A Simple, Intimate Wedding at a Private Residence in Oklahoma

Ashlynn Prater (27 and a cosmetologist) met Joshua (Josh) McBride (31 and a design engineer) through a worship group. They skeptically decided to go on a date, and four months later, they were engaged! They decided to get married at Ashlynn's sister's home on the sprawling lawn near a beautiful home and pond for a romantic, simple location to enjoy quality time with their loved ones. Josh is an artist and designed the wedding invitations with a photo for guests to keep in each suite. The couple chose to go with a wild, garden look for the flowers, incorporating ivory, blush and pops of blue in the bouquets and even allowing the bridesmaids to create their own using the designated flowers. The couple wanted every part of their wedding to have meaning, down to the snacks, so almost every decision they made had a sentimental reason. "We both are very sentimental people and it was important to us that our wedding was a special occasion that we shared with the closest of our friends and family," says Ashlynn. The bride says it was sentimental gestures that made her wedding day memorable and meaningful: "One thing that I loved was that we handed out floating lotus flowers. We asked our guests to light a candle on the lotus and float it out in the pond with a wish or prayer for us as a married couple. We also prayed as we placed ours in. This added special meaning to our night as well as adding a really cool ambiance to the evening."