You guys - Amanda + Michael had THE most stunning autumn wedding in Virginia last fall. If you’re looking for the dreamiest combo of mood, elegance, & fall colors, look no further!

Amanda + Michael’s emotional wedding day

When I think about this wedding day, two words come to mind: emotions + partyyyying. Yup, those two can totally go together! You don’t have to choose one or the other for your wedding day - your day can be super emotional and special, and you can ALSO party hard at the end of the night. Tears + tequila shots, anyone?? (And when I say tequila shots, there were a LOT of ‘em)

A first look alternative

Amanda and Michael decided to do a “first touch” - a super sweet alternative to a first look where you stand by each other, but just touch hands/backs/etc. instead of fully seeing each other. This is a perf way to be in each other’s presence before your ceremony if you don’t want to see each other & have a full first look!

For their first touch, they decided to read letters to each other that they’d written beforehand. Buuut the funny part - Amanda forgot to write hers (I don’t blame her - wedding planning gets WILD and stressful). So she just read hers from Michael during their first touch, while hugging him from behind! (sweetest thing ever am I right)

Special touches throughout the day

Remember how I said “emotional” was one word that came to mind about this day? Yeahhhh let me tell ya why.

There were all sorts of special little touches throughout the day that made their wedding personal + unique. Amanda’s mom did an emotional reading during the ceremony, nobody’s eyes were dry while they read their vows, and Amanda danced with her mother-in-law during the mother-son first dance (cue tears YET again). Ugh y’all it was so special.

The reception (partayyyy)

Mkay now one of the best parts of this wedding: they had ice cream cookie sandwiches at their reception. Yes, you heard me right, ICE CREAM SANDWICHESSSS. Pure genius. I 10/10 recommend hiring a food truck to bring late-night snacks to your reception - dancing makes ya hungry!!

These two also were super intentional about their details: there were Spanish touches sprinkled in throughout the reception, like their table numbers and seating chart, for Michaels’ Spanish family.

And to top it off, the couple was left without anything to cut their cake with - so they ate it with forks! But these two honestly could not have cared less hahaha. They went with the flow and that’s what made the day SO great all around.

Backyard weddings for the win

These two had a backyard wedding, which is always a fave of mine. Backyard weddings are the perfect way to have an intimate wedding without having to find a venue that can accommodate your guest size!!

You’ll save $$$ on a venue, and then you can put that money toward that late-night snack food truck I mentioned earlier ;) But really, backyard weddings are super intimate, easy to add special details to, and are personal to you. Whether it’s your own backyard, a friend/family member’s, or the backyard at an Airbnb (make sure you get permission from the owner to hold your event there!), you can be super intentional about every part of the day

All the fall wedding inspiration

And can we just talk about how STUNNING of a fall wedding this was?!

From their pink & orange wedding invitations to the peach-colored bridesmaid’s robes, to the pink + rose gold dresses, to their crazy beautiful warm-tone floral installation at their ceremony, to. . . I mean the list just goes on and on and on.

But that floral installation by Urban Flora DEFINITELY brought the moody + elegant fall vibes together. A super modern and classy black gate decorated with orange, burgundy, yellow, and peach flowers?! Talk about a fall dream come true!!

Every table at their reception was also topped with a jewel-toned bouquet, which just showed off the most gorgeous rich tones that we love fall for. Who else is ready to have a fall backyard wedding in Virginia after seeing these photos?🙋🏼‍♀️

All in all, this day was beyond stunning and I am SO happy I got to be a part of it - pineapple + tequila drinks, ice cream sandwiches, and the sweetest couple. What more could you want?!