A Garden Party Wedding at Chicago Botanic Garden in Chicago, Illinois

Hanging blooms, gemstone hues, flower crowns, folk music and margaritas created a whimsical atmosphere for Maggie Gelber (29 and a graduate student) and Joseph Meador's (29 and a securities analyst) Independence Day affair. Focusing on sustainability, the couple included locally sourced ingredients on the menu and treated guests to a welcome bag full of farmers' market provisions. They printed the stationery on recycled papyrus and even exchanged recycled yellow gold wedding bands. "We wanted the wedding to be as local, sustainable and eco-conscious as possible," Maggie says of the creative ways the couple kept their garden party environmentally friendly, including the hand-painted seed programs: Guests could take them home to plant them in their gardens. —Stephanie Cain