A Simple, Rustic Wedding at a Private Residence in Mesa, Arizona

Melinda Bokel (22 and in marketing) and Daniel Carter (24 and a graduate student) met while working at a burger restaurant in Mesa, Arizona and were friends for several months before “officially” becoming girlfriend and boyfriend. After two and a half years of dating, Daniel got down on one knee in front of Melinda’s family and proposed with a rose gold diamond ring. The couple held their ceremony and reception at a mountainside mansion in East Mesa, Arizona, surrounded by the desert landscape and overlooking the downtown city lights. “I wanted to make the wedding as simple as possible,” says Melinda, who describes the wedding theme as “simply rustic.” The bride used a lot of wood in her DIY projects with pops of coral to accent: One of her favorite decorations that she created was a wooden picture frame with chicken wire, where she fastened photos of herself and Daniel growing up. “We placed it by the front door so everyone who walked in stopped to look at it as they entered,” says Melinda. “It was a big hit!” Following the ceremony, the couple took pictures in the desert with soft indie music playing in the background and sat down to dinner with their guests. At the end of the night, Melinda and Daniel ran through a shower of sparklers and were whisked away to their honeymoon.