A SLC Backyard Wedding & Draper Temple Sealing

Ella and Jonah were married on August 8th in the one place that made the whole day feel personal before a single guest arrived: the backyard of Ella’s childhood home in Salt Lake City. They’d already been sealed the night before at the Draper Temple, so by the time this celebration started, they’d already made the promise that mattered most. This was the celebration, one with willow trees, string lights, and a yard Ella has known her whole life standing in for a venue.

Getting Ready Under a Roof She Knows by Heart

There’s a different kind of ease to getting ready in a house you grew up in, and it showed in every frame. Ella’s gown hung from her mom’s four-poster bed in a room wrapped in soft striped wallpaper, and the hallway where she took her first solo portrait was lined with chinoiserie wallpaper and blue-and-white porcelain plates her family has walked past a thousand times. Her mom laced up the back of her dress in that same bedroom light, both of them laughing at something just out of frame… the kind of moment that only happens when nobody’s watching the clock. Having over an hour to slowly get ready with her sisters and mom was SO special for Ella, and I would recommend that for any/all of our couples.

Sealed the Night Before at the Draper Temple

Ella and Jonah were sealed at the Draper Temple the evening before their backyard celebration, which meant August 8th itself was already a marriage in progress, this was the day for family, friends, and the parts of the celebration a temple sealing doesn’t include. Splitting the sealing and the reception across two days is a common rhythm for LDS couples, and it changes the tone of the second day entirely: there’s less nervous-energy-before-vows and more just-married ease from the first photo of the morning.

Decor Beneath the Willows

The dance floor backdrop was two oversized wicker pedestal urns spilling over with peach, blush, and ivory garden roses and ranunculus, threaded through with blue delphinium (florals by Blooms by Tesla) set against a wall of drooping willow branches and lights strung overhead. The design was planned and coordinated by Events by Janelle, and her vision was perfectly executed for this over the top SLC backyard wedding.

The wedding party portraits happened on the same checkerboard dance floor that would later host the reception. Groomsmen in black tuxes, bridesmaids in a coral floral-print maxi dress that read more like a garden party than a matched bridesmaid uniform, everyone piled onto and around the couple under the willow. Ella’s gown, a fitted bodice giving way to a full skirt from Frankie Jane Couture, held its shape through every group configuration, and her lace-edged veil kept catching the light coming through the trees. Ella wanted to lean into editorial posing for unique bridal party and couples portraits, and we had SO much fun bringing that vision to life.

A Reception That Never Left the Backyard

As the light dropped, the same yard turned into the reception. String lights did the MOST as the sky went from gold to navy, guests eating on Marvellous Catering’s spread, and Eric Miner keeping the dance floor full well into the night. Jonah lost the jacket and untucked his shirt at some point during the dancing, which is usually the clearest sign a reception is going well. Janelle ran the day tightly enough that the transition from dinner to dancing barely registered as a transition at all, it just felt like a perfectly moving party.

Sparklers Down the Driveway She Grew Up On

They left the way a lot of great nights end, with guests lined up on both sides with sparklers lit, Jonah dipping Ella for one more kiss before they climbed into the car. She leaned out the window waving the whole way down the street, which, for a bride who spent the day getting married in her own childhood backyard, felt like exactly the right last image.

Book Your Own Salt Lake City Wedding

If you’re planning a backyard wedding, a temple sealing, or anything in between around Salt Lake City or beyond, I’d love to hear about it. I shoot Utah weddings as well as destination celebrations, and days like Ella and Jonah’s are my specialty: personal, unhurried, a little sentimental. Exactly the kind I want to be there for.

Reach out at caryshaslamphotography@gmail.com or find me on Instagram @caryshaslamphotography to check availability for your date.