EJ Wedding Spotlight – Lis & Doug
We met Lis even before she had a wedding date or venue set, but she had the clearest picture of what her day would look like. Fast forward a month and she was back, with a wedding date and a venue which was exactly what she described! What she forgot to mention was it was going to be the most gorgeous outdoor wedding we’ve ever seen!
Lis chose the perfect Junko Yoshioka gown to compliment her tented wedding and the natural setting at the Willowwood Arboretum in Far Hills, NJ. She was absolutely stunning from head to toe, choosing a beautiful A-line with a delicate textured overlay. If you’re looking for vintage wedding inspiration – look no further! Lis & Doug took natural/vintage to the next level – Sperry tent, a gorgeous color palette of cream and pinks and sweet details throughout!
The beautiful day was captured by Carolina Rivera at CWR Photography.
From Lis: I found my wedding gown during my first visit to Elizabeth Johns. I was immediately attracted to the dress because it was a nice mix of classic (clean lines, elegant silhouette) and funky (it had a leaf-patterned overlay that gave it a unique, almost ethereal look). The dress reminded me of a Ralph Lauren Romance perfume ad that I had hanging on my wall as a teenager, and I was sold immediately.
From Lis: I would advise a bride searching for a wedding dress to think about her venue, the time of year she is having her wedding, and the vibe or theme that she wants the wedding to have. My wedding was outdoors in the middle of July, so I knew that long sleeves or anything too heavy was not an option. I also figured that I would be dancing, so I wanted something with straps that would keep my dress secure throughout the evening.
From Lis: There were many wonderful things about the day. From an emotional perspective, it was really nice saying my vows and getting to look from my husband to a sea of of our friends and family sitting in the church. From a logistical perspective, my favorite part of the day was when I realized “we actually pulled this off.” That realization came when I was walking by myself from the cocktail area to the tent, near dusk, and the band was playing “This Must Be The Place” by the Talking Heads, and everyone was dancing and looked so happy. Seeing a bunch of my favorite people dancing to one of my favorite songs under a beautiful summer night sky was something I hope to never forget.
From Lis: Our wedding photographer described it as “nature filled with a twist of vintage.” The setting was Willowwood Arboretum, which is a tree sanctuary and not event space, so we had to work with Willowwood’s knowledgeable (and helpful!) staff to figure out how to make the grounds work for our wedding. Part of this meant that we had to bring in everything from the tent to generators, bathroom trailers, lighting, and a kitchen ourselves. The other part meant that we were lucky to use the ground’s beautiful flower gardens and green trees as our decoration.
Congrats Lis & Doug!