A Casual, Backyard Wedding in Traverse City, Michigan

After meeting through mutual friends in the fall of 2010, Christina (28 and a pharmacist) and Joe (29 and a sports broadcaster) spent some time together in Des Moines, Iowa before they began dating. The proposal came two years later when Joe surprised his bride-to-be with a homemade dinner at home -- complete with a romantic dance to their go-to song, 'Without You' by Keith Urban. "The moment was even more special as Joe proposed on the same day of the year that my dad had proposed to my mom," Christina explains. For their outdoor wedding in northern Michigan, the couple planned a casual backyard fête complete with a tented reception, lawn games and over 100 colorful paper lanterns. The bride's father had a hand in most of the DIY details as well, crafting a birch wedding arch for their beach ceremony while the bride draped the backyard in vines. "We really just wanted a laid-back day to celebrate," the bride says. "We even built a bunch of lawn games for guests to enjoy, like bag toss, life-size Jenga and croquet."