Their relationship had a timeline from the beginning—Lee was preparing to enlist, Jeni said, “so we knew that our relationship would be brief. Either we’d get married, or not.”

A month later, the couple decided that they would. “So we planned a day trip to Charleston, S.C., and I thought that it would be the perfect time to propose,” Jeni said. “But he wouldn’t hint at anything.”

Lee dragged Jeni from place to place and along a romantic walk, her anticipation building with each stop until she decided it was time for Lee to propose. “I stopped and waited and he didn’t do anything. I got frustrated and said we should just walk back,” she said. “So we walked back with me fuming and him silent. I went to sit down and be grumpy, but he suddenly pulled me into a hug and proceeded to propose.”

Two days later, the couple booked their reception hall—a “timeless and gorgeous” building filled with so much character, Jeni said, that it helped to shape her wedding’s then-unplanned theme. “I don’t know if there was an actual ‘theme,’” she explained, “but ‘vintage, autumn night sky with peacocks’ would describe it.”

The bride, an artist, designed much of the couple’s décor. She crafted the bouquets, boutonnieres and corsages from fabric flowers and peacock feathers. She bought three old wood doors, punched out the window panes and in the newly-made space, hung glass jars glowing with candles.

Jeni also made a wishing tree—in place of a guest book—from branches, and hand drew the feathers that were printed across the invitations. She said, “Wedding planning is totally not my kind of thing, but it ended up being super fun because I made it totally my own.”