Matt & Lindsay’s Intimate Durham Backyard Wedding
These two had quite the adventure of wedding planning. Since they booked us, they’ve had 3 or 4 different venues in various stages of finalization, but ultimately settled on a Durham backyard wedding at a beautiful AirBNB. And an intimate backyard wedding was the perfect fit for their day. There were about 30 people present, and just as many dinosaurs, so I feel like that’s a win.
And not only was it a non-traditional venue, but the day overall was pretty nontraditional, with a morning ceremony, brunch following that, and then a casual hang later in the evening. And it was perfect. I feel like I can’t say it enough: build a wedding that suits you, the people getting married, not one that conforms to arbitrary (and oftentimes outdated) traditions.
Lindsay & Matt did still have a good team helping bring the day together though.
Durham Backyard Wedding Vendors:
Venue: AirBNB
Officiant: Magical Weddings by Carly
Lindsay & her mom’s hair and makeup: Bella Trio Salon, Jodi & Lydia
Music: AMAZING PLAYLISTS done by the couple. Thinking about developing a rider now that requires couples to play Taylor Swift during family formals
Florals: Ninth Street Flowers
Lindsay’s dress: Theia Couture from Lovely Bride DC
Matt’s suit: Jos. A. Bank
Catering: Monuts and Early Bird Donuts
Cake: family member
Photos: Kivus & Camera of course – we also did their engagement session with their adorable pup
Durham Backyard Wedding Photos
Let’s start at the AirBNB. Isn’t this the perfect setting for a fall wedding? Lindsay & Matt had tons of cute details and decorations set up all over the house, but my favorites were the dozens of toy dinosaurs. Note that this is *not* the first wedding where I’ve accessorized ring shots with dinosaurs. Alicia & Jon had some dino friends too!
Matt spent the morning getting ready and make sure everything was in place for the ceremony. The gentleman in the plaid had the honor of music control during the ceremony.
Meanwhile, Lindsay & her mom started the day at Bella Trio Salon over by the DBAP, before heading to the AirBNB to get dressed. Yay for sparkly Keds as wedding shoes!
Once Lindsay was dressed, we made time for a quick first look. This is a surefire way to calm any sort of nerves before walking down the aisle.
The backyard was set and ready for vows and rings under one of the giant trees. Matt and Lindsay both walked in with their parents.
The ceremony was personal and beautiful! Carly, the officiant, and I are instagram friends but this was our first time working together. Highly recommend!
Also, the dinosaur theme permeated the ceremony, with one of the readings being about dinosaurs falling in love. Perfection!
Vows, rings, a kiss, and a woohoo! They’re officially official.
And they had baby witnesses to prove it. The babies’ respective parents did the actual filling out of the marriage license of course, because babies have notoriously bad handwriting.
When you’ve got a list of 30 family/friend formals to get through, sometimes you just need a break for a biscuit and a donut from Monuts.
And look at this perfect brunch spread that was waiting after we made our way through group portraits. Rock candy for breakfast! One of Lindsay’s friends was using a rock candy stick to swirl her Bellini, and that was ingenious.
And now, some newlywed portraits.
That wraps up the morning festivities, but I headed back over that night for some more celebration with Lindsay & Matt and their friends. The dinosaurs were still roaming about, but they’d been joined by some Day of the Dead theming.
Matt and some of their friends took cornhole to a new level: seated.
We grabbed a cool long exposure featuring the moon and then hustled back into the warmth for a toast and some UNO.
This was a good group of people, so I’m sure Lindsay & Matt enjoyed the rest of their evening!
Ending with dinosaur shenanigans, because why not?
Congratulations y’all!!
