A DIY Garden Wedding at Inside the Bungalow in Mesa, Arizona

Wanting their wedding to be simple and ultra-personalized (while keeping to a tight budget!), Sarah Johnson (25 and works in project management) and Andrew Johnson (28 and works in retail) made all of the details of their wedding themselves. Everything from the hand-lettered chalkboard signs to the lush bouquets and the stationery were arranged and made by the couple. “I think keeping things simple kept the DIY-ing stress-free,” Sarah says. “Doing so much of it on our own truly made the day feel like something to be proud of.” One of our favorite things she made were the lush floral arrangements: Sarah watched a tutorial online to create her rose, hydrangea and viburnum bouquet. “All of our flowers were purchased the day before the wedding at a local wholesale flower market, and my incredible maid of honor helped me put them all together,” the bride says. “We also incorporated small potted plants into the decor to really highlight the garden feel -- and they were great favors to send home with guests at the end of the night.” Since the couple really wanted to highlight the spring garden-party feel of their soiree, they chose Inside the Bungalow in Mesa, Arizona, for its romantic ambience. “Our venue was a historic bungalow, surrounded by gardens full of greenery and blooming flowers,” Sarah says. “When we visited the first time and saw the way the twinkle lights lit everything up, I was head over heels. We were looking for something that would feel like a casual garden party, and it completely fit that. The icing on the cake was that the owners were a dream to work with and gave us invaluable practical advice when it came to the big day.” The best part, though? The delicious barbecue menu for dinner. “It's funny, because when we first started talking about marriage (mind you, this was years ago!), we had always said we wanted to have barbecue for our wedding reception,” Sarah says. “Lo and behold, we really did end up chowing down on barbecue, beans and potato salad that night after all!” See all of our favorite details, beautifully captured by Jennifer Griffith from Griffith Imaging, below.