When we first laid eyes on this fun and quirky set of pics from Flora + Fauna, we instantly giggled. Becky and Jose are such a creative couple and they wanted to celebrate with their friends in a place that spoke to them. So, a Girl Scout campground engagement party was just right for them!
Photography by Flora + Fauna
From Becky: We've always loved the outdoors. Often, traveling to North Carolina to camp twice a year. So, when I thought about a cool place to throw an outdoor party, I remembered this Girl Scout camp from my child hood called Camp Chowenwaw.
Photography by Flora + Fauna
In particular, the tree-house village was my favorite camping area in the camp. It has 9 tree-houses, a community kitchen and dinning hall and plenty of outdoor space for fun activities. So, we rented out the entire village for our party. This location was totally us.
Photography by Flora + Fauna
Everything was DIY from the start, beginning with the invitations. I hand illustrated the invitations and colored them in Photoshop. We included a DIY scavenger hunt that provided entertainment before our pot luck style dinner.
Photography by Flora + Fauna
Photography by Flora + Fauna
Photography by Flora + Fauna
The illustrations on our invitations depicted woodland characters. Jose was shown as a fox, I was a raccoon and our dog Hyatt was a squirrel. So, when our wedding photographer heard about our tree-house adventure, she totally wanted to come out and take a few pictures. We thought it would be fun to wear these masks that I found for some of our photos.
Photography by Flora + Fauna
Photography by Flora + Fauna
Photography by Flora + Fauna
Photography by Flora + Fauna
I created trail signs out of salvaged wood to lead our guest down the half mile foot path towards the tree-house village. Throughout the village I hung celebratory banners made of natural materials found around my yard. My close friends helped make dream catchers to hang above their chosen bunk.
Photography by Flora + Fauna
Becky and Jose's favorite moment from the whole day was when all their guests gathered around for a massive toast to them!
Photography by Flora + Fauna
I just adore Jose's story of how he fell for Becky: The first time we met was at a college campus years ago. I was a visiting professor, conducting student critiques and Becky was in her final semester studying Interior Design. Everything about her caught my eye that day. I remember rushing through a number of critiques just to make sure I was able to get to her project before the end of class.
Photography by Flora + Fauna
Several years passed before we were both working in Jacksonville. I began to see her at numerous design community events and our friendship began. We were friends for a number of years as we navigated through our relationships with others, being each others support group. It wasn't until an industry trip to Chicago, we were both single and enjoying each other company and returned to Florida never wanting to leave each others side. That's what we consider to be the beginning of this journey.
Photography by Flora + Fauna
The proposal occurred on Jose's birthday and as he says, "In short, the one gift I wanted was the one thing that would make me happy each day for the rest of my life. And she said, 'YES!'"
Such a fun proposal and engagement party for a truly unique couple! To see even more photos from this party and all of the DIY details in the making, head over to Becky's personal blog: B-Real Happy!
LOCATION/VENDOR INFORMATION:
Location: Camp Chowenwaw | Photography: Flora + Fauna | Animal Masks: Highmoon Creations, via Etsy