Do-It-Yourself Flowers for a Backyard Wedding in Alabama

If your idea of an ideal wedding is a small, intimate gathering with your family and closest friends, lighted by candles and filled with flowers you’ve picked yourselves, then these images of a Birmingham, Alabama, couple’s celebration by Stephen DeVries will be right up your alley! Together at the flower market, the bride and groom select blooms from buckets and baskets to assemble for their bouquet and boutonniere; they get help from parents and attendants to select pink and orange, fuchsia and red. And, yes, the groom takes pictures while they do it! Once back home at the wedding site, the groom hauls out the ladder and gets busy: he’s hanging lanterns in two handy trees, preparing for a sunset ceremony.

Meanwhile, the bride has ordered lunch for all — a casual meal of chicken sandwiches and Cokes. Clearly, these two aren’t nervous in the slightest; they mug for the camera while munching. Gradually, however, the ceremony time approaches and people prepare: a soloist practices music, and the bride slips into her white strapless gown…but no shoes. Barefoot, she poses for pictures in the backyard — being careful where she steps! Her maids are in deep blue satin; the groom’s in a natty vest and dress shirt; his shoes are a little sturdier. After a short ceremony beneath the trees, the couple selects cupcakes to share and invites the minister and guests indoors, where there are more cupcakes, dipped strawberries and apple slices, and fancy cookies. The reception is quiet, relaxed, and low-key — the finish to a simple Southern wedding.