Inspired by an old photography NATALIE SMITH PHOTOGRAPHY went about creating this courtyard wedding inspiration with the idea of merging a small & intimate gathering with the elaborate feeling of a grander event… all without skimping on style. After stumbling upon THE EDGEMONT HOUSE in North Little Rock, she instantly fell in love with the cool Mediterranean roots and worked with Laurie Miller of THE VELVET BOXWOOD to putt together the concept.
Natalie tells us, "Recently while visiting my Nana who spent a portion of her life living in the Chicago area, we began looking through tons of old photographs in family photo albums. At one point we ran across a wedding photo and she began explaining to me that 'up North' people used to save their entire lives for their daughters' weddings, much the same way we now save for our childrens' college tuition. She said that in Chicago, there was rarely what she referred to as a "cake and punch" wedding. She described being so confused when she moved to Arkansas by the small, intimate, backyard weddings that she would be invited to.
We felt very inspired by the Spanish architecture of THE EDGEMONT HOUSE, its colours, lush gardens and courtyard. We found the "Oak Alley" to be a perfect location and backdrop for the ceremony and the courtyard was the perfect romantic, private, and classic location for an intimate celebration with the couple's closest friends.
Feeding off the idea of a lush "cake and punch" reception, we really wanted to adorn the tables from end to end with an overwhelming amount of dessert options. We helped create that feeling of lush extravagance using velvet linens, romantic gauzy runners, and scattered numerous desserts along a candlelit table, and finished off with a champagne toast."
