Their wedding was a whimsical garden party dream come true. Merritt and Brady filled a friend’s back garden with twinkly lights, disco balls, and so many flowers that it felt like stepping into a fairytale. What started as a plan to elope turned into a backyard celebration, thanks to dear friends who offered to host them. They spent four months pouring love (and a lot of labour) into making it perfect.

“We decided pretty early on that we wanted a very small wedding, with the people closest to us”, the bride told us. “Having a big ceremony and reception introduced a lot of anxiety into the equation and we decided right off the bat that this was our day first and foremost, and beginning the planning process with that stress just wasn’t going to be good for us. We ditched the traditional ‘bride-and-groom-stay-separate-on-the-day-of’ thinking and really just kind of hung out most of the day. We still got ready separately and had a first look, but before and after we were together.”

They also insisted their dog, Rudy, was a big part in the wedding. There were cocktails named after Rudy and their cat Molokai. Guests built tiny Lego versions of themselves for the guestbook, which will eventually hang in the couple’s home. A wall of wedding photos from their guests sat opposite the dance floor, collected through “a very sophisticated blend of gentle fibbing and light social media sleuthing.”

Merritt crafted candle holders and floral-pressed details, thrifted the tableware and even made their charger plates with napkins and Mod Podge after a late night idea that went rogue in the best way.

Their biggest investment was photography, but they had no hesitation and zero regrets about their choice. “We would have spent even more to have Cat be a part of our day”, Merritt said. “Her artistic style aligned with our wants perfectly, and we have such good photos to remember our day. We couldn’t recommend spending a good chunk of the budget on an awesome photographer any more! She has such a great approach and really helped out so much with the styling and décor. 10/10, highly recommend.”