Hannah and Travis’s Backyard Wedding in Florida

Weddings

May 14

An intimate backyard beach wedding in New Smyrna, Florida with whimsical florals. Documentary film wedding photos by Eunice Beck.

Hannah and Travis spent the last three years renovating their home. Then they invited all of their favorite people to watch them get married in it.

A hands on family affair. That’s how Hannah described her dream day in their initial email. “Family helping set up and make decorations, our nieces and nephews taking part. We don’t feel pressured to follow suit with traditional wedding protocol — we want it to feel full of ease, love, and presence.”

The first three hours I spent with them felt like a normal day of having family over at the house. She and her sister hung decorations in the backyard. Her brother was finishing his speech under the palm trees and running errands on the e-bike. His mom and sister were chatting in the living room. Travis walked around with a bowl of food reminding Hannah to eat every hour.

Hannah’s friend arranged all of the florals. Neighbors stopped by to offer their driveways for parking. His brother and sister-in-law grew tomatoes for everyone to snack on. Their nephews greeted everyone by the door. A hands on family affair.

As the ceremony inched closer, Hannah did her makeup in her room while her sister helped with her hair, peeking out the window every so often to check on the yard’s progress. Across the hall, Travis showed off the embroidered details in his jacket while his sister helped steam his pants.

When the clock hit six, they walked out to all of their guests sitting in the backyard that they designed, shared their vows in a “meadow” of flowers, and after nearly a decade of loving each other, made it all official underneath the Florida sun.

After a quick getaway at the beach down the street, they rejoined their guests to eat food from their local Thai joint, listen to speeches from friends, and even got to watch a rocket launch from the front lawn. And to end the night, there were two options: a foosball competition in the office or line dancing lessons from grandma in the yard. You pick.

A day full of ease, love, and presence. Just the way they wanted.

As a documentary photographer (and sentimentalist), these backyard weddings will always hold such a soft spot for me. It’s like getting access to a treasure trove of intimate and personal details. Every little thing holds significance.

That’s not just some patch of green they’re getting married in, they personally chose every plant that’s sitting behind them. That’s no ordinary pink room they’re getting ready in, they hand-picked that color and painted that room themselves.

It’s the shells they’ve collected from walking the beach together. The furniture that’s been passed down from their parents. The photos of their nieces and nephews hanging on the fridge. The foosball table that was squeezed into the office after discovering an obsession for it during the bachelor party.

Getting to spend the weekend photographing this wedding at their home felt like getting a masterclass in who Hannah and Travis were, and I loved every second.

Florals by Van Ly. Dress by Karla Gil. Everything else by their own hands.