photobooth

When Jessica Strong, owner of A Vintage Affair Rentals, and Emily of Emily Elizabeth Photo sent these ‘backyard wedding celebration’ photos to us, we were smitten. We love the simplicity of the celebration and its uniqueness filled with DIY details by the bride and groom. They really made it ‘their day’ in every way. Oh, and the fabulous food truck…we absolutely love!

Here’s all the wonderful details from the blissful bride:

September 23, 2011 was the day of my wedding celebration. I was married to my Love, Reggie Lafaye on May 5, 2011 at the Starhouse near Boulder, Colorado with under 10 guests in attendance. This was exactly what we wished for – a small, sacred ceremony and then a super fun, happy party with all of our friends and family with us to celebrate our love.

My vision was one of celebration basked in the aesthetic of myself and my husband which is very earth connected, but still elegant and creative. Originally I wanted a bohemian carnival feel, like gypsies running through the night celebrating being alive! Had we a farm with tons of land, I think with my amazing wedding coordinator, Paige Domiano of Peekay Soiree, we could have achieved that. But since we chose to have our celebration at our home in the city, we had to tone it down a bit.

We still kept an undertone of carnival to the party. Paige made beautiful, mini hot air balloons that sat atop of the pillars as you entered our home. Our guest book, which people left finger prints instead of signatures, was a hot air balloon illustration done by Bluedetoi, a custom artist on Etsy. Several other ‘carnival’ touches were achieved through custom pieces. We have a local godsend in Denver, a company called A Vintage Affair Rentals, I choose to rent an old gumball machine that we filled with chocolate-covered peanuts. Also our bar was an old lemonade stand, which reminded me of an early 20th century carnival or fair. I also made a numbered checkered board for people to put their drinks on while dancing. That was a HUGE project! It took twice as long as I thought to stencil in all the numbers and paint them opposite colors.

104 Antonia and Reggie checkerboard cup holder

We had home-made caramel corn served in old school pop corn bags, and of

course the FOOD TRUCK! Nothing says carnival more to me than a food truck. And Steuben’s Food Truck did an outstanding job serving over 100 people amazing food.

That aesthetic was balanced by the more refined elegant Bohemian touches, which is my essence. I love the creativity of what a bohemian lifestyle is with a touch of old Hollywood glamour thrown in for good measure. My dress was made by Two birds. Since I wore a white dress to our ceremony I wanted something in color for the celebration. And I wanted that color to be a dark teal. The fabric was so soft and did not wrinkle! Also, it photographed beautifully and I was comfortable all night long. My husband wore a vintage suit of my grandfathers as an homage to him. He recently passed and was a very big influence in my life.

My best friend Mia and I made my bouquet out of peacock feathers. I wanted something that I could have forever, and have a rich and luscious feel (old Hollywood). It turned out so beautiful, especially since we made it the day of the celebration while we were getting our hair done! Thank God we are both good under pressure. We also made my husband’s boutonniere out of feathers as well.

The flowers were made by another one of my best girlfriends who is a genius when it comes to arranging. We used wild flowers with twigs and feathers. I wanted it to look like someone took a walk in the forest and collected these, and that is exactly how they came across. I found all different shapes of vases and spray painted them. Mostly in black, brown but a few white to give it contrast. They sat upon wood slices, some of which has tiny birdhouses next to them.

The lighting was mostly twinkle and gas lights with a lot of lanterns. I love the feel of lanterns especially when they have that gypsy quality to them. We hung the vintage lanterns from our oak tree and them randomly places the others around the yard. My husband and his father hung a ton of the twinkle lights above the dance floor. It looked amazing! That is where everyone gathered after we ate dinner, underneath the “stars” of the dance floor.

We did a lot of things ourselves but two of my favorite pieces I made were the photo booth backdrop and the party favors. The backdrop was totally tongue in cheek. It was a two wolves howling at the night sky that had a full moon and some extraterrestrial activity happening. Everyone, even my grandmother, was howling’ at the moon! And for the party favors, I wanted something that would be a keepsake, and that would not be thrown away. So I made stainless steel and leather key chains. They were all slightly different but very beautiful. I made a handful of them with fur and leather fringe for some of my girlfriends who like that look. They were made from recycled leather and fur I bought from Ebay and the stainless steel rings I bought at home depot.

Right after dinner and all of the toasts, we went to the front of the house for a group photo. Paige handed out sparklers to everyone and this is where the night turned up a notch. We took photos with all of the sparklers, and then headed to the back for a full-on dance party! I was on the dance floor all night long. It was once of the most incredible nights of my life. I was literally high off of all the happiness and love that everyone felt. It is a night I will never forget. I love and thank everyone who made this such a success.

VENDOR LOVE

Photography: Emily Elizabeth Photo
Catering: Steuben’s Food Truck
Desserts: Watercourse Bakery {mini ho ho’s, Happy Cakes – mini pies, homemade S’mores sticks}

Libations: Mondo Vino
Event coordinators: Peekay Soiree, Paige Domiano

Vintage Decor Rentals: A Vintage Affair rentals
Dress: Two Birds
Makeup by Angela Alonzo: angela.marie.alonzo@gmail.com
Hair: Love, a Hair Studio by artist Orleana Lynch
DJ: Eric Halborg of The Swayback

I’ve been a guest, maid of honor or planned a total of 6 weddings this summer and 3 out of 6 of them had a version of a photo booth. And, I loved them all. It’s a great way to capture your guests in their finest…or not so finest…poses. You never know what you’re going to see when the film is developed, but it brings out the fun in everyone.

Here are some snapshots from a old-fashioned photo booth at our friends wedding in San Diego. No props for this one…just a camera in a booth that brought out the silly in everyone. ShutterBooth or Booth 66 are great vendors to check out. The couple asked guests to take one strip of photos home and glue the other one in their guest book, along with a note.

This custom Amorology photo booth on Green Wedding Shoes served as a fantastic ambience, colorful backdrop for guests while they dined, and it was a fun and interactive activity for guests. Read here to learn more about the “wheel of fortune” on their photo booth, as well as cute props and decor.

DIY Photo Booths
With some plywood, wallpaper and frames {and a few other thing}, this photo booth is just darling.

I love the rustic feel of this photo booth from Style Me Pretty.

Vintage frames hung from a tree…this couple used it for an engagement photo session. Clever.

Ruffled Blog gives us a great how-to tutorial for a DIY photo booth.

Don’t forget all the fun props. Use Say Cheese Paper Props or buy your own treasure chest of hats, boas, glasses and more.

Jodi and Drew’s guests got into the snapshot action too. Crooked Willow Farms has a fantastic, built-in photo booth room with chests full of costumes and props.

{images via Pinterest, Apartment Therapy, Ruffled, Style Me Pretty, Green Wedding Shoes and Tutto Bella Blog}

antonia + reggie

Photo Booth Ideas

NEWSLETTER SIGN UP

HELLO & WORK WITH US

SEARCH

Recent Posts

Lemon and Lime Summer Party