DIY Backyard Wedding in Ithaca, NY | Sarah and Colton
From our first phone call, Sarah and Colton gave me all the feels for their DIY Backyard Wedding in Ithaca, NY.
Sarah is a local florist (she actually found me by working a local Finger Lakes wedding together!!), so I knew her vision for her wedding would be 🤌🏼 More than that, we connected on such a personal level! Sarah and Colton wanted to incorporate their faith and their love of the outdoors into their special day, so they rented an Airbnb in the beautiful rolling hills of Upstate NY to say their “I Do’s.” Suffice to say, their DIY backyard wedding was a whole new level of beautiful!
Sarah and Colton channeled the most laid back, free-spirited energy into their day.
It was a 100% outdoors wedding, so between the lush greenery and gorgeous views from the Airbnb, they nailed the most earthy, whimsical vibe. Plus, I love how they pulled in so many blues/greens/jewel tones to infuse even more color into their day!
“Kismet” was the word Sarah used to describe her’s and Colton’s relationship to me, and that was so apparent through every detail of their wedding.
Huge adventurers, Sarah and Colton’s story brought them up and down the east coast on loads of different trips, and it culminated with a proposal on top of a mountain in New Hampshire. Best of all, Sarah opted to do her bachelorette party in Nashville, and as fate would have it, I actually BUMPED INTO HER in the Nashville airport as I was coming home from photographing Nicole and Truett’s Wedding at The Monroe on 415th! Literally hilarious!! 😆
They were married by their family pastor, surrounded by their dearest friends and family members, with the most stunning backdrop of Upstate New York’s countryside.
Everything about their day went off without a hitch – except one little thing. I was 38 weeks pregnant (!!) and the night before their wedding, I started having contractions, high blood pressure, and a bad migraine. I couldn’t sleep at all the entire night, and by morning, my midwife placed me on bedrest for the rest of the weekend! Thankfully, Sarah and Colton knew I was expecting when they booked me, so they were on board with a backup plan in case of a situation like this. I reached out to Sarah and explained the situation (who was so sweet and understanding!) then I put our contingency plan in motion – I called up my backup team of associate shooters, and sent them on their way to Sarah and Colton’s DIY wedding!
I was incredibly sad to miss their day, but I loved every second of editing their gallery!
Sarah and Colton have the sweetest energy, and I truly felt like I could feel that “kismet” connection through their photos. Not to mention, my associate photographers reached out to me after the wedding, gushing about what a beautiful, holy day it was: “EMILEE, I just wanted to send you a voice message because today was such a sweet day of amazing connections that were all centered around Jesus. The venue was so stunning, their families were INCREDIBLE, and the Lord’s hand was in every single detail.”
I’m so thankful I was able to make magic with Sarah and Colton by telling their love story and celebrating their beautiful marriage!
And mostly, I’m ecstatic to work with them again next year because they also booked an anniversary “wedding attire” session in their package! Eeeee!!
Here’s to Sarah and Colton, their one-in-a-million connection, and their beautiful DIY Backyard wedding in Ithaca, NY. Check out Kat and Nitzan’s Magical Catskills Wedding for more laid back/outdoor wedding vibes or Alex and Star’s Waterfall Session for wedding attire inspiration.