usually works out, so don’t let the stress of trying to have everything perfect rush you. Take your time and enjoy the process.”
Any FINAL Tips for couple planning their wedding?
“Communication and Prioritization: I found that planning a wedding was a lot like planning a play or production. There are A LOT of moving parts. The one thing that kept us sane during the entire process was constantly communicating and prioritizing when things got a little overbearing. Make sure you and your significant other are always on the same page and know when to cut things from your to-do list. Always re-prioritize and always keep moving forward.”
The Team:
Photographer: Angie Capri Photography // Florals & Styling: Storyboard Wedding // Wedding dress: Maggie Sottero – Chesney // Sash: Wtoo Bridal Accessories by Watters Bridal // Veil: Bel Aire Bridal // Hair: Katie Miller, Vamp Salon // Make Up: Erika Miller, Vamp Salon // Shoes: Betsy Johnson // Jewelry: Bauble Bar // Cake: TL Cakes of Brentwood // Invitations: Ink Topiary // Wooden “His” & “Her” signs: Host & Toast // // Rentals: Got A Party // Food: Kinder’s BBQ // Venue: Private Residence, Brentwood, CA