Simple Boho Botanical Wedding in Missouri

Simple and elegant is how Katie and Brian described their beautiful wedding celebration, their vision was for botanical boho vibes all round and I am sure you will agree it all turned out just perfectly. They were married on the 25th May 2019 at Haseltine Estate in Missouri. They began with a touching first look, which also turned out to be the most memorable part of their celebrations. The ceremony was held outdoors in stunning gardens, against a wooden frame adorned with greenery. The party then started beside the pool, with an outdoors in feel to the reception.

The décor was all kept super simple, with foliage used throughout interspersed with glimmers of gold and personal touches. The result was elegant and totally bespoke to them. I especially love the pretty bouquets, super stylish attire and the semi naked cake. Wow.

On hand to capture all the wonderfully romantic moments and every single detail was Nick Mehn Photography and we are so grateful to be sharing these incredible shots with you.

The Proposal

Marriage is something Brian and I often talked about. We went shopping together to pick out my engagement ring. I knew I wanted a rose gold solitaire, and I found the perfect one. Of course, Brian acted like he didn’t buy it. A few months later, we were hiking in Castlewood State Park, something that we often did together. We walked over to one of the overlooks looking over the river and Brian got down on one knee and asked me to marry him holding the ring I picked out. We then walked back to his truck and he surprised me with flowers and dinner reservations.

The Vision

I love the look of simple and elegant. I knew I wanted my color palette to be blush and gold with lots of greenery. I love the look of a botanical wedding with some boho vibes.

The Planning Process

I knew I wanted a summer wedding. We had about a year and a half engagement, which gave us plenty of time to plan. This was extremely helpful because we were able to get all the vendors that we wanted. I never felt stressed through out the planning process, and we were really able to enjoy and take our time to figure out exactly what we wanted.

Budget

We stayed within our budget by keeping a small guest list. We had about 80 guests, which was the perfect number for us.

The Venue

I started looking online to find the perfect venue. We both love the outdoors, and we wanted our wedding to reflect this. I soon realized there are not many places to have an outdoor reception near St. Louis, Missouri, and many of the venues had a country vibe that I was not looking for. I then found Haseltine Estate when browsing on the Venue Report. We made the three-hour drive to Springfield, Missouri and immediately fell in love. We were drawn to the historic mansion, beautiful landscaping and the chic rustic barn that is the bridal loft. I loved the idea of having our reception around a pool. It was unique and elegant, and we knew this was the one. It would be a special getaway for our family and friends.

Your Outfits & Accessories

Finding the perfect wedding dress was harder than I thought. I visited several bridal boutiques, and I could not decide on the style of dress I wanted. I loved the idea of a fluffy tulle dress, but I also loved a more fitted lace dress. I then made an appointment at Clarices’ bridal and fell in love with a fit and flare style by Martin Thornburg. It was the perfect combination of lace and tulle. I immediately fell in love with the open V-back and floral lace pattern.

For my accessories, I wanted a boho vibe. I kept everything rose gold to match my rings. My bracelet is from The Lady Bride on Etsy. My hair vine is from Green Alaska Décor on Etsy. My earrings are from Saint Valentine Bridal also on Etsy.

Beauty

I chose Studio 417 Salon for my hair and makeup. For my hair, I knew I wanted to wear it down. I ended up going with a half up style, so that it would be easier to wear a veil. She did a great job of making my hair look boho. For my makeup, I wanted a natural look, and I think it turned out beautifully.

Groomsmen

For the groomsmen, I knew I did not like the look of tuxedos. We went back and forth between black and navy suits. We ended up finding the perfect black suit from Express. We chose vests for the groomsmen instead of jackets, so the groom would stand out.

Bridesmaids

After finding my blush wedding dress, I loved the look of white bridesmaids. We found the perfect boho dresses from Show Me Your Mumu. I love all the different styles they offer, and my bridesmaids were able to choose which style dress they wanted.

The Flowers

Our flowers were by Artistry in Bloom and they could not have been any prettier. Jill did a great job mixing greenery with white and blush flowers for our bouquets. I love the look of the baby blue eucalyptus. For our reception, we chose greenery with white and blush flowers, and the end result was gorgeous.

The Readings & Music

Choosing which songs to play was a bit challenging to narrow it down. As the wedding party walked down the aisle, we played the violin version of Can’t Help Falling in Love by Daniel Jang. As I walked down the aisle, we played A Thousand Years by The Piano Guys. As we walked back down the aisle, we played I Choose You by Sara Bareilles. Our first dance was to My Befriend by Tim Mcgraw. I love the lyrics and we both love country music.

Your Photographer

We chose Nick Mehn to be our photographer. We loved his natural style as we didn’t want anything too posed. We first worked with him for our engagement shoot to help us get to know him and feel more comfortable on our wedding day, which I would recommend doing. We are in love with how the photos turned out and are so lucky to have found him.

The Details & Décor

The venue is so beautiful that we didn’t need anything too overdone. I wanted to keep things simple. The ceremony was decorated with greenery from our florist. For our reception, we chose ivory tablecloths and lots of candles surrounded by greenery and flowers from the florist for our centrepieces. For our guest favors, we chose small bottles of olive oil that we placed on the tables. One of my favorite details was the pegasus pool float. I think this gave a unique touch to the décor.

For our guest book, we bought an instax camera and had our guests leave messages for us in a book. This worked out perfectly, and I love looking back at the pictures and reading what our guests wrote.

The Cake

Our cake is from Charity Fent Cake Design. I love the look of a naked cake, and the result turned out beautifully. It also tasted amazing as it had a cream cheese filling. Our cake pops were a huge hit as well.

The Honeymoon

Neither of us had every been out of the country before, so that was a must for our honeymoon. After a lot of research, we chose to go to Tulum, Mexico because we wanted to go somewhere warm and that would not be too long of a flight. We loved the boho vibes and boutique hotels of Tulum. We stayed at Nomade Tulum, which had the coolest Moroccan decor. We snorkelled with sea turtles, visited Chicen Itza, and swam in cenotes. It was an amazing experience!

Memorable Moments

There were so many incredible moments, but the most memorable part of the day was definitely the first look. I loved being able to share this sweet moment with just the two of us. It also helped calm our nerves before the ceremony.

Advice For Other Couples

My best advice I can give is to make your wedding your own. If you want your bridesmaids to wear white, then do it! I feel like there are no rules for weddings anymore. Choose things that make you happy.

Credit Where Credit Is Due

I just adore it all.

Katie and Brian, thank you both so very much for sharing your truly special wedding with us xo Lou