by Jen Hart | Bohemian Wedding Dresses, Real Weddings
We absolutely love everything about bride Shannon and her groom Austin, wedding photos. The photos have an organic, wild, rustic and romantic feel to them, and captured in Texas where the couple recently wed.
Shannon wears our Catherine dress, with added custom long sleeves.
Shannon is so lovely and took the time to give us an in-depth look at the planning stage, and the magic of their wedding day. We are such a sucker for love stories, and this one does not disappoint. She said yes over a fire and s’mores….yup, we love it!! Read on:
How her and hubby (Austin) met:
My Husband, Austin, and I were introduced to each other by a mutual college friend in the beginning of summer 2013. We became friends and spent the summer days getting coffee, and getting to know each other. In late December we started to see each other more often. This included more coffee dates, and even Austin ice skating with my family. Sparks flew whenever Nacogdoches, TX got a miracle amount of snow, and we spent the evening geocaching in the park. He asked me to be his girlfriend on February 8, 2014 over a perfect fire and s’mores, on a chilly evening by the lake.
Her Wedding Style & The Type of Bride she was:
I was a bohemian-woodland bride. We both really enjoy nature. He has a forestry degree, and loves trees. I have a bohemian style, and am into a natural aesthetic. Our wedding was a mixture of these styles. I had a lot of neutral colors and the flowers were the pop of color.
How she decided on the dress:
This is probably one of my favorites parts of the wedding planning process. It all started with the search for the perfect dress to fit my style. I knew from the start that I would have a hard time trying to find what I wanted in stores. The pressure was on from family to go shopping. In my search for the dress, my sister found dreamers and lovers and sent me the website. The first time I looked through the dresses, I saw the Catherine dress and was immediately in love. I knew it was the one and I eyed it for months! I finally ordered the sample, and just as I expected it was indeed the one. Up until the wedding, I would pull it out and try it on weekly. It was so unique and beautifully made.
Her Bridesmaids:
I knew I wanted my bridesmaids to pick their dresses from the start. I wanted their dresses to accentuate their figures. Everyone is shaped so differently, and I just wanted them to be comfortable. The color scheme that I picked for their dresses were neutrals of cream, white, brown and light brown. I think that it looked so beautiful! My mini bridesmaids (flower girls) wore white dresses and brown moccasins.
The one thing she would not compromise on:
One thing I was not wiling to compromise on were the wooden tables and beeswax candles at my reception. So many people tried to talk me out of paying the extra price for them. I was not willing to budge. They looked gorgeous at the reception and perfectly captured the look that I was going for.
The traditions she left out:
I was an untraditional bride. I wanted our wedding to capture our personalities and style. I stayed away from traditional wedding music. We made a Spotify wedding playlist of songs that were much more fun, and our guests loved it! Vampire weekend and the Lumineers were much more fun to dance to than the Cha Cha slide.
Advice for brides to be just starting out:
Try to stay as organized as possible. Lists are your friend. Budget. Try to keep your stress levels low. I took yoga classes through out the planning process,and it was so wonderful! I highly recommend it.
Best memory of the day:
The best memory of the day was seeing our guests drinking coffee, eating Chipotle, and having a great time.
Main inspiration:
Pinerest helped a lot to inspire the look that I wanted. I would pin things that inspired me which helped the ideas in my head come to life.
CREDITS:
Photographer- Allix Ruby Photography – http://www.allixrubyphotography.com
Cakes and Flowers- Whole Foods, The Woodlands
Venue- Raven Lodge, Huntsville State Park
Catering- Chipotle
by Jen Hart | Bohemian Wedding Dresses, Real Weddings
Bohemian brides can easily be identified by their rule-breaking, non-confirming ways, and this stunning bride, Amanda, shows that you can leave the typical traditions out of your wedding planning, and still throw the most killer soiree. Love that she ditched the first dance, the bridesmaids, she even said no to a MC, and ditched having the obligatory introductions. We are guessing that sidestepping all these traditions took loads of pressure out of the planning process. It is always so liberating doing things we want to do, versus what we are supposed to do, and that is the core of the bohemian bride.
Us at Dreamers & Lovers are happy to have been a small part of Amanda’s wedding, as she wore our best-selling bohemian wedding dress – the Adelaide lace gown. We were fortunate to have met Amanda in our studio for her fittings, and we knew that this dress truly captured her unique style.
Here, Amanda shares her breathtaking photos with us, as well as nuggets of wisdom for other laid-back / bohemian brides to be. Without further adieu:
Please share your story, such as how you met and how he proposed, what makes you guys the perfect match?
We actually met at a Cinco de Mayo Happy Hour in 2011 in Culver City. Charley had just moved to Los Angeles and I was moving to New Orleans for graduate school so we casually dated for a few months. Both of us had been in tricky long distance relationships before and thought they didn’t work so we were stubborn and didn’t want to do long distance but we would talk almost every day. Around November we realized it was the real deal and decided to try long distance and within two years I had moved back to LA. Charley proposed on a sunrise hike in Santa Monica Mountains to Inspiration Point on a Saturday morning where it was just the two of us and our Cocker Spaniel, Foggy.
What type of bride were you?
I am from Los Angeles but a lot of my friends and family live out of state and Charley is from Montreal so we knew a lot of people would be flying in for the wedding so we wanted to have a “destination wedding” that was close to us. We both love Santa Barbara and have had some amazing weekend trips there so it seemed like a good fit for our wedding weekend. Our focus was family and friends and celebrating our love so I would say we didn’t have a defined theme, color palette etc. It all sort of fell into place as we planned based on our preferences. I was worried about finding the right location, dress, food (the most important aspects for me) but once we nailed the basics the rest was fun to plan (with the help of Pinterest for different ideas).
What inspired your wedding decor? Why did you choose the style you did?
We got really lucky in choosing venues that essentially were already decorated for us. Our ceremony was in the Mural Room at the SB Courthouse, which is very decorated and covered in ornate touches so we only brought a rug, a simple white chuppah, and a few gold tables along with some white flowers. We held our reception later in the day at The Lark Restaurant, which has a beautiful private dining room that we simply added table runners, framed photos and a few small touches that fit us. I loved the California casual boho style, which is what our touches were based on (lace, burlap, gold etc.)
What was the best advice you received when you were planning your wedding? Any advise for brides still in the planning process?
The best advice I received and the biggest piece of advice I have for brides in the planning process is to do what you want to do and just say no to everything else. Following this advice, we opted out of an MC, a bridal party, a first dance, an introduction, and a lot of other “traditional” wedding aspects because well…we didn’t want to do any of them. We also kept the weekend only to close family and friends (about 40 people) and didn’t invite the people who weren’t involved in our lives. This was hard because it meant not inviting a lot of extended family but since we wanted it to be our weekend and not an obligatory celebration, this decision led to a weekend where everyone truly bonded and created a very special wedding weekend. Not everyone who is getting married can do this but if you are able to only include people who truly know and love the both of you, it creates a true celebration of love.
We wish Amanda and Charley more happiness than they could have ever imagined. Their venue was breathtaking, with all its exquisite tile work, ironwork, and those perfect murals. The photos paint a picture of their wedding as a stress-free happy time, with a beautiful chilled out bride.
Couple: Amanda & Charley
Ceremony Venue: Santa Barbara Courthouse
Reception Venue: Lark Restaurant
Photographer: CLB Creative
Dress: Dreamers & Lovers Adelaide Boho Lace Wedding Dress
by Jen Hart | Bohemian Chic, Bohemian Wedding Dresses, Destination Wedding Gowns, Real Weddings
This breathtaking wedding currently featured on Green Wedding Shoes is a dream. The California wedding took place in an almond orchard, at springtime when the almond trees were in full bloom. This is a bohemian wedding dream. When we first saw the photos it literally knocked us off of our feet. We love the intimate feel, the bohemian touches, and the all out rustic elegant feel of Whitney and Zak’s wedding.
Whitney is wearing our Arabelle bohemian wedding dress, customized / made-to-measure. It is beyond stunning on her, and she is a seriously sensational bride.
According to the bride, the wedding took 2.5 months to plan, and it was a definite hit, as everyone in the social media world has been set ablaze with all her wedding day details. We personally loved the picnic style seating, and to learn that the bride’s mother personally hand sew each of the 75 tapestry pillows, elevates to an entirely new level. This is a true inspiration wedding for any bohemian bride-to-be, there are too many details to list, but you can find the full Green Wedding Shoes feature, complete with loads of photos and behind-the-scene details at
We wish Whitney and Zak only happiness and lifelong bliss. They are such a beautiful couple!
Photographed by: Josh Gruetzmacher
by Jen Hart | Bohemian Chic, Bohemian Wedding Dresses, Real Weddings
My heart must have skipped a beat when Amalia (the beautiful bride) sent us photos of her seemingly small and intimate wedding, which took place in Colombia. Both her, and groom (Jaime) and the entire wedding attendants were bursting with joy. The photos are incredible, and shot by the very talented international wedding photographer Juan Tamayo. More details of his work can be found below. I personally loved how brilliantly Juan captured the candid moments, all the joy, and the laughter.
We are always in love with small and intimate weddings, and when infused with bohemian rustic touches, it really just takes our breath away. Amalia chose the Isis crochet wedding dress in the made-to-measure option. The isis boho wedding dress is available here.
Enjoy photos of Amalia and Jaime’s wedding, as well as this heart wrenchingly beautiful poem that would make for a great wedding ceremony reading titled A New Beginning.
On this earth there is a oneness
A rhythmic flow through everything that lives
The things with roots and stems and leaves
The things with shells and fins and furs
The things with wings with which to fly
The things that crwal and those that walk (more…)
by Jen Hart | Bohemian Chic, Destination Wedding Gowns
Being a small company, we fully appreciate the instant feedback we receive as a result of the immediacy of the internet. This caftan bohemian lace maxi dress, was designed, hand sewn, photographed and listed on the site in a matter of about six weeks. Two months later, the feedback has been tremendous. Thanks to our lovely clients, and some fearless bohemian pinners over at pinterest, and other social sites, this dress has already been a hit. We enjoy making this dress. Click the link to see the listing page for this lace maxi dress.
It is the epitome of what bohemian chic represents, in every sense of the word. I have often write about my love for the ocean, and usually the surrounding beach city. I am rarely unhappy these days, and I attribute that to my frequent daily runs, and walks at the beach. There is magic in the waters. I often joke that if you are suffering from any ailment, rather than go the doctor, take a long walk on the beach. I don’t really mean that, but after the doctor’s visit, then the ocean should be the next stop.
The tie in with the beach and this dress, besides the obvious, that it would be perfect for a laid back bohemian beach wedding is the effortlessness. It has that air of being natural, that is natural beauty without trying too hard. You can slip this maxi dress on with untamed hair, minimal makeup, barefoot, flat sandals or booties, and you would look like a fabulous version of yourself, a bohemian goddess.
Loose fitting, it is fitted only through the bust, so when you have this dress on, you will forget you are wearing anything. The relaxed silhouette created by the generous use of fabric and the gathering creates a floaty dreamy look. The entirely sheer outer layer is lovingly handmade from a soft, and delicate embroidered stretch lace, so it is soft and luxurious on the body. When it touches your skin, it feels like a soft wind. We have had clients message us after seeing the photos about the sheerness, but, not to fear, the dress does come with a stretch liner. The standard liner is full length, but can also be made in a mini length as photographed in the photo. In the photos, we show it with a nude colored stretch slip liner. As one client clearly wrote it in her message, “I love this dress so much, but I am rather shy and could never imagine wearing it without an under-dress”. We understand that not all clients will like the sheer look.
Delicate crochet lace trim added to the neckline, the angel sleeves, and entirely down the front center seamlessly pulls the look together. It is quite fitting that a bohemian dreamy dress such as this lace caftan would have angel sleeves. They are beautiful, no-fuss and plays a starring role in the look.
I would love to hear your feedback on this dress. How would you wear it? Besides for the free spirited bohemian bride, or an a dream vacation, where would you wear it? As for me, I will most likely live in it, as it embodies everything I like my clothes to be, and it transcends me to the beach, even on a rainy day as we are having in Los Angeles today.
