Spring garden real wedding ~ Katie Stoops Photography

We have lots of DIY details and spring wedding ideas in today's wedding which goes to show you can stylishly incorporate home-made items easily into a chic fine art wedding style. Katie Stoops captured Kate and Steve's day filled with personalised mason jar drinks with striped straws, home made fans, wool-wrapped table numbers and 'bride' and 'groom' chair-backs. Kate's stunning J Crew dress coupled with the bridesmaids' floral Jill Stuart dresses make for such a beautiful Spring style garden theme. Here's the lovely bride, Kate, to fill us in on the finer details... "We met the old fashioned way - on an internet dating site. After a couple months of talking online, we met for drinks and had an instant connection. A year and a day after our first date, Steve proposed at the Ritz Carlton hotel in Half Moon Bay, California, with the most gorgeous ring I had ever seen (of course, I’m biased)! Looking back on it now, I really enjoyed planning the wedding and I am actually a little envious of my friends who are in the process of planning their own weddings now. I will admit that at the time, it was really stressful. Steve and I picked a venue that was really just a venue. We had to find and coordinate everything else on our own – from the tent and light fixtures to the outdoor restrooms. It was a lot of work, but Steve and I appreciated having control over every little detail of the wedding. The two of us made a good team – he took control of reviewing all of the contracts and coordinating with the vendors, and I took control of all of the creative and aesthetic aspects of the wedding.  We knew we wanted an outdoor wedding, and the Oatlands had the most beautiful grounds we had seen.   Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops The theme we wanted for the wedding was a garden party! My bridesmaids wore floral dresses, we had floral patterned fans for our guests to use, the centerpieces were flower boxes, the gift bags had paper birds on them, and even the escort cards sat in a box with moss and succulents.  We encouraged our guests to dress casually – sundresses for the ladies, and khakis for the gentlemen.   Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops I really enjoy being crafty, so I did a lot of the decorations by myself. I had a lot of fun and have since thought about helping other brides with crafting things for their wedding as a side business.  I designed, and in most cases made, the Save the Date, ‘Welcome’ chalkboard, program, lemonade glasses and tags, gift card box, lemonade stand and gift table runners, ‘greenhouse’ card holder, table numbers, favor bags, pie stands and labels, escort cards, escort card boxes, my veil. One of my best friends did all of the calligraphy for the wedding invitations.  Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops In terms of music for the day, we used the classic song Canon in D for the processional. For the recessional, the string quartet played Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You. Our first dance was to Ray LaMontagne’s You Are The Best Thing. Our favourite memory from the day was definitely having all of our friends in family in one place. I can’t think of another time that will ever happen. Also, we loved getting down on the dance floor to our favorite cheesy 90’s pop music.  Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops Photography ~ Katie Stoops If I had any advice for those planning their weddings now I would say take it all in! The planning will be stressful, but make sure you let it all go once the wedding weekend begins. Relax and enjoy every second of it! And most important, remember not to take anything too seriously. No one will notice if the caterer used two different table cloths. At the end of the day, all that matters is that you will be marrying the love of your life! " I'd love to hear what your thoughts are on the whole First Look aspect of your wedding photography! Are you more traditional and don't want your groom to see you until the walk up the aisle or do you want to take some of that pressure away by sneaking half an hour with him before the ceremony? A huge thanks to Katie Stoops for featuring this beautiful Spring wedding! Vendor details: Photographer: Katie Stoops // Videographer: Dolce Studio Films  // Venue: The Oatlands // Wedding Gown: J Crew // Shoes: Kate Spade // Bridesmaid Dresses: Jill Stuart (purchased at Bloomingdales) // Groom's Suit: Hugo Boss // Groomsmen's Suits: their own // Florals: Loda Floral Design // Food: Well Dunn Catering // Tent & Rentals: Capital Party Rentals // Invitations & Paper: Minted // DJ: Brian King from Superlative Events