A gorgeous backyard wedding, complete with peak fall foliage, bohemian details, and so much love. Read on to see and hear about all of the details of Nikari and Josh’s day, with gorgeous images by The Pinckards!

THE COUPLE: Joshua & Nikari Gali

We met in college at The University at Buffalo on the track team. I (Nikari) thought Josh was the most handsome person ever and I initiated the interaction. After that, Josh asked for my phone number and we’ve been inseparable ever since. 6 years later and we are still as in love as the first day.

We love quality time together. Our favorite pastime is going out to dinner or ordering in. We always try to make it a point to eat at least one meal a day together. Preferably dinner because we get to sit down, pray & talk about our days and unwind. It sets us up to have intentional time together and that usually leads us to either watching a movie, TV or just silently enjoying each other’s company while we accomplish our own necessary tasks.

We are very opposite in the best ways. We also are crazy athletic as a couple combined & separately. We have a mutual love for working out (which was how we met: track team in college). We always have the best time and you truly have to marry someone who is your best friend.

THE PROPOSAL

So, Josh met me in downtown Glens Falls for dinner after work since I work in downtown. We went to farmacy and had such a good night. The food was amazing, our drinks were amazing and we even got a free dessert. The night was so fun and it was a shock that it wasn’t planned.

During dinner I received a text from my friend to come over and have a game night and I was like, “absolutely, we’ll drive to you after dinner” (They live about 40 minutes away in Schroon Lake). After dinner we walked toward my car and Josh asked me if I wanted to take a walk. Unfortunately, I said no. He then asked if I wanted to just head into my studio (I had mentioned earlier that I wanted to clean the studio). But, I again opted for no and said I would come in earlier the next morning to clean. I hate being late so I was just eager to get to game night. Little did I know Josh had the ring in his pocket all through dinner.

We got to game night and stayed for a few hours. We didn’t end up getting home until about 12:30pm. When we finally got home, I was getting ready for bed and Josh was acting a little suspicious. I was exhausted and wanted to go to bed. I sat down on the couch and he finally came over and proposed. I honestly wasn’t expecting it at that moment and that’s what I loved. It’s so unbelievably hard to surprise me unfortunately, so the fact that Josh was surprising in itself. I always wanted to have a private engagement, just the two of us; with no one around. It was beyond intimate and amazing and I would do it that way all over again. The poor guy had the ring in his pocket for almost 7 hours and I had no idea. He was determined to do it before I went to bed and it was everything.

THE WEDDING - October 22, 2020

Our elopement date was 10/22/20. Due to COVID-19 we couldn’t plan the wedding of our dreams but wanted to still get married. So, we decided to get eloped with our talented friends (Dan+ Laura, The Pinckards) as our photographers with just immediate family. We are having our larger wedding to recommit ourselves to each other in front of all the family and friends we wished were there. We will be having our larger wedding 10/22/21, a year to the date. It will be our one-year anniversary so that will also be fun. 

The Planning

My favorite part was how stress free the planning process and our day was. The most challenging part would have to be trying to explain to both sides of family that we were getting eloped and that we are planning a bigger wedding next year. We didn’t want any family members to feel left out or that they weren’t important enough to be there for the elopement. It was definitely the hardest part because some of family members were hurt.

The Venue

We recently bought a house with a decent amount of land in the back. We couldn’t necessarily have our elopement at a venue so we opted for our backyard. It was such a beautiful day with all of the fall foliage in the background. I think if we had the choice for a venue at the time we still would have chosen our backyard. To be legally married in back of our first home was super special and something we get to remember forever!

The Details

Our style is very bohemian, mid-century modern, Scandinavian with a chic and modern twist all wrapped into one. We went with very neutral earth colored tones with hues of burnt orange and rusty brown with accents. This style echoes throughout our home so it was only right that it was a part of our special day.

Everything was pretty much custom made. Josh built, sanded and stained the arbor and Dan helped Josh assemble it. Laura and I made my bouquet and all the arbor flowers that attached to the arch. Josh also built and stained a table for cookies and champagne and we hung a bible verse behind it (Corinthians). I had an accessory appointment at Something Blue Bridal in Saratoga and picked a beautiful veil and comb that I get to wear again next year.

Our aisle runner was actually a boho rug with rose petals that lined the sides. Super boho chic.

Pretty much every aspect was DIY and we 100% could not have been happier.

The Gown

My gown is actually a funny story. My friend Laura (1/2 of The Pinckards) and I were scrolling through Pinterest and we found such a cool gown. It led us to Etsy where we found the company. The company was based in New Zealand though and it was questionable whether I would receive it in time. I ended up getting in contact with the owner. I explained I needed my dress in a little over a month. I sent her over my measurements, paid for express/rushed shipping and my dress was custom, handmade to my measurements and delivered to my door in plenty of time.

The Food

We planned to not have a cake and my mom said absolutely not. It was a probably a week or less before our elopement date and she searched high and low for someone to make a cake for us on such short notice. She finally found Katie Callahan and reached out to her. My mom had full creative control over our cake because we wanted her to do whatever. It was such a special and meaningful surprise.

The Muffin Top Baker literally made the most amazing cookies ever. I gave her ideas and said, “Run with it, I completely trust you and what you do.” She knocked it out of the park and everyone loved them.

We also did champagne flutes with a custom charcuterie board made by one of my friends.

The Moments

We absolutely loved being with our family. It was so special. We also loved that we rented a room for dinner at The Queensbury Hotel and had an open bar for a few hours and nice sit-down dinner. It was very sophisticated and intimate. The Queensbury Hotel did an amazing job accommodating all of us and making sure we were taken care of and safe. I also loved that after dinner we went into their terrace and the string lights were hanging. We had a fire and just enjoyed each other’s company. The next day everyone came back to our house and we spent more quality time together.

The Honeymoon

No honeymoon this year -unfortunately with COVID-19 and all it didn’t make sense to travel somewhere and possibly quarantine there and upon return. We are holding onto hope that will take our honeymoon after our wedding in October. We’re thinking either a Europe honeymoon or a tropical one…maybe both, who knows!

Some Advice…

Don’t let anyone make you feel bad about decisions you are making. If you feel you are correct, stand behind it, don’t second guess yourself because you made those decisions for a reason.

Also, delegate. Don’t try to take everything on by yourself. It’s okay to ask different people in your family to do different things for you, even if they don’t offer. Don’t tackle it alone. Don’t stress. It should be one of the happiest times of your life so don’t let anyone get to you or get under your skin. It’s your day - for one day, be selfish.