Don’t Be Afraid to Be Beautiful

From the bridesmaids’ dresses to the color scheme, this cute bride wanted a wedding that would reflect her style and sunny personality while tying in elements that she loved “just because.” Every single detail of Emma and Spencer’s wedding came together to create the perfect summer wedding, complete with unique and sentimental elements that brought in moments of joy.

After going from high school sweethearts to a two-year long-distance relationship, they made it official on July 29, 2023, in the Jordan River LDS Temple. And when we say this is the perfect summer wedding, we mean it. The weather was amazing, the flowers were gorgeous, and the smiles on our bride and groom simply couldn’t be beat. Have you ever seen a more joyous and beautiful bride?

The Summer Color Palette of Your Dreams

Emma grew up “super tomboy,” in her own words, but as she got older she liked to be more of a “girly girl.”

“I realized when I started picking out wedding colors that pink is my favorite color, and I wanted my wedding to be super girly and pretty.” Originally she began to really lean into that, planning to use different shades of hot and light pink throughout her color scheme. “But I wasn’t really loving the hot pink. I kind of fell in love with the color purple because it was my grandma’s favorite color. I loved it together with the lighter pink so I wanted to combine those and have some subtle hints of peach and yellow.” It all came together to be the perfect summer wedding palette.

Her stunning bridesmaids’ dresses brought in her colors with a fun floral twist. In the beginning, when Emma was searching for dresses she liked, none of the solid pink ones were making an impression. “Again, I knew I wanted it to be super flowery and girly and pretty, and I found this dress and I just loved it.”

But, like many brides, Emma found herself second-guessing some of her choices. “I had never seen a pattern in bridesmaids dresses and I was worried it would clash and look terrible.” But every time her gorgeous girls would put on the dresses, she still knew it was “exactly what she wanted.” Personally, we couldn’t be happier that she stuck with those; they turned out amazing—we may or may not have saved them for inspo pics…

The Sentimental Details

Not only did Emma put so much consideration into the visual details, but she also brought in other sentimental elements that brought everything to a whole new level. Alongside the color purple, she had pictures of her grandparents to keep them close to her on her special day, as well as the most darling butterfly charm that her sister had used at her own wedding the previous year.

And a butterfly charm wasn’t the only thing she shared with her sister. Emma used the same florist that her sister had used as well because she loved her so much. “My florist rocked it. I loved my bouquet, she’s my favorite person ever. She executed perfectly.”

Another vendor that Emma loved was her photographer Sadie. “She was the one vendor I knew I was positive I wanted. I told her I would literally plan my wedding around her schedule.” Sadie was the perfect hype woman and “so amazing to be around.” And just one look at these photos proves that Sadie did a great job at capturing Emma and Spencer’s big day.

“I also really appreciated the team at Gardner Village. They did a great job at making everything so easy.” Emma truly felt that she was surrounded by the most amazing people on her wedding day.

Turning Nerves Into Excitement

Even though she didn’t originally want to, Emma and Spencer had a ring ceremony at their venue before the reception. She’s not someone who likes to have a lot of attention on herself, but she knew it was important to Spencer. “I’m actually really glad we did it. It was really special to have that.”

She was also pretty nervous about dancing at their reception. Emma hates dancing, but Spencer really wanted a huge dance party. “I told all of his cousins that they had to dance so it wasn’t awkward, and they were encouraging me to dance and have tons of fun. It was probably the highlight of the night.” They were able to turn something she was nervous about into something that she’ll look back on as one of her favorite moments from the day. We love that for her.

Her favorite part of it all was being surrounded by family. They both have big families and being with all of the many people that love them made her feel super important. “Everyone was there when we were leaving, we had a huge amount of people stay until the end. It felt good that everyone wanted to party.”

It’s Your Day

Emma’s advice to brides who are planning a wedding is to “just do what makes you happy, not what you think is trendy or going to be trendy in the next couple of years.” She used the example of using all-white flowers versus colorful ones. “It’s great if that’s what you want, and it’s beautiful, but in a few years if you wanted color and you didn’t do that, you’re going to be disappointed.” We think Emma did an amazing job of sticking to that advice, and it shows through in all of her gorgeous details.

“It’s your wedding day. Just remember that it’s about you and your soon-to-be husband, so do what you guys love.”

She also really wants to emphasize that, “as a plus-sized person, don’t be afraid to look beautiful.” Specifically with her wedding dress, Emma chose what she felt most comfortable in and loved. “I didn’t try and starve myself or heavily diet before. Allow yourself to enjoy your day and how you look because I promise nobody cares.” We’re going to have to enthusiastically agree with her on this one.

Emma and Spencer captured the summer wedding of our dreams and we’ll never stop being obsessed with how it turned out. And we’ll never stop being obsessed with Emma either. She’s right, don’t be afraid to be beautiful and do what you love!