This Backyard Wedding Was Glammed Up with Gilded Details

Jesse Jo Warner, the Program Director for Treasure House (a residential community for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities), and Daniel Stanton, who oversees shipping and logistics for a fashion designer and also runs the non-profit organization G Road, have Jesse's parents and Daniel's athleticism to thank for their meeting. A former college basketball player, Daniel often played pick-up games organized by Jesse's father and the two became friends. When Jesse's mother met him at a birthday party, she couldn't help but tell her daughter all about him. A couple months after, Daniel asked her out on a date in downtown Phoenix, where they both live, and from that day on the two were inseparable.

Six months later they moved in together, six months after that came the proposal, and another six months later, on April 11, 2015, the duo, joined by 160 guests, wed at Jesse's parents home in Phoenix. Wanting their attendees to be comfortable and to focus on the love they share for each other, the pair opted for an elegant, yet non-traditional wedding filled with personal touches. Following a color palette with bright fuchsias, corals, and reds and gorgeous dusty eucalyptus and gold accents, the day was laid-back, warm, and romantic.

The bride made all of the paper goods herself, which helped to create a more personal theme. In fact, Jesse enjoyed channeling her artistic side so much that she went on to found her own hand-lettering and calligraphy shop, Freed Hands.

With a love for hummingbirds and the song by the Weepies, "Hummingbird," two of the small creatures headlined the invitations in gold. The lyrics read, "Hold out your hand, yours is the only one that I dare to land upon." The back of the invitations features a sweet photo of the love birds dressed in white holding hands.

Daniel and Jesse both enjoy gardening and being outside and wanted a venue that would serve as a blank canvas with plenty of space for personal touches. As they also spend a lot of time at the family-owned estate, which boasts incredible mountain views, beautiful greenery, a football field, and a swimming pool, a backyard wedding here only seemed right.

The bride's sisters and mother, who did her makeup, helped her with her finishing touches. Shortly after, they shared some laughs as they watched the guests arrive and greet each other through a bedroom window. "My best friend spotted us at the end, of course, but she was the only one! It's such a fun memory for us," Jesse says.

Daniel wore an Ermenegildo Zegna suit and a custom gold tie with a matching pocket square. Jesse stumbled upon this ivory-and-gold Lindee Daniel gown at Lovely Bride in Los Angeles, and she was more than pleased. Danese Creations in Phoenix added boning and structure to perfect the fit. Her Nina Payne heels that she found online at Anthropologie were also ivory and gold, not to mention perfect for dancing!

Jesse opted for a plume d'or metal headband by Mignonne Handmade with an arrangement of brass feathers on one side. She paired this with gold drop earrings from Anthropologie.

Aiming for a natural and organic look, Sarah's Wedding Garden designed the bridal bouquet with bougainvillea, garden roses, peonies, anemones, and ranunculus. "I loved how our raw ribbon and wild flowers blew in the wind," says Jesse.

Daniel's boutonniere incorporates pink ranunculus and hypericum berries, tied with a gold ribbon that complements his tie and pocket square.

The bridesmaids, Jesse's sisters, wore tulle skirts made by Fanfaronda and simple white tank tops from Nordstrom. Their bouquets of varied fuchsias, corals, and reds mimicked Jesse's and matched their floral crowns. They accessorized with a gift from the bride: a necklace with two charms, one with their initial and the other a bar that reads, "lil sis."

The bride processed down to the aisle to "Grey Sky's Blue" by Nancy Wilson with her mom on one arm and her dad on the other. "I know it's more traditional to be walked down by your dad, but I couldn't imagine my mom not being a part of that, too," Jesse says.

Family friend, Rusty Maple, officiated the 5:00 p.m. ceremony, which consisted of a short prayer and special stories about falling in love with each other that the couple wrote separately with Rusty. Daniel and Jesse then read handwritten vows and exchanged rings.

Made with chalkboard paint and chalk markers, Daniel collected the frames for the seating charts, later painted gold, and Jesse did the hand lettering.

The tent was set with of round and rectangular tables with a mix of linens to create an elegant environment.

Golden tiny pots with mini succulents from Etsy, spray painted and planted with the help of Jesse's 10-year-old twin sisters, along with gold flatware, adorned each table. Jesse used ivory paper from Paper Source for the place cards and the menus and used a brush pen and brush-lettering respectively. The menus were then set on top of bright pink napkins, which complemented the pinks in the floral arrangements.

Wild and romantic arrangements of bougainvillea, dahlias, garden roses, and peonies anchored each table.

A bougainvillea-colored pink linen covered with gold lace draped the sweetheart table, thanks to the wedding coordinator, Rachael Thomson of Imoni Events. The champagne flutes from Anthropologie were also her idea.

Crust Restaurant catered the buffet-style dinner and served classic Italian dishes, including chicken Romana, pork tenderloin medallions, and four different pastas. The dessert bar was an assortment of homemade peanut butter cups, lemon bars, cheesecake bites, cannoli, Italian pastries, and brownies.

Daniel's favorite song from the Patty Griffin concert he and Jesse had recently attended in Tucson was "Heavenly Day," which played as the couple shared their first dance. "It captures our spirits and happiness so well," Jesse says.

Photography: Brushfire Photography

Event Planning: Rachel Thomson of Imoni Events

Catering: Crust Restaurant

Flowers: Sarah's Garden

Videography: Zomei Video Productions

Stationery and Calligraphy: Freed Hands

Music: DJ Chris Villa

Rentals and Lighting: Event Rents