This backyard wedding took place in a gardne, there was a street party as it was during the pandemic so people were wearing masks.
Jackson and Erik gathered inspiration for their May 2020 wedding from two places – their international travels, and their favorite city, Chicago. Despite their original date falling slap bang in the middle of an international pandemic and most couples postponing, Jackson and Eric had a very important reason to keep to their plans.
They originally had a $15,000 budget, but due to COVID-19 and having to change their original plans, they ended up just spending $8,000. Originally they’d planned to have their day on the shore of Lake Michigan, but as their venue was shut, they decided to host a socially distant ceremony in their backyard. While lockdown had been lifted in Chicago, they used Zoom to share their ceremony virtually with 95 of their friends from out of state.
Jackson wore a BHLDN gown, with a custom jacket from her travels in Bangkok and jewelry from a Turkish designer. She collected textiles and tableware from Mexico, India and Indonesia for the day, too. She made a thousand paper marigolds, hand dyed and embroidered napkins and designed the invitation suite. Lockdown meant she had to do her own hair and makeup, make her own bouquet and bake their cake and take care of the catering. They kept things simple, with Jackson baking a cheesecake and Eric grilling sausages on the barbecue.
Their ceremony was officiated by a very good friend, and their vows were lyrics. Sadly, COVID caused the venue itself to close, but they had a mini dance party and reception in the park instead. Take a look at the cool photos of this DIY wedding to get inspired!
The wedding ceremony space was done with bright orange blooms, blue fringe and simple wooden furniture.
The bride was wearing a gorgeous burgundy and gold lace wedding dress with a plunging neckline and a velvet jacket.
