If our first wedding of 2025 was any indication on how the year is going to be, we’re in for a fabulous wedding season! We were on our feet all day, and certainly kept ourselves busy, but it was so calm and fun. We truly had a blast. There was a moment at the end of the day on our drive home where I even got a little emotional that I am lucky enough to do this and work with such wonderful couples (and their loved ones) to help execute their visions and celebrate their weddings and marriage with them. So a huge thank you to the Garner and Henshaw gang that provided such a beautiful reminder of why I do what I do. I hope you enjoy the highlights from Lily & Jared’s absolutely incredible spring wedding as much as we did.

Ten. The tree was a paid actor

Moving the ceremony to the patio was a bit of a bummer, but as it turns out, Mother Nature knew what she was doing. There was a beautiful dogwood tree that was in full bloom right beside the building. It wasn’t visible from the patio, but the wind lent a hand by blowing the petals right behind Lily & Jared during their ceremony. There may not have been a flower girl, but this tree stepped right in and nailed it!

Nine. Willowbrook Weddings

While the dogwood tree was gorgeous, it didn’t even hold a flame to the beauty of the venue. The building was incredible with floor to ceiling windows on two sides, the natural light lighting up the room. The downstairs space was cozy and perfect for an intimate cocktail hour. The cottage rooms were ideal for getting ready and were SUPER spacious. The patio space, pergola, walkway, and pond are just a few of the additional details that were absolutely stunning on the property. Lastly, the ranch gates with the giant Ws on them were giving some serious Yellowstone vibes, and I was here for it! 🙂

Eight. Floral strands

I have only ever seen these in photos, but man, they are so so SO much better in person. The florist waited until they were at the venue the morning of and individually placed flower blooms on fishing line to make an incredible backdrop in the white frame that they built. THEN, as if that wasn’t enough, they made more and strung them around the aisle on the patio. They were perfect. As a bonus, they also made for very fun boas later in the night when we took them down, and guests seemed to get a kick out of wearing them around the reception.

Seven. Extended family

The day before the wedding, I joked with Lily’s mom, Jesi, that I had been skeptical at first when I learned that she would be joining Lily for our meetings. A stressed bride is one thing, but a stressed mother of the bride is a whole different ball game. Luckily, I had nothing to worry about, and Lily, her mother, and her grandmother joined many meetings together (along with Jared) and were always an absolute blast to work with! From the many many jokes, to the snark, and some hilarious conversations, it was impossible to not love Lily’s family. Our meetings were an absolute blast. Then, on the big day, I was introduced to her siblings, including her sister’s boyfriend – who brought his own camera and took photos the whole time, completed a super last minute cookie rescue, and was the first to step up anytime anyone needed anything. Lastly, I heard many times during meetings about Lily’s aunt and uncle who would be coming up from Florida, so I had some high expectations, and they did not disappoint! From supporting Jesi and Jamey on their little girl’s big day, to being there anytime anything was needed, and so much more. It was also heartwarming when I learned that they weren’t actually related, as I am an only child, and called “Aunt Brittany” by my friends children. Chosen family members are wonderful, and the “Florida fam” was no exception.. well, for most of the time at least. More on that later though….

Six. The Sweetheart Table

Oh. My. Goodness. When I arrived on Saturday, most of the florals had already been set up and were just absolutely beautiful placed on the tables throughout the room, but there was one table that was truly exceptional and stood out the second that I walked in. Lily & Jared opted for a sweetheart table in the corner of the room. With the floor to ceiling windows on both sides of them, and the beautiful property in the background, it was already the perfect set-up. Add in the cream colored sofa at a small wooden table with vases and florals that added color and dimension, it was stunning. Then, in walks Jared with a neon light that reads “The Henshaws” – I didn’t think that anything else was needed, but it was the icing on the cake and I now couldn’t imagine the corner without it. I took so many photos of the table and from the table throughout the night, I really couldn’t get enough. I loved it so much that we weaved through the crowd carrying the sofa to and from the dance floor for the photo dash – you gotta do what you gotta do! 🙂

Five. “stamped by Porter”

While setting up early in the day, we set out the table numbers and place cards at each seat. A super simple task, but I noticed a detail while doing so that I absolutely loved. Later in the night when we were drafting our favorites list from the day, Haley mentioned the name cards, and I immediately knew what she meant. All of the name cards had a wax seal stamped to the back of them. On a select handful of them, there was a handwritten “stamped by Porter” on the inside of them. The thought of them all working on wedding tasks together is so heartwarming. Porter had such a blast at the wedding and was all smiles, all day! I’m so excited for their little family and all that’s to come for all three of them! <3

Four. The decor

As our first wedding of 2025, it was fitting that the theme was colorful, clean, and felt very Spring-like. The colors were soft yet vibrant, and the decor was simple, yet so so elegant. It was the perfect blend of fun and classy, and truly dispersed into every aspect of the day, from the ceremony, to the bud vases at cocktail hour, to the centerpieces at the reception. It was exactly what I would envision if I heard “spring wedding” and I will forever use it as inspiration for similar mood boards. While all of the decor was phenomenal, there were a couple of stand out pieces that I hadn’t seen elsewhere, and I later learned that that’s because they were all hand built. The flower strand backdrop frame was built and purchased from the florist and the welcome sign and seating chart were built by the groom, himself. These three pieces looked like they came in a set. They all included florals in different unique ways, and pulled the space together wonderfully while being functional as well. The decor vision was flawlessly executed and truly phenomenal.

Three. First Dance

It wasn’t until the week before the wedding that I learned of a surprise that Lily was planning. When she sent the song list for our execution guide, she included two songs for the first dance: the real one, and the one we were to say if her mom was around. As it turns out, the whole time, she was planning to have their first dane to the song her parents had theirs too, but she didn’t want them to know. Luckily, I was able to catch the photographer right before and make sure one of them was ready to catch her mom’s face, which was precious when she realized. It’s the small details like this that really make big events memorable and show the love that has been put into the day and will continue into their marriage from them and their loved ones.

Two. Last Dance

A private last dance is pretty much always a “yes” in my book, but this one fell together so smoothly that it just has to be in my top last dances of all time. We walked out the front entrance and into the sparkler exit, and there were a surprising amount of guests that held on and made it until the very end of the night. After a couple of back and forths, Lily and Jared snuck back to the back terrace while everyone else went inside. We told everyone inside that they were welcome to watch from the windows, and they did just that. This made for a beautiful last dance, with all of their loved ones watching from the windows of the reception space. The photos I got on my phone are beautiful, so I cannot wait to see what Leanne was able to capture!

One. The Emotion

By far, the most amazing part of the day was the simple, yet extremely deep emotion. The excitement of Lily’s dad during his first look with her daughter, the tears from her mom when she saw the venue decorations, and of course, the excitement and love shared between Lily and Jared. When they read their vows, when she walked down the aisle, while they said their I dos, and throughout the entire evening, you could see it in their eyes how happy in love they are. The way that Jared looks at her is straight out of the movies. Their love story was beautiful from day one, and I have no doubt in my mind that this weekend was the beginning of an absolutely incredible life together.

Honorable mentions

• Swifties – as we neared the ceremony, and Lily was just about ready, I pulled up my facebook to refresh my memory of what the photographer and dj looked like. It was at this point that I learned all that I needed to know about Leanne – that she was a huge swiftie. This started what ended up being quite the rabbit hole throughout the day of us talking about our Eras Tour experiences, we ended up pulling a couple family members into the conversations, and of course, lots of dancing and singing during the reception. Always a pleasure to work with fellow swifties!

• Not-So-Great Helpers – Alright, to finish this story, we have to go back to the getting ready suites. We were troubleshooting getting everyone to the patio without going through the building and Uncle Rob (from Florida) graciously agreed to stand near the entrance, hand out hand warmers, and point guests in the right direction. When the time came, his son-in-law Zach joined him to help. They stood there for a mere two minutes before disappearing, multiple times. It was like a game of hide-and-seek.. once to “get a picture,” once to “go to the bathroom,” and one time, I found them inside and they had no explanation what-so-ever. All of that to say, I got no complaints from guests, other than a couple mentions of beer bottles that were left outside. When I went out to grab them, sure enough, they were left at their station right beside the hand warmer basket. It seems they did end up doing their job, as noone went through the venue, and everyone got hand warmers, but they certainly kept us on our toes, and made for lots of laughs and teasing throughout the evening. We appreciate the moments of fun and laughs included throughout the day, but this story was much too long for the already listed family mention.

• Teardown MVP – In everyones’ defense, trying to disassemble a large wooden frame after many hours of an open bar doesn’t sound all that fun, but after multiple family members gave it a try, Nathan swooped in an absolutely crushed it – completely disassembling it in less time than it took everyone to round up the tools. As the last task of the night, his speediness was greatly appreciated by all!

Shoutout to the vendors who made the day run smoothly and truly make it the best day ever. We had an A++ team who worked quite flawlessly together throughout the entire evening and it is always a joy to meet and work with vendors who share the love for weddings and dedication to the day.