The leaves are falling, the air is crisp, Autumn is definitely upon us. In only a couple of short weeks we'll be bobbing for apples. Autumn is one of the most beautiful times of year, and with the colours of the countryside shining, and fires crackling, it's a perfect time for a wedding. So today we're delighted to feature Nicki and Tyler's October wedding in the mountains of Utah, as amazing inspiration for anyone planning an autumn wedding...

Blending clean sophistication with a touch of rustic chic, Nicki and Tyler get the tone of their Autumn wedding pitch perfect, and have our creative juices flowing with ideas, and I'm sure yours will too if you're thinking of having a rustic element to your day...

Utah is over towards the West Coast of the US, and is probably best know for being home of the world-famous Sundance Festival (and Alt Summit - how excited are we to be going in January!!) founded by Robert Redford who was drawn to its magnificent landscape. The same mountainy valleyscape that inspired Tyler and Nicki: "Ty and I both adore the mountains in the fall (vibrant leaves, crisp air, mountain fog), so we couldn’t think of a more ideal setting for our wedding than mid October at the Sundance Resort in Utah. We actually had our first kiss on a night we went on a date at Sundance, and that is also where Ty proposed, so Sundance holds a special place in our relationship; it's only fitting we had our wedding celebration there as well. And, seeing as we both live locally in Utah (as do a majority of our friends), it worked out perfectly as our venue."

The structure of the day is a little unconventional from an Irish point of view, but a brilliant timeline to follow if you, like many couples at the moment, are trying to balance budget with the expectations of friends and family. Tyler and Nicki were wed at the Draper LDS Temple, which is to the south of Salt Lake City.

Swooning... the braid, the barley sheaf bouquet, the adorable page boy and flowergirls, the sheer sophistication of Nicki's shift dress with its lace hemline and long sleeves. Could it get any more gorgeous? Oh, and Tyler's a pretty fine groom too (am I allowed say that??).

In accordance with Mormon tradition, only a close circle of family and friends are allowed to attend, to keep the ceremony reverent and sacred. So the wider circle are invited to a later party which is more informal and relaxed. This is definitely a format that would suit a lot of Irish couples I've spoken to...

After the ceremony, Tyler, Nicki and their group ventured over to Pizzeria Seven Twelve for the first part of the celebrations. Enjoying a fun and filling lunch before the bigger festivities kicked off...

The sleek aesthetic and obvious good taste are no coincidence: Nicki is a designer.  So creating her own stationery was a project of love - incorporating seasonal colours and kraft paper and string, she brought the rustic chic vibe to life and set the tone for their celebration...

From the outskirts of Salt Lake City, the couple wound their way round the Alpine Loop to the Sundance Resort, stopping along the way with Meg Ruth to enjoy the colour of Fall in full season. You can almost smell the crisp mountain air.

When it came to the wedding party, Nicki and Tyler were clear from the start what they wanted to achieve... "Above all, we wanted our guests to feel cozy, comfortable and welcome at the event, so we focused on a relaxed rustic mountain feel that kept things from getting too stuffy. The groomsmen wore jeans, button-up shirts and vests. Bridesmaids wore a relaxed, long-sleeve printed dress to add to the rustic vibe. And our invitation encouraged classy casual dress for our guests. We also kept the decorations personal, minimal and rustic.

Please, ladies, take note - bridesmaids can do patterns, and boots. It  looks amazing when done right...

We wanted our wedding day to be full of our closest friends and family, so we kept the guest list relatively small. It was absolutely ideal for us, giving us the time we wanted to spend with each guests who came to celebrate with us that night. No line. No formalities. Just us, getting to visit and celebrate casually with everyone who came. It was absolutely perfect and made for a joy-filled, stress-free evening.

My favorite moment from the day (beside the actual wedding ceremony) was the toasts we had at the reception. Rather than having the toasts the night before at the dinner, we saved them for the reception, and it was one of the only parts of the reception where everyone was doing the same thing at once; I felt like it was a great part of the evening where everyone got to come together and celebrate at once, all toasting to the happy wishes and kind things said for me and Ty.

The devil is in the details as they say, and Nicki and Tyler are masters of mixing simple details that are understated but coherent. By choosing eclectic but complementary elements, they weaved a look for their wedding that is completely in line with their vision.

For vendors, we mostly used friends and relatives of friends. Ty and I really loved the idea of employing people we know and love for our wedding, rather than strangers, so we did so at every opportunity we could. As a graphic designer, I designed our invitations, then we had them printed by our good friend Leland Rowley at Rowley Press. My dear friend Julia Smith did all of our flowers. A bridesmaid, Anna Habben, made our simple mock-cake. Erin Rupp, a sister of a friend, made the macarons we served as dessert. Our amazing photographer, MegRuth Stay, is a dear friend. Our rings were made by a jeweler friend of Ty’s. And both family and the wedding party pitched in to decorate the venue.

Nom, nom, nom...

So how do others go about emulating the feel of your wonderful wedding... "If I was to offer advice to other brides out there, I would say start early and plan just a little bit at a time so you don’t get overwhelmed. And make everything simple so on the day-of you can just enjoy without having to stress over the details. As far as budget, just stay within budget and use your money where it will have the most impact; minimal effort, maximum impact, that’s my motto."