Lauren and Alec had their wedding in the backyard of Alec’s childhood home in Wichita, KS. They originally planned to have their wedding at The Hudson, but when COVID-19 hit they changed plans to keep their loved ones as safe as possible.

Personally, I am a huge fan of the new backyard wedding trend that COVID-19 has essentially forced people into. On the surface, “forcing” sounds bad, but honestly it gives couples a chance to really consider what they want for their wedding day. For some, it still is the dream to have a huge wedding with everyone they’ve ever known. For others, the huge wedding may be something family or society has pushed and COVID-19 has given them a chance to do what they actually want to do. Of all the backyard weddings I’ve photographed since March 2020, no one has ever been sad that their plans had to change. If I had the chance, I would have skipped the big wedding for a backyard wedding with boardgames and s’mores.

Alec told me a funny story about how his parents’ house and backyard did not look at all what it looks like today when he and his siblings grew up there. After the kids moved out, his parents did some major renovations. They opened up the floor plan inside, made all of that look very nice. And added a pool, hot tub, and pool house to the backyard. He was a little salty about that part. It did end up benefitting them pretty well since he and Lauren ended up getting married in the backyard.

Alec and Lauren and a unique piece in their ceremony that I absolutely loved and I hope anyone reading this considers doing the same. Each of their parents wrote them a letter to be read at the ceremony. They wrote about watching them grow up, seeing them meet each other, and how happy and proud they are. It was so impactful and so beautiful. A marriage is between two families, not just two people, and this was a perfect way to recognize that.

I also had the honor of photographing Alec’s brother’s wedding in another backyard in Wichita.

Vendors:

• Floral: Moore Flowers
• Dress: David’s Bridal
• Suit: The Black Tux
• DJ: Another Dimension Entertainment

There’s plenty more backyard weddings coming to my blog, keep an eye out!