A Nature-Inspired Wedding With Sunflower Accents at a Private Residence in Big Bear, California

Untouched by man, this woodland area provided the ideal environment to let an intimate, nature-inspired wedding blossom and flourish—just as the couple had envisioned. “My wedding was held outside on a family member’s property overlooking the lake in Big Bear, California,” Brittany Hollis (27 and a certified nursing assistant) says of her marriage to Andrew Hollis (25 and in construction). “I didn’t want a venue that was man-constructed, such as a building, that was structurally limiting. I wanted it to be outdoors, in nature, creating to our specification.” The couple, along with friends and family, infused personality into the decor throughout by making everything themselves. Pine needles were used to guide guests through the woods to the ceremony location, where Brittany and Andrew said their vows and made handprints in concrete to remember their promises, captured on camera by London Light Photography. Dining tables at the reception were draped with lace runners, then decorated with mason-jar centerpieces filled with fabric flowers and hay on top of vintage-book stacks. To top it all off, the cake was decorated with a letter “H,” representing the couple’s last name; the cake was covered in buttons and surrounded by sunflowers, which we loved to see throughout the wedding-day decor, from the lush bouquets accented with baby's breath to the accessory decorating Brittany's side fishtail braid and even the design painted on the couple’s white Vans sneakers. "Us, our family and friends enjoyed creating, making and personalizing the decor, which worked since the nature of our wedding had a personalized touch,” Brittany says.