Our Wedding Day: House in the Trees

We always knew we wanted to get married at our house. And with COVID postponing ceremonies and shutting down courthouse nuptials, our house made even more sense as the perfect wedding venue. We bought the older-than-me home in early 2020 and spent the better part of a year fixing it up. Granted, it didn't need a ton of work, but it did need to be brought into the 21st Century with my modern farmhouse style. We held the ceremony on the first day of spring in 2021 in our yard. Tyler cut down a small tree to make our wedding arbor, and me and my friend decorated it.

A couple days before the ceremony, Tyler's family helped move our furniture to the basement, and my family helped decorate the tables and chairs for the reception. This was not a traditional wedding. Instead of having a wedding cake, we had a variety of cakes and cheesecakes from our favorite local bakery, Zukerino Pastry Shop. There were no groomsmen or bridesmaids, but we did have our nieces and nephew walk down the aisle. My childhood friend officiated the wedding -- after getting ordained just two days before the ceremony.

Photography by: Ruzin Cunningham -- we were already following each other on Instagram before I asked her to be my photographer. She takes gorgeous, moody pictures, and also specializes in elopements and small weddings.

Dress by: Bhldn -- I initially fell in love with their Willowby by Watters Hearst gown. Saw it online, loved it, tried it on in store, bought it in silver. But then I saw their Willow by Watters Capricorn gown on the website (sold out now). I knew I had to try it on. So, there I was, an owner of two wedding dresses. I ultimately decided on the Capricorn gown.

Makeup by: Leslie Reid Makeup -- since I'm no makeup artist, I decided to leave this to a professional. She came to my home, masked and shielded, and proceeded to beat my face for two hours. The end result was beautiful.

Hair by: Dionne James of Essence of Braids -- my hair was done by my local hairstylist who has been doing my hair since I moved to Atlanta. I went with my signature side braids, of course.

Bouquet by: Bridal Wish on Etsy -- my bouquet and other decor pieces for the wedding came from Etsy. I went with this vendor because they had what I was looking for in a bouquet: dried flowers, silk roses, pampas grass in earth tones.