Savannah Botanical Gardens | Destination Wedding Planner Poppy + Lynn

As seen on TheKnot.com

After 4 years of planning and several COVID delays, Nathalee and Bray were able to finally celebrate their marriage with an intimate garden wedding in Savannah, GA. Every piece of the day was thoughtfully and meticulously curated for them. The loose theme of the day was “Epcot Flower Garden Festival meets Southern Charm”. As a destination wedding planner, I couldn’t wait to get started.

These two artists share a love for all things Disney. Naturally, we made sure to incorporate lots of “hidden Mickeys” throughout the wedding. The welcome table held a quaint, house shaped card box as a nod to “Up”, their favorite Disney love story. Handmade sugar cookies by Nathalee were shaped as clouds to nod to the wallpaper in Andy’s room in Toy Story. Violet lemonade was served at the bar as a signature drink, inspired by their favorite beverage at the Epcot Flower Garden Festival.

Nathalee and Bray met during their time in Savannah, GA, while studying at Savannah College of Art and Design.

Savannah staple, Leopold’s Ice Cream, was served as an homage to Bray’s time as a soda jerk there throughout college. Their shared love of breakfast inspired the southern menu, with chicken and waffles, grits, biscuits and gravy, and more southern classics. Instead of cake, Nathalee and Bray partnered with Duck Donuts to create custom donut flavors inspired by their favorite things. This included a Lucky Charms donut inspired by Savannah’s love for Saint Patrick’s Day. Georgia is well known for their peaches, and we incorporated this into the bar menu with brunch specialties such as peach bellinis and peach lemonade.

It was important to Nathalee to include elements of her family heritage throughout the wedding day.

As part of their extensive dessert arrangement, Nathalee hand made tembleque, a Puerto Rican pudding, for each of the guests in custom mason jar containers. She also wore jewelry gifted to her from her mother. This included a watch that once belonged to her beloved grandmother, and a necklace that was given to her mother by her father when they first started dating. Right before their originally scheduled wedding, they had adopted the sweetest Cavalier King Charles Spaniel who was appropriately named, Lady. Lady acted as the flower girl for the ceremony and truly stole the show.

Florist, Kristian Ellison, created a whimsical garden dream through the arrangements. We wanted to honor the garden and make the florals feel like an extension of the garden. Wildflowers were the main source of inspiration for the bouquets, with tulips, anemonies, and poppies accenting. She also lined the inside of the tent with greenery to keep the garden feel flowing. Of course, we had to have a flower collar for our special flower pup.

Weddings naturally create a bit of waste, and Nathalee and Bray wanted to try to counteract this where possible.

Paper goods were printed on seed paper that could be planted after the wedding day. We partnered with Thrive Catering, an eco-friendly caterer in Savannah to curate the menu. Nathalee and her squad also went to Full Bloom Salon for hair and makeup- a sustainable concept salon in Savannah. Her wedding dress was also found second hand from a vintage shop and fit her perfectly.

At the end of the day, Nathalee and Bray wanted their wedding to feel like an extension of them, and I truly believe we accomplished this. Love was in full force, and this dreamy garden party was a pure celebration of their love story.