Our Wedding

Surrounded by our favorite people in the whole world, Ryan and I said our "I do's"on a beautiful June Saturday at one of our favorite breweries in our new hometown of Waynesboro. We will cherish the memories of this day for the rest of our lives and are so grateful to Katie Barfield and General Greene Studios for capturing all the special moments for us!

{Video credit: General Greene Studios}

Getting Ready

We were so pleased with our decision to rent this beautiful mountain home to serve as home base for our wedding party during the weekend. It was great to have everyone together the morning of the wedding in a relaxed environment. The hair + makeup and photography + videography crew came to the house in the morning to capture the excitement. Girls got ready upstairs and boys got ready in the basement. We enjoyed a leisurely morning filled with music and mimosas - I felt so relaxed! The guys even went for a mountain run together - a runner's way to prepare for the big day (Ryan and all his groomsmen ran track and cross country in college together).

{getting ready house: Crimora Mine Retreat}

At our rehearsal dinner, Ryan's dad gave him a coin that he had carried in his pocket on three occasions in his life: his wedding, the birth of Ryan, and the birth of his sister Rachel. It was such a special (tear-filled) moment! Ryan also carried his grandfather's wedding band who passed away in 2009.

My first look with my Dad - cue the tears!

{Bouquet: The Fadded Poppy}

First Look

We were so torn on whether to do a first look or not. We honestly didn't even decide until moments before we did it, but in the end I am happy we did it. These are some of my favorite photos and seeing each other calmed my pre-wedding jitters.

{Makeup: Evonne Burns | Hair: Shannon Smith}

Ceremony

With looming rain in the forecast we were so thankful for these bright blue skies! The mountain backdrop at the ceremony site of Hermitage Hill Farm is breathtaking. Since the view was the center focus, we only needed a few decor items to complete the ceremony look. The aisle stumps were cut from my parent's Lake Anna property and we topped them with some handmade flower arrangements created from our bulk flowers order placed in milk cans.

{Venue: Hermitage Hill Farm}

We decided to incorporate a tree planting into our ceremony. It was really simple to put together. We found and dug up this little ginkgo sapling and placed it in a pretty porcelain pot. I picked up the small gold watering can from Target and framed a decorative sign. I had our parents collect soil from each of our childhood homes. The jars were placed under our mom's chairs and when it came time, they got up and handed the jars to us. We loved the symbolization of blending the soil from the roots of our families to start the new growth of our own little family. We each poured our soils in and then watered the tree together to show how we will need to nurture our new life together. It was a special part of the ceremony and much more meaningful representation, to us, than traditional unity candles or sand pourings.

Group Portraits

{Bridesmaids dresses: Azazie, color Wisteria}

Details

To save on wedding costs, we made a lot of our decorations ourselves. I hand-painted these wood signs by staining pieces of plywood, using a chalk text transfer method, and white paint pens. My dad made the simple wood easels using leftover wood from our fence project.

I was so pleased with the way this seating chart turned out and the design made it super easy to make last minute changes (which are inevitable!). It was made with the same stained plywood, but with an added frame and 17 pairs of evenly spaced nails to tie strings of twine for each table. I printed names on white card stock and used mini clothespins to arrange them.

This DIY wood guestbook sign was another favorite wedding project of mine. I used plywood and attached a simple unfinished wood frame to the center, stained the whole piece and added the personalized name design to the top. We set out white sharpie paint pens for everyone to sign. Now we can replace the photo with one of our favorite wedding shots and display it on our wall!

Another handmade outdoor wedding sign - this one was made by my future sister-in-law. I'm happy to be gaining a sister who shares my love of crafting :)

For the reception tables, I created wood slice centerpieces from trees cut down at my parents property. I created this centerpiece look by layering wood slices and gluing some artificial moss. I also made the rustic table numbers using wood slice base, wooden dowels, and painted plywood pieces.

One of my favorite touches were the framed "us at age" photos at each table - they were easy to create and added a fun personal touch!

For favors we bulk ordered succulents and potted them ourselves into mini clay pots and topped with pebbles. I created and printed these cute signs, glued them to tooth picks and stuck them in each.

We made these 3-leveled pie display stands also out of trees from my parent's property by attaching a round piece of plywood to each small stump. They added an interesting layered look to our dessert table!

{Pies: Mrs. Rowes}

My talented mother made my cake and she nailed the look I was going for! She did a simple ombre lavender frosting and decorated it with an assortment of artificial succulents from Michael's. I made the topper using aluminum craft wire and some patient hands with pliers.

Dances

First dance song: The Way I Am - Ingrid Michaelson

Father/bride song: Wildflower - Tom Petty

Mother/groom song: Slow Down - Nichole Nordenan

Bride + Groom Sunset Portraits

I absolutely loved this photo session in the hops fields. The light was beautiful and it was a special private moment for Ry and I with our photographers where we could take a breath and take in all that had happened so far in this amazing day.