A bit more from Danielle’s gorgeous Rustic, Chic wedding…
All photos by Ray and Erica Tisdale at 35 Atlanta
Danielle has been sweet enough to share with us her Real Wedding Story…
We spent the 2004 Labor Day weekend with family and friends in Montana, where our family has a vacation house. I brought my newfound best friend, Melinda, and my brother, Cass, brought a few of his friends. Little did we all know that within six weeks of the trip, Lee Copeland (one of Cass’s best friends) and I would be dating, as well as Cass and Melinda. If you fast-forward a few years, I was in the midst of planning the wedding of my dreams with Lee, and Cass has just proposed to Melinda! We were going to be a great big family of best friends!
I plan weddings on the side and have looked at every bridal magazine since I was 5 years old. I had so many choices to make – what season, color, theme- there were too many options! I finally decided on an early fall wedding and the color palette of sage green, chocolate brown, and cream. I always wanted to have an outdoor wedding and reception but it was hard to find just the right place. We wanted an element of Montana throughout the wedding but did not know where we could find that in Georgia. Finally, my florist told me of the perfect place! Fair Weather Farms did not advertise (all by word of mouth) and was gorgeous! It is a 2000-acre private family farm located in Social Circle, GA. You drive down a long, curvy dirt road for about a mile before you get to the Lodge and Pavilion. The Lodge is a three story hand-pegged rustic beauty – all of the wood beams and floors were salvaged from a cotton gin out of North Carolina. When you step through the doors, you are looking at a 3-story glass window that overlooks the lake and 200-year-old oak tree where we would exchange our vows. You were surrounded by trees and rolling pastures – it was as if we had planted a little bit of the Montana Big Sky Country right here in Georgia!
We planned the ceremony for outside underneath the gorgeous old oak tree in front of the lake. Our reception took place outside and inside the screened pavilion that is adjacent to the Lodge. I wanted a Southern Rustic Chic theme using as much of the natural surroundings that we could AND I was on a budget!
To see how Danielle designed this perfect, budget friendly wedding…stay tuned!
