weddings: Alex + Beau

Alex and Beau are two of the coolest, most down-to-earth, beautiful people I know.  I first met Beau as a neighbor in Huntington Beach, CA a few years ago, and along came Alex about a year later!  Being witness to their relationship as it grew and flourished, their engagement, and ultimately their wedding makes this a very special story for me to share!

all images by Mark Brooke Photographers (my idols, remember?!)

Beau and Alex's engagement photos are what initially got me pumped on the idea of photography as a career; I didn't know it in those exact terms at the time, but the images of this gorgeous couple by the talented Mark Brooke REALLY inspired me.

Anyway, on to the actual wedding!  A TON of Alex and Beau's October wedding details were executed by the lovely Alex herself.  I remember being at her bridal shower and watching her squeal with joy as she opened a sewing machine as one of her gifts!  She had so many amazing ideas that contributed to a delightfully rustic, cottage-chic wedding ambiance.

Here are a few of my favorite Beau + Alex wedding highlights (in terms of Alex's DIY style):

1. Burlap.  Alex used that fancy new Singer she got at her shower to sew burlap table runners.  Combined with the soft peach of the flowers I think the color and texture of the burlap gave an exquisitely romantic vibe to the reception.

2. Scrabble tiles.  These wooden letters were a great theme throughout the reception: they served as table number markers, labels for the box for cards, and phrases spelled out on the wedding party "info" table, for lack of a better description.

3. Mason jars.  There were mason jars at each table with tealights that were lit once the reception progressed from afternoon to evening.  Short mason jars were also used for the wedding favors: take-home-and-bake-yourself individual apple pies!  They were DELISH, too!  :)

4. The bouquet.  Alex constructed a STUNNING (albeit heavy) bouquet of vintage brooches and miscellany jewels, many of which had some kind of significance to the bride and groom.  You can see the "A" and "B" Scrabble tiles, and there was also an American flag to symbolize Beau's service in the U.S. Marine Corps (and his tour of duty in Iraq).  It was a lovely arrangement that Alex can of course hold on to for a long time without worrying about drying flowers!

5. Lighting.  As the ceremony was held in the late afternoon, plus the day was a overcast, the decision for strings of white lights and paper lanterns was a winner!  As day turned into night, the combination of lanterns and exposed bulbs created a perfect, warm ambiance under the tent at the reception.

And before you wonder to yourself who the weirdo on the right is, with her little Olympus point-and-shoot, let me tell you: it's ME! Ha!

What a gorgeous event, right?  Made all the more lovely by Alex and Beau's crazy love for each other; they are seriously the sweetest little lovebirds I know.

Stay tuned in the next couple of weeks for more on these two; I have a photo shoot scheduled with them for early June and look forward to sharing the images with you here!