This backyard summer wedding in Mountain Brook — equal parts intimate and spectacular — was filled with cute canine companions, a kaleidoscope of colorful florals, and unique touches at every corner. Devan Snider and Perry Given started dating in Spring 2019 after they were introduced by close friends. “They told us all about the other and insisted we meet,” Devan recalls. Much to their friends’ satisfaction, the pair bumped into each other at a local Birmingham haunt, Otey’s. “He asked me out on a date the next week,” Devan says.
When Perry decided he wanted to propose in December of 2020, he was in cahoots with Devan’s mom. “They came up with a plan to give me a wine-making class at the Grand Bohemian Hotel for Christmas,” Devan says. Perry told Devan that the lesson would be private — just the two of them — because of COVID rules, and an excited, oblivious Devan believed him. “I talked cluelessly the entire class and he enjoyed every minute with no nerves,” she laughs. “At the very end, they came out with one more bottle for us to share and the bottle read ‘Will you marry me?’ The next thing I knew, he was on one knee!”
Devan says their nine-month engagement was the perfect amount of time. “It gave us enough time to enjoy that season of life, but also not so much time that the stresses of planning a wedding were hanging over our heads for too long.” With the thorough help of their extraordinary wedding planner, Jackie Frontiero, Devan, Perry, and their families started planning. They looked for a venue with two things in mind. “We wanted it to be somewhere special, and we did not want to have to move our wedding date,” Devan says.
They landed on the Givens’ family home. “This is the home that his father grew up in,” Devan recounts. “But what made it even more special to Perry was the connection to his mom. She renovated and redecorated the home a few years before she passed away. She had a very lively personality, and she set it up to be an entertaining home. Perry and I felt like we could throw a party at her house for her, and it would be like a piece of her was there.”
When it came to picking an aesthetic for flowers and decor, Devan found herself in a funny conundrum. “My mother had an all-white wedding back in 1984 when they were not popular. I always thought it was beautiful and told myself that I would do the exact same thing when I got married,” Devan says. As it turns out, her mother was ahead of her time, and all-white weddings have wildly caught on in the past few years, so Devan decided to completely pivot.
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After picking a summer date in August, she told her planner she wanted something unlike anything she’d ever seen. “I wanted very bright and I wanted all the colors. I panicked for six months about this decision and tried to change it multiple times, but Jackie assured me that it would turn out perfectly, and she was 100% right. The bright colors popped perfectly that day and brought a smile to every face!”
Devan says, “I tried on several dresses, but none of them felt like ‘the one.’ Finally, at the end of our session at Ivory & White in Crestline, I asked if they still had the dress that my sister wore. They did. They brought it out and I tried it on, and we all fell in love with it all over again, so it just made sense that I wear my sister’s dress,” she adds. “I don’t know why I didn’t think to wear her dress in the first place, but I am so glad that I did, as it was so special to be able to share the dress that she looked so beautiful in on her wedding day.”
The couple decided not to do a first look. “I think there is something special about seeing each other for the first time as the bride walks down the aisle,” Devan says. “I am so glad that we had that moment!” It started raining right before the outdoor ceremony was about to begin. “But the great thing about a family-only ceremony was we could just postpone the ceremony 15 minutes and start a little late!” Devan recalls.
During a lively cocktail hour, crab cakes in a remoulade sauce and mini brie and apple grilled cheeses were passed to the 150 mingling guests. Multiple libations flowed from both the bar and an adorable wine truck, an unexpected touch that guests were smitten with.
A myriad of culinary delicacies flowed from chef-attended stations. At the oyster station, raw oysters were shucked on-site, and grilled oysters were grilled to order. At the grilled pizza station, pies were made to order with all the toppings from pepperoni and mozzarella to balsamic strawberries and brie.
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“We tried to include touches of my father and his mother throughout the wedding with little subtle details,” Devan says. Ants (to represent Devan’s dad) and dragonflies (to represent Perry’s mom) were tucked into little spots throughout the ceremony and reception. You can see them both on the cake table above. “The hot dogs we served at the end of the night were a little nod to my dad,” Devan shares. “He started joking back in college that he wanted to open a hot dog stand and talked about it for years. We had an actual hot dog stand at my sister’s wedding, but I couldn’t find one to rent in Birmingham, so we passed hot dogs instead.”
“Our departure was magical,” Devan says. “We used confetti poppers, and our getaway car was a 1951 Packard 250 convertible named Ruby!” After a sun-drenched honeymoon in Playa Mujeres, Mexico, The Givens snuggled back into their life in Birmingham and began a joyful “forever” together with wedding memories they won’t soon forget.
When asked for her best tips for future brides, Devan shares, “Have fun with it! Wedding planning can be stressful, but if you have fun and focus more on things you want rather than what everyone else expects, then it takes a little pressure off things because YOU are happy.”
Thanks for sharing your special day with us, Devan and Perry. And thanks to Nick Frontiero for the fabulous photos.
RESOURCES
Ceremony + reception: Groom’s family home
Planner: Jackie Frontiero
Photographer: Nick Frontiero Photography
Flowers: Dana’s Floral Design
Stationery: Wiregrass Weddings
Hair and makeup: Rebekah Edwards
Bride’s gown: The bride’s sister’s gown from Ivory & White
Maid of honor’s dress: Shoshanna
Groom’s and best man’s tuxedos: Custom Hartbrook Clothier
Catering: Jennie Weller Catering
Cakes: Barb’s Cakes
Entertainment: The Groove Factor
Rentals: Event Rentals Unlimited
Wine/Beer Cart: Tiny Bubbles
Linens: Nuage
Getaway Car: Dream Drives Birmingham
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