A Timeless and Elegant Summer Botanical Garden Wedding

Summer weddings are one of our favorites, especially those filled with light and minimal colors like shades of cream and green, and the incorporation of natural elements like wood and varying styles of foliage. Lydia and Chris’s wedding at the Cleveland Botanical Garden checks all of these boxes and was beautifully captured by Emilia Jane.

This wedding was full of personal touches, from the hand-lettered rock place cards to their customized timeline menus. You won’t want to miss checking out their FULL GALLERY from their elegant June wedding in Cleveland!

Lydia and Chris met through mutual friends while attending college in Boston. Although it took a few years for their story to begin, they found they had quite a bit in common, including Lydia’s mom growing up across the street from Chris’ dad!

Chris popped the question lakeside under a weeping willow with their lab, Coal, by their side (who also made an appearance on their wedding day!) on a weekend trip to Wisconsin. The two celebrated their new titles as fiancée’s at a cabin in the woods filled with brunches and hikes before sharing the news with their friends and family.

Their wedding day was full of light and airy colors, perfectly matching the natural foliage found throughout their botanical venue. Lydia wore a stunning Romona Keveza dress featuring cap sleeves, a high neckline, and floral lace. Her bridesmaids stood by her side in light, mint green gowns with Chris dawning a navy blue tux with a striped, navy bow tie, perfectly complementing the bridal party's attire.

The couple kept their ceremony decor minimal with a wooden arch draped with greenery and white florals atop wooden stumps lining the aisle. The elegant theme carried over into their reception planned and styled by Kirkbrides Wedding Planning and Design. The space had a warm ambiance created by candles and lanterns lining the fountain, in addition to the jaw-dropping greenery and chandeliers hung from the ceiling of the tent. Dark wood guest tables with floral centerpieces of varying heights, and personal touches including rocks from Chris’ parents' backyard stream hand-lettered by their calligrapher for the place cards, and a timeline of special milestones of their relationship on the back of the menus, filled the space inside.

The two opted for a sweetheart table surrounding the fountain, allowing them to spend quality time together as husband and wife, while looking out over the beautiful space and enjoying the night with their guests.

While many couples are excited to jump into wedding planning (and we don’t blame you!), Lydia has one piece of advice for future brides and that is to take some time to enjoy the season of life you’re in when you get engaged:

“Take some time to just enjoy being engaged. Once you pick a venue and set a date there is so much momentum that it’s easy to get caught up in the deadlines and forget how wonderful the wedding process can be. It only happens once!”

Don’t forget to check out Lydia and Chris’ FULL GALLERY to grab some inspiration for your elegant summer botanical garden wedding!