Savannah + Bryce by Shelly Anderson - Together Journal

I wanted the mood of our wedding to be whimsical and ethereal with a garden party element.

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…

Hi! We are Savannah and Bryce! Savannah is from Oklahoma and Bryce is from California. We met at the University of Oklahoma where we both graduated with our bachelor’s degrees. After college, we moved to Redondo Beach, California into our first apartment together. We love the beach and warm weather and had such a good two years living there! On the day of the proposal, Bryce planned a day date going to the farmers market, coffee shop, the Getty Villa Museum, and the Pacific Palisades. Bryce ended the day by proposing to Savannah in Palos Verdes on a cliff overlooking the ocean. It was the one day out of the year that it was raining, but it made it so perfect and romantic as we were completely alone on the cliff, which would usually have a crowd around sunset. We currently live in Colorado as a nanny and an engineer. We enjoy reading, going to coffee shops, and playing cards together. We started dating in September 2019, engaged in January 2023, and got married in June 2024. We’ve been enjoying married life for the past 9 months exploring our new state together.

How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?

We met at a University of Oklahoma football game in September of 2019. I (Savannah) was dragged to the game by my sister but thank God she did! Bryce was with his friends in the row in front of us, and we got talking. I thought he was a total Californian, so chill and fun. And of course I loved his curly hair. I found him on Instagram and later learned that he was looking at the university’s directory to find me. After talking through DMs, we had our first date at the Oklahoma City Fair which was followed up by us going to the OKC Riverwalk and sitting by the river sharing stories of our lives. One week later, we met up at a coffee
shop to do homework together. I knew that this would become a long-term relationship, and I thought that we shouldn’t waste another minute! I asked him to date at the coffee shop and we made it official!

When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?

Savannah fell for Bryce almost immediately and knew that this would be someone that she could spend the rest of her life within the first month of dating. He was just so genuine, kind, had a good sense of humor, and was communicative. He was someone that made Savannah so comfortable with being herself. Savannah told Bryce that she loved him after a month of dating, but Bryce took a few more weeks to get to that point. During Thanksgiving, Bryce went to Savannah’s hometown and spent the week meeting her family and doing their Thanksgiving traditions. Seeing Savannah interact with her huge family and the way her family immediately embraced Bryce gave him the feeling that Savannah was the person for him in life. Bryce fell in love with Savannah’s caring-nature, passion for things she loved loyalty to those she trusted, and her continuous unconditional love that she gives/shows Bryce daily.

Tell us about the vision you had for the mood and style of your wedding. (theme, key styling elements, florals, colour palettes etc.).

Since the beginning of dating, we had imagined a small, intimate wedding somewhere in nature. We looked at the desert, the forest, the mountains, but then found a photo on Pinterest of the Denver Botanic Gardens solarium surrounded by beautiful gardens. We couldn’t get the location out of our heads, and it felt very gardenesque like we wanted. I made a vision board with photos I found on Pinterest which helped a lot to create our vision of what exactly we wanted! I wanted the mood of our wedding to be whimsical and ethereal with a garden party element. We picked the venue partially because it was so elegant and delicate. I envisioned the solarium with lots of pastel and a pop of rust-colored floral arrangements, pillar candles for the ceremony, and taper candles for the reception dinner. As for the reception dinner tablescape, I wanted beige earthtones for the napkins, candles, table runner, and flowerpots. The goal was to have different heights and textures that created a beautiful, organized chaos.

What styling and visual elements worked best for you? (could be things, the florals, particular hire products or your marquee etc., something the stylist created or simply just the scenic beauty of your location or the existing design of your venue).

We were entranced by the intricate design of the solarium from the start. It has a Victorian style, glass windows, multiple entry ways allowing the flexibility to create our small ceremony to our catered taste. Every shape and detail of it was stunning. If you look closely at the design of it, there are flowers, leaves, and hearts, making it romantic and whimsical. It’s hidden behind the trees in the back of the Denver Botanic Gardens, so it was far enough out of the way of the main area and more intimate. I had a general idea of what I wanted our wedding to look and feel like, but the solarium solidified the vibe we were going for. I wanted the floral arrangements, hire products, and general atmosphere to harmonize with the solarium. We did not have a wedding planner, so I picked each detail (with the help from our florist) and honestly hoped for the best!

What did you enjoy most about the planning process and do you have any tips for couples starting their wedding planning journey?

Although it was time consuming and at times stressful, I enjoyed the planning process overall. Finally picking the venue after months of extensive research felt like a weight off our shoulders. We could now move onto picking a florist, caterer, and all the other things! Personally, I really loved planning how to put together the tablescape with all the different elements. Bryce took care of the catering details, which was also quite extensive. If I had any tips for couples starting the wedding planning journey, it would be to hire a wedding planner! I feel that it would have been much easier to plan each detail with a professional to bounce ideas off of. Planning a wedding in a completely different state from which we were living, having a wedding planner would have made it so much easier and less chaotic. I also think that couples should take their time with being engaged. We got engaged in January of 2023 and waited to plan the wedding for about 10 months. It gave us the time to enjoy being together as fiances and that stage in our life. That way when we started wedding planning, we could fully enjoy it rather than stress and rush the process.

Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?

I had another dress in mind years before wedding dress shopping. I tried the dress on, and it was beautiful, but it wasn’t the ethereal, whimsical vibe that we wanted for the wedding. I wanted something more delicate and flowy, and I found an Alena Leena dress. When I tried it on, it was the softest material, and I loved the details of the sheer corset bodice, the tiers, and the sleeves. I altered the neckline area of the dress to make it more my style. I felt beautiful wearing it and I wish I could wear it over and over! Bryce chose to have an olive-green suit when we decided to have our wedding in the state of Colorado. It reminded him of nature and was essentially the vibe we were going for. He picked out a watch for me to give him as a wedding gift, a Seiko watch with a dark brown band and an olive-green face to match his outfit perfectly.

What was one, or two elements that were most important to you both that you were happy to spend a little more on? (food, photography, florals, the venue, your outfits?).

The two things that we were most important that we were happy to spend a little more on is photography and florals. Our photographer was the first thing that we had picked, even before our venue! We found her through another wedding’s photos and fell in love with her style and vibe. We knew that she would capture the love and airiness of our dream wedding, no matter the venue or details. As for the floral arrangements, I wanted a garden party atmosphere with lots of flowers on the ground, on the table, hanging from the ceiling of the solarium.

Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?

Our ceremony had flower arrangements and pillar candles on the floor of the solarium. My dress and veil had a medium length train, so after walking down the aisle, I had to flip them behind me. When I did that, my dress and veil almost caught on fire from the pillar candles and Bryce’s mom caught it and moved it out of the way. It was scary at that moment, but now we look back and laugh! Another thing that I was stressed out about, but in hindsight we laugh about, is that I messed up signing our marriage certificate. After the ceremony, Bryce, my brother Emerson (our officiant), and I went to sign the marriage certificate. I was so excited and had so much adrenaline that I signed the first line I saw. It ended up being the officiant’s signature line, and I was freaking out that the certificate wouldn’t be accepted. After weeks of submitting it and waiting to see if it’d be accepted, we
finally got it back and everything was fine!