Wedding Story
Theme For Ceremony and Reception
Comments from the bride: “The look was modern-vintage. Being on a farm reminded us both of our grandparents, so we chose things like vintage white milk glass bud vases, Fire King milk glass coffee mugs, metal coffee urns, and peonies. We have a modern aesthetic in our home with simple clean patterns and crisp, cool greys with pops of yellow, orange and turquoise. This drove our choice for the color palette – modern table runners, yellow billy balls, orange ranunculus flowers, and a clean simplicity to the overall design.”
Wedding Invitations
“We created our wedding invitations on Vistaprint. Their online system is super easy to use, and everything is completely customizable. We were very happy with the quality of our invitations, programs and Thank You cards, all created to match our Big Day.”
Best Advice you received while Planning your Wedding?
“One great piece of advice we received was to stay by each other’s side and enjoy the entire event together. It’s easy to get pulled in different directions and want to break off to greet everyone. A friend once said ‘everyone will seek out the girl in the white dress.’ By staying together we were able to visit with our guests as a couple, enjoying every minute as newlyweds, stepping away now and then to take it all in, and savor the moment. We are both so glad we did that. For us to experience the whole night side-by-side really created a unique bond .”
Describe the Bride’s Attire
“I loved my dress! It’s an Audrey Hepburn-inspired tea length dress by Moonlight Bridal. My shoes were a lucky find for just $10! I got them at DSW and adhered bow-shaped hair clips adorned with pearls. I love how they turned out.”
Describe your Wedding Flowers
“Our talented friends, Keely and Marcy of Mayfield Flowers, helped us create our Modern-Vintage theme. Dinner tables featured all yellow billy balls, football mums and spider mums in white milk glass bud vases. My bouquet sat in a vase on the head table, along with pomander balls made of yellow mums re-purposed from our ceremony aisle.
“My Dad’s wedding band was tied to my bridal bouquet, which was made of bright pink peonies (representing the home my Dad grew up in), orange and yellow ranunculus, yellow garden roses (representing Friendship), yellow football mums and yellow billy balls. Corsages and boutonnieres were made of yellow billy balls, yellow button mums and yellow ranunculus. Inside the barn, the girls created turquoise wooden boxes with blocks of color using all of the flowers above. It was beautiful, colorful, clean, simple and fun.”
Ceremony Music
“Since we didn’t have bridesmaids or groomsmen, we asked our family to walk ahead of us, after all guests were seated. The Family Processional song was I’m Yours by Jason Mraz, performed by Vitamin String Quartet.
“My stepdaughter Anabelle (flower girl) and our dog Derby (ring bearer) walked ahead of me escorted by my Mom and Sister. This was in honor of my dad who passed away when I was a child. They walked down the aisle to Such Great Heights by The Postal Service, performed on piano and flute by two dear friends.
“The family unity ceremony (planting of the tree) was accompanied by Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, performed by Vitamin String Quartet. For our recessional, Chris, Anabelle, Derby and I ran back up the aisle to Happy by Pharell Williams, played on flute and trumpet by our close friends. That was a really fun moment.”
Describe the Groomsmen Attire
“We didn’t have groomsmen, but our ring bearer – Derby the Portuguese Water Dog – wore a custom collar with bow tie and matching leash, purchased on Etsy.”
Describe the Groom’s Attire
“Chris wore Joseph Abboud from Men’s Wearhouse. His grey suit and vest were perfect with the yellow and grey plaid tie he chose. He wore grey Adidas tennis shoes with yellow and grey plaid socks to match his tie.”
Highlights from the Ceremony
“We didn’t have bridesmaids or groomsmen, it was just the two of us with Chris’ 6-year old daughter (Anabelle) as our flower girl and our 1 year old Portugese Water Dog as our ring bearer. It was so fun to see the two of them walking down the aisle together, and have all 4 of us stand together as a family.
“Our wedding was about our family, not just about Chris and I becoming husband and wife. We had a family unity ceremony where Chris, his daughter and I added soil from our hometowns of Louisville, Kentucky and Winnebago, Illinois to a family tree that we all planted in our yard together.
“We aren’t religious or very traditional, and didn’t know what to do for our ceremony. Our officiant had a great idea to have us answer questions in advance of the wedding. We first heard each others answers as we stood together in front of our family and friends. It was really fun to hear about ‘when we each knew we had found the one’, as well as what little things drive us crazy that we would miss if they weren’t there. It felt extra special to learn new things about each other as we were about to become husband and wife.”
Did you have a guestbook?
“We love our guestbook! We created it on Shutterfly using photographs from our Engagement Session. We were able to customize the book to make it fun and interactive (Mad Libs about the bride & groom, fill-in-the-blanks, etc.). Shutterfly is great because you can stack promotional codes, getting 50% or more off your entire order. The quality of their photo books is fantastic, too.”
Highlights from the Reception
“Throwing a fun party for our close friends and family was our goal, and we felt we accomplished that at the reception. The Kids’ Zone included a small farm table and chairs to play games and color, a clothesline to hang children’s drawings of the wedding, a fort with swings and a slide, and a giant bubble machine.
“We had lawn games for everyone, including a Giant Jenga set Chris built with a friend. Dinner was served in stations and featured bite-sized favorites from the Midwest for the bride (Illinois/Wisconsin), and the South for the groom (Kentucky).
“A close friend created a fun cocktail-hour photo booth for our guests, taking pics of them jumping in the air, holding frames in front of one another, and writing messages to us on chalkboards. We created a vintage coffee bar in honor of my firecracker of a grandma, who had turned 90 just days before the wedding. After dusk, we had a campfire surrounded by adirondack chairs, warm blankets, and a wagon full of s’mores supplies. The kiddos loved that!
“Dancing in the upper level of the barn was a blast, and looked so pretty with white bulb lights hanging across the ceiling.”
Groomsmen Gift
“No groomsmen, but Chris surprised his Dad with his boutonniere that had his United States Veteran pin attached to it. He loved that.”
Bridesmaids Gift
“We didn’t have bridesmaids, but I made pearl bracelets with satin bows for my stepdaughter and my niece, who was my bridal bouquet attendant. I also gave handmade gifts from Etsy to my mom, my mother-in-law, my sister and my best friend, who also happened to be our floral designer.”
Describe the Bridesmaids’ Attire
“No bridesmaids, but our flower girl wore a grey satin dress with a bow around the middle, and sweet yellow shoes to match mine. I added ribbons from the scrapbooking aisle of Michael’s to her shoes, which turned out really cute. She and I both changed into grey Converse tennis shoes later during the reception, and I replaced our laces with satin ribbons.”
Wedding Favors
“Our baker made Wisconsin-shaped sugar cookies, frosted in white, with a small red heart, where our now hometown of Madison is located. Guests passed them on their way out, next to a sign that read ‘Sweet Dreams. XO, H&C’.”
Tell us About Your Honeymoon
“We called it a campymoon and camped on Madeline Island near Bayfield, Wisconsin. Bayfield is a beautiful harbor town surrounded by the crystal clear Lake Superior, at the very tip of Wisconsin. Our wedding registry included gifts from REI, as well as Wanderable.com, where guests could purchase honeymoon excursions like moped rentals for a day, a sailing trip, or kayak tours. We had a blast, and loved being able to tag guests on Facebook, thanking them for the excursions they gifted us.”
