16
May 2014

Brianna + Nathan

DIY Backyard Wedding with a Framed Letter Ceremony Backdrop

Nathan and Brianna had a beautiful backyard wedding. Brianna took care of the decorations almost on her own, and tried to incorporate many personal references to their own story (as the frozen banana stand she built as a reminder of the TV show Arrested Development the couple used to watch together at the beginning of their story!). I personally think that those framed letters and messages make the perfect ceremony backdrop, and what to say about the fact that this wedding gathered lamas, ponys and chickens? Photography by Aubrey & Phillip for Yes, Dear. Studio, out of San Diego, USA.

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The wedding took place on June 22, 2013 in Olympia, WA, USA, at The Albee’s. From the bride:

One of the first times Nathan and I hung out just the two of us, I had crafted (and by this, I definitely mean spent at least half an hour writing and editing) a well-worded text inviting him to watch a movie with me. We ended up watching Arrested Development and talking until about three in the morning and many of the jokes from the show became things we said to each other throughout our friendship and then, the time we dated. We thought it would be fun to incorporate this into our wedding and originally, had only planned on serving chocolate covered bananas until one of the groomsmen, Austin, suggested we actually have a banana stand at the wedding. The month before the wedding, I spent a good ten hours (at least) planning and building what became the Dupper’s Original Frozen Banana Stand. Our friend Shirlee served as Mr. Manager and it was one of my favorite parts of our wedding. 

I had never been one of those girls with their wedding planned out in their head and when it came time to actually think about my own, the only thing I had strong feelings about was wanting a vintage dress. I have always had an appreciation for vintage fashion and knew that when it came to my wedding dress, I wanted vintage, particularly 50’s or 60’s. After searching online for nearly two months and searching a random assortment of LA and Seattle thrift stores, I had kind of given up hope of finding something. I had read online about this shop called Shareen’s, which is girl’s only (because there are no fitting rooms-girls just change wherever there is room) and is a warehouse full of vintage dresses from every era. Faith, one of my bridesmaids, and I decided to check it out early one morning and after getting lost in the middle of Chinatown twice, we found this hole in the wall store filled to the brim with vintage dresses galore. The sales girl had me try on at 20 or so dresses, all from different time periods, but nothing was working. As the disappointment set in, she ran to the back to find one more and minutes later came out with the perfect-fitting, Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face, 50’s gown that ended up coming home with me. I left with dress in hand and glad that this adventure was finally over.

 

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Regarding the wedding, one thing you regret… 

I really liked the bridesmaids dresses, but I think if I could change anything, I would have them pick their own. Other than that, I think I’m pretty happy about how things turned out. 

Oh! Not eating more of the Wedding pie we had. I had a slice and it was delicious and I wish I could have had more. Does that count?

 

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… And one thing you’re really happy about/ proud of.

The look and feel of our wedding turned out to fit our personalities, which was what we were going for. We wanted something simple and fun because we felt like our wedding should be a relaxed time to celebrate the commitment we made with the people we care about. A lot of thought and care went into the decorations, music, food and well, everything else. I think it all came together and that we had exactly the day we wanted. If I had to say one thing I’m proud of, it would probably be decorations. I spent so much time, especially with the hand-lettered signs and banana stand, and was glad to see everything fit together nicely once it was all done.

 

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27
Mar 2014

Carmen + Santiago

Styled Gypsy Inspired Wedding

I love the gypsy culture. It really fascinated me younger, the music, the independence of the people… I’d watch every gypsy-related movie so when the photographers told me they got inspired by the movies of Kusturica for this shoot, I was intrigued and knew I’d love it. And I did! But above all, this works sends once again the message that weddings can be much simpler than what we imagine. Photography by Garance et Vanessa, a photographer duo out of France.

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The word of the photographers.

We’d been thinking for long time ago about this inspiration shooting. We took our inspiration from the work of the photographer Ian McKell, who worked on the new gypsys, and the movies of Kusturica… We adapted it for a wedding inspiration, a little bit more clean and cute, but still rock n’roll !

The announcement of the publishing of the guide for young brides and grooms “Mariette” by Julie and Chris came right on time, so we decided to take the opportunity and do the shoot.

All of a sudden we had to find the dress, the couple, the wedding planners, the illustrators. Then came the place, the furnitures, the makeup artist, some friends available to pose too. And then, the horse, the horse wagon, the groom’s costume, the right colors of ribbons… Not to forget the guests costumes, the lace for the bride’s hair, and the vintage dressing table!

Then we had to find a date where everybody would be available, with a day more in case of storm, hurricane or tsunami.

We had to think about the catering, the straw ball and the pretty beer bottles…

And then finally, we crossed our fingers very strongly for the rain that was falling during the three days before the shoot to stop. And for the wind to stop too… And for the temperature to raise just a little bit!

In the end everything went so fast! The rain stopped, we became accustomed to the fresh wind of the Ardeche mountains… And every contributor was perfect, our friends were amazing, they really played the game. And the sun came out just in time for the golden hour!

To sum up, we almost got married this summer!

 

24
Mar 2014

Letícia + Uelinton

Skydive Wedding with a Ring Exchange on the Plane and an Actual Parachute Jump

What’s more natural for a couple of skydivers than to get married on a plane, right before a parachute jump? This was the wedding of Letícia & Uelinton. Lucky for them, the bridesmaids and groomsmen are all skydivers—if not instructors or world champions in their discipline—and could fly up in the air with them. They had a reception with appetizers & cakes on the ground for the non-skydivers, but the actual wedding is considered to be that moment in the sky, when they exchanged their rings and then skydived for the first time as a married couple. How romantic?
These photos were taken by a husband and wife duo that I had the honour of meeting, several times actually (because we liked each other a lot!), Fabio and Julia of Duo Borgatto. For the story, Fabio did some skydiving lessons so it was ok for him to go with the couple! They’re both gonna be in France from June 20 until July 23 before possibly moving over here for good in 2015 (YAY!!), so if you’re still looking for a photographer to shoot your wedding, search no longer!
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You May French Kiss the Bride

You May French Kiss the Bride is a creativity-stimulating website for crazy-in-a-good-way photographers and couples. We are Joana and Marcio and we think you’re the best. Be in love. Be yourself—and let it spill over the web!

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