Color explodes from Kimber & Kaylee's boho wedding

The Offbeat Bride: Kimber, Graphic designer/Photographer/Illustrator

Her offbeat partner: Kaylee, Doggy daycare worker

Date and location of wedding: Grandparent's backyard in Melrose, FL (on Lake Santa Fe) — April 11, 2015

Our offbeat wedding at a glance:

I joked around for a while that our theme was “things we like.” It was difficult for us to decide on just one direction. Eventually, I realized that the common link between my interests was color. A rainbow of pom-poms, embroidery hoops, flamingos, and ribbon all played a part in our overall vision. I have always been artsy, and after helping design and decorate a few friends' weddings in the last year, I was super excited to get to work on my own finally.

Tell us about your boho wedding ceremony:

Our ceremony space was surrounded by giant oak trees covered in Spanish moss and right next to the lake's edge. Although the environment itself was breathtaking, we spent two months making around 400 yarn pom-poms attached to skewers to line the aisle. I wanted to infuse color in as many ways as I could.

The addition of three rugs that we found on clearance also helped to brighten the space. I liked the idea that we would be able to bring the rugs back into our home and keep that little piece of our ceremony forever.

One of the last details I worked on before the wedding was our program. I am absolutely in love with the idea of infographic programs, and I also included drawings of the bridal party on the backside.

Our bridal party wore an array of colors from light blue to bright pink and carried handmade bouquets made from embroidery hoops and vintage doilies instead of flowers. Kaylee loves to fish, so I added color to fishing lure boutonnieres by adding fun feathers and yarn.

The ceremony itself was very short and sweet. We wrote our vows ourselves with help from this post.

Tell us about your boho wedding reception:

I learned that DIY weddings can make for great bonding experiences during the planning time period. We spent countless hours working together to create as much of our decor as we could. We made a massive rainbow backdrop out of crepe paper to hang behind our table.

We hung embroidery hoops of brightly colored lace fabrics from satin ribbon along one side of the porch and in a neighboring tree. Our centerpieces consisted of colored vases we had collected and dried flowers purchased from two shops on etsy. I made all of the napkins from a stash pile of fabric. Each place setting had a different pattern/color.

One of the most fun things we did was search thrift stores constantly until we found enough mismatched china plates. I had no idea how hard that was going to be until we had a dry spell for a few months. If you plan to do this for your wedding, start early!My favorite part of our dessert bar was the cute macarons.

We kept debating on whether or not to get a dance floor. I knew our guest list was pretty small (40 people), and I wasn't sure if it would be worth it. How was I supposed to know how many people would dance? We took a chance, and I am so glad that we did! People filled the dance floor all night. The party went on long after we thought it would be done.

What was your most important lesson learned?

I think the most important lesson I learned is that it really does take a village. I may have spent over a year making the decor and planning, but I could never have done the set up without the help of our family and friends. We did not really have “guests” at our wedding, because there was not one person in attendance who didn't help in one way or another. Everyone worked together to create our vision, and I will be eternally grateful for that. Seeing all of the wonderful people in our lives come together to make our special day happen was something I will never be able to fully describe.