A Whimsical Backyard Wedding With Father Of The Bride Vibes

Illustrated wildflowers and geometric motifs took center stage in this whimsical backyard wedding at the Bride’s family home in Chicago. We couldn’t help but feel all the Father of the Bride vibes as we glimpsed each frame from True Grace Photography, simply bursting with sentiment. Keeping everyone’s safety top of mind, the socially distanced layouts from the tree-canopied ceremony to the romantic tent dinner could not have been more photogenic. Kristen and Fabian enlisted the help of Chicago Vintage Weddings to bring their story to life in a way that was safe, yet tasteful, and we will be marveling at their garden party inspired designs for years to come. Don’t you just love the monogrammed masks, peach-infused centerpieces and textured table linens? Don’t even get us started on the raining petals from Atmosphere Events Group! See K+F’s whimsical backyard wedding day unfold in the images below.

From the Planner & Designer, Chicago Vintage Weddings: Kristen and Fabian, my amazing planning clients, were originally planning a 300 person wedding on the lake in downtown Chicago for October. Like so many other couples in 2020, they were forced to change plans and postpone their big event until the end of 2021. However, they didn’t want to wait to tie the knot, so they hired me to plan and design their intimate backyard wedding at the bride’s family home.

We started working on this in June and brought it all together for August 22. Creating an intimate, personalized atmosphere was very important to the couple. We wanted to focus on design and make the guests feel that they were walking into a magical, special event that was totally in line with the couple’s laid back style. The bride’s brother officiated and we kept everything open air–with a lot of focus on distancing, even down to the monogrammed masks–so that people would be safer and feel more comfortable. After the ceremony the family’s next door neighbor shot off fireworks, then the couple took a quick spin in her dad’s MG.

There wasn’t any dancing for safety reasons, so instead we hosted a long, multi-course dinner with small plates and a very thoughtful menu that we developed with the couple’s caterer. We had live music the whole time and the grotto where the musicians played lit up with sparkling lights in the trees as the sun went down. At the end of the night, the couple was so thrilled with the decor in the tent that they decided to sleep in it! My personal favorite detail was the cake! We were so excited to do something playful and different, totally unlike our plans for the original cake. It’s bright and summery, with a big garland of sugar flowers to coordinate with our real flowers. We kept it on a simple vintage crystal cake stand and got a special flowing linen to complete the look. The best thing about this day was the FEELING of it. Even as a vendor, there was so much love and happiness in the air. This couple is truly amazing and so kind, and it wasn’t surprising that their closest people were the same way. It felt like being part of the happiest little club in the world!