The Boho Bride & Her Flowy Wedding Dress
Paige and Tyler’s story is one of patience, friendship and two people who took the time to get to know one another before deciding to spend their lives together. It was Paige’s freshman year when a friend told her about a great looking guy who shared her love for God and before she knew it; he was knocking on her door, inviting her for a game of sand volleyball, one of his favorite pastimes. Flops, socks and a cheetah print bikini and Tyler was obviously hooked…the road to a romantic relationship, however, was going to be a long one, in spite of the fact that they both had strong feelings for one another from the get go.
They became close friends, even journeying to Spain together to study during their junior year. Some people have a lot of patience…I certainly don’t know if I would make it as far as they did before calling it like it is. The plus side is that, by the time they got together, they would know for sure whether or not it was meant to be. Six months after their stay abroad, they began spending more one on one time together and soon, that one on one time turned into dates.
After spending their last school year, at Cal Poly, as a couple, college loomed and a forced separation was imminent. Paige got a job in Southern California, while Tyler stayed on an extra year to finish his degree. They got together during holidays and some weekends, counting down the days to when they’d be living in the same city again. That day would be a long time coming, as Paige moved to Texas for graduate school and Tyler remained in California, working and applying for medical school.
Three years of long distance later, their paths finally took them to the same city again. Tyler began medical school in California and Paige landed a job close by. It was only a month later that Tyler asked her to be his wife…he’d had plenty time to think things through. Paige was, of course, well and truly surprised. Paige’s mom had been in town visiting and for some reason she’d thought he’d definitely not pop any big question while her mom was so close at hand.
One morning, Tyler nonchalantly invited Paige to join him on a hiking trail he’d heard about from a classmate. Since she loves exploring new places, she was keen as can be but she certainly wasn’t prepared for what Tyler had planned. Arriving at the hiking spot, there was a choice of two paths to take, one of which was paved and full of people, the other a little more rugged and definitely more intriguing to Paige. Tyler had thought she’d need convincing to take that particular path with him but, that day, he was in luck as she lunged, determine to take THAT path and no other.
On reaching the top of the hill trail, he wrapped his arm around her and a few moments later Paige was greeted by a sight she’ll never forget. There before them was a table set up with flowers and a card, overlooking a breathtaking lakeside vision. Paige had waited years for that day and couldn’t hold back the tears as he ushered her to a spot between two trees and got down on one knee. She later learned that there had been GoPros positioned in the trees and that a stealthy friend had flown in to take sneaky photos of them from a distant hiding spot. It was more romantic than she ever could have dreamed.
All about her Laid-back Flowy Wedding Dress
When it came to finding her perfect, laid back boho wedding dress, Paige knew what she wanted. She was very particular, she loved lace but was very picky about what kind of lace she wanted; she also planned to steer clear of bedazzlement, tulle, poof and the dreaded outcome of walking down the aisle like a heavily decorated cupcake. More than anything, Paige wanted to feel comfortable on her wedding day.
After many a long afternoon and night, scouring Instagram and Pinterest, she became aware of the fact that she had saved multiple pictures of different brides, all wearing the same boho flowy wedding dress, the Lisa. Not only was Lisa the epitome of her wedding dress dreams, the About Us page on the D&L website made her fall even more in love, Dreamers & Lovers and the laid back Lisa dress spoke to her, they WERE her!
Despite the fact that she’d already found ‘the one,’ Paige booked appointments at local boutiques so that her and her mom could do the ‘girl thing’ when her mom came to visit. She’d tell the assistants that she wanted long sleeves, comfortable, no glitter and preferably soft lace. The thing is, she couldn’t get the Lisa out of her mind. A short while later she ordered Lisa and Aurora to try on from Dreamers & Lovers but dreading the idea of not having her bridesmaids close at hand for the big try-on, she decided to fly up to Northern California and convince the gals to skip work and join her for an impromptu appointment. The choice was clear, Aurora, which was brand new at the time, was to be the one. Paige couldn’t have been happier in a million years.
Details of her Chic Bohemian Wedding
Location was of the utmost importance to the couple, who ended up getting married on the lawn at Paige’s aunt and uncle’s house in Northern Michigan, overlooking the most magnificent lake. When Paige was in high school she’d spend a few weeks there each summer and she’d always envisioned a wedding there. When her family offered, she jumped at the chance and looked forward to spending the day with 95 nearest and dearest, many of who had to catch a plane flight to get to the enchanting Michigan venue.
Jamie, at Pontius Flowers, helped Paige bring her imagination to life with organic, boho blooms and tons of fresh greenery. Because the planning was long distance, the couple enlisted the help of friends and family who lived closer to the destination during planning. Her cousin built a beautiful bar by hand, along with corn hole boards made out of pallet wood; her uncle made a birch wood arch and easel and Paige and her bestie worked together with watercolors and love to make original wedding stationary. Before the couple’s send off, another one of Paige’s beloved cousins treated the couple and guests to the ultimate firework show. It’s those details, which required the help of loved ones that the couple will remember the most.
Tyler and Paige are big on pie, so they visited a local bakery and ordered an assortment for the reception, while a friendly neighbor on the lake contributed some of her famous raspberry pies. On top of that, since Paige’s gran is somewhat traditional, a small, semi-naked, white wedding cake with raspberry filling was ordered for the two lovebirds to cut together.
Vows were self written, with Paige’s favorite from Tyler being: ‘You are my priority on this earth and I vow to rely on the strength of our Heavenly Father to shoulder the challenges we will face and always protect you and our marriage.’ Tyler’s favorite line from Paige’s was: ‘You bring laughter and joy into our loves and you always know how to make me smile. I feel so proud I get to call you my husband and so honored that you would call me your wife.’ Readings were Genesis 2:18-24, Matthew 19:4-5 and Romans 11:36.
“if you can’t afford a wedding planner, find a way to afford one! Even if you’re a control freak, you’ll be doing yourself a favor by letting someone smooth out details in the last week and especially on the day”
Paige’s advice for boho brides to be is that, “if you can’t afford a wedding planner, find a way to afford one! Even if you’re a control freak, you’ll be doing yourself a favor by letting someone smooth out details in the last week and especially on the day”. 2500 Miles away from the wedding venue, with a 3 hour time difference, Paige found herself having to wake up extra early to call vendors before work. Another challenge was choosing vendors based purely on internet searches, especially with Northern Michigan being a little behind California in terms of wedding resources…actually, with some vendors, there was only one choice available!
At the end of the day, the pair loved everything about how the wedding turned out. It was an unforgettable celebration, especially for all the loved ones who flew in for the event. They were blessed with perfect weather all weekend and spent the days boating and swimming in the lake. It wasn’t a stretch for friends and family to understand exactly why the couple had chosen that particular, far away venue.
Now, with Tyler half way through medical school and Paige working in public health as a registered dietician, the couple is looking forward to their long future together. They live in Northern California now but are both ecstatic about their planned move for Tyler’s medical residency. Little ones are surely on the cards but no time soon, for now it’s all about enjoying their time together and appreciated uninterrupted sleep for a few years, if they can help it. We wish them years of adventure, romance, friends and family!
Wedding Photographer: Jenna Borst Photography
To see other boho brides wearing the Aurora and other Flowy wedding dress styles see our Photo Album
For a listing of our complete lineup of bohemian wedding dresses go here
