The Groom Baked The Cakes For This Cozy Backyard Mini Wedding

Cozy Backyard Mini Wedding Homemade Cakes

I believe in a thing called love after witnessing Anna and Daniel’s cozy backyard mini wedding replete with soft knit blankets, drippy beeswax candles, vintage china and gossamer ribbon. A+D took advantage of their perk as DC residents to self-officiate, making their marriage Facebook Official on a sweet spring afternoon in front of the Lincoln Monument – just the two of them. A few short days later, they gathered their immediate family for an in-person backyard shindig incorporating homemade pasta from the bride herself and a variety of cakes prepared by the groom. It certainly helps that he is a professional baker! Kate Asire Flowers peppered the scene with pastel blooms to accent everything from the latticework arbor to the rustic chic dinner table set for 8. The couple looked to none other than Amy Kolo to capture both monumental celebrations (pun intended + achieved), and we couldn’t be more delighted to share their sweet story with you now!

Anna and Daniel got engaged right when the pandemic hit. The pair were in Paris, but then had to leave in a rush. Daniel had planned an epic and romantic Paris proposal, so instead proposed in the Dulles airport while everyone got off the plane on their flight home. They decided on something equally non-conventional for their wedding day. As residents of DC, they were able to self-officiate, and did so making their marriage official on the steps of the Lincoln Monument. Five days later, they met with their parents and siblings (10 total guests) in Anna’s parent’s backyard in South Carolina for a joyful celebration.

Taking inspiration from their engagement story, Anna wanted to create a vintage French garden feel for their mini wedding. A friend officiated the ceremony via Zoom under a floral covered arbor in the backyard garden, which had been lovingly prepared by Anna’s parents as their pandemic hobby. Toasts followed – with tears shed between fits of laughter – given by close family and all of their virtual guests. For their dinner, Anna and Daniel handmade pasta and sauce the day before and served it to their family. The china was from Anna’s mother and maternal grandmother’s collections and was the inspiration for the color palette and florals. Daniel, who is a baker at a popular DC establishment, baked all of the cakes and desserts. For music, they pulled out Anna’s dad’s vinyl record player and alternated between Louis Armstrong and Lizzo records.

As the saying goes, love is all you need. Anna + Daniel are the most adorable pair, and we loved witnessing their cozy backyard mini wedding where creative and intimate ideas married the natural beauty of meaningful places in their relationship. Glimpse another one of our favorite minimonies here next – nothin’ but hygge wedding vibes on repeat!