When we talk about homespun weddings this adorable Vermont celebration by von Trapp Weddings is exactly what comes to mind. It is fun, quirky and jam-packed with absolutely amazing DIY details. With a gorgeous mountain backdrop and a barn filled with light, love and tons of homemade goodies this is one rustic beauty that is sure to inspire and delight! See all the details in the full gallery!
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From the bride: Our event was a marriage of creativity, haute-rustic farminess, blissful exuberance, and food snobbery, all under a blanket of earth-shaking love — and we did not break the bank! We planned our wedding in 3.5 months. There were barn-cleaning parties and grass seeding cocktail hours, which doubled as platforms for experimenting with signature wedding cocktails and hors d’oeuvres concocted from the garden. After a few months, during which four truckloads of dust were hauled out from under the floorboards, the historic red barn was ready for decorations. Jordan’s mother Dana— “the magician”, who is a creative force—started scouring yard sales, church bazaars, and thrift stores and managed to score 200 mismatching vintage china plates. Dana made a custom champagne-bucket label and designed a fantastic napkin ring with wire and old buttons which, along with masses of tissue paper dahlias from a Martha Stewart pattern, was replicated 200 times by family and friends at the “Ladies’ Arts and Crafts Bachelorette Night.” Dana next went about turning the J.Crew “Goddess” bridal gown into an original masterpiece. Using the ivory satin from Jordan’s grandmother’s wedding gown, she made a stunning custom sash, along with 100 appliqué satin leaves that cascaded down the back of the gown on a thin ribbon. With the same dahlia pattern and the ivory satin, she also made a head piece for Jordan. It was to be a “hats wedding” and all guests and wedding party were asked to don some sort of creative chapeau.
With Vermont’s Worcester Mountain range as a backdrop, the guests watched Jordan literally skip (some say fly) down the aisle and leap into Dan’s arms. The same mountain range is etched onto the matching custom wedding rings, which were made by Fire & Metal goldsmiths, a small boutique in Burlington, by the same craftsman who had made the groom’s parents’ wedding bands almost exactly thirty-one years ago.
Following the ceremony, guests made their way back to the new flat “wedding green” for cocktail hour. They found their names on the posted seating chart (the tables were named after vegetables and labeled with seed packets) and then fastened personalized name tags penned by Jordan, onto their selected mason jar or French table wine glass. The glasses were arranged on a custom tree form table (Jordan’s step-father builds handicap-accessible tree houses and sculptural tree furniture) which was marked with a sign that read, “how about a glass of wine, sunshine?” or, “perhaps a beer, my dear?” Dinner was served family-style in the barn, followed by dancing outside under the tent to a local band, Johnny Reid & Friends, featuring Bruce Sklar on piano. The band learned Ray LaMontagne’s “You are the Best Thing” as a surprise song for Jordan & Dan. Everybody took to the floor and danced the night away. Following the widespread enthusiasm for the wedding, the von Trapps have decided to transform Bliss Ridge into a wedding venue.
Venue: Bliss Ridge / Photography: JC McIllwaine, Marcin Kropiewnicki, Dana Jinkins, Faye Murphy, Clint Beishir, Jordan von Trapp / Cinematography: Alice Wedding Videos / Flowers: von Trapp Flowers / Event Design & Event Planning: von Trapp Weddings / Invitations: Designed by the bride and printed at Staples / Bride’s Ceremony Dress: J.Crew with Custom Antique Appliqué / Bride’s Reception Dress: Nicole Miller / Cake: Made by the bride / Event Rentals: Vermont Weddings, Tents & Events / Catering: Michael’s Good to Go (now closed), Three Penny Catering / Hair: Caitlin Gallagher at High Country Hair Design (802-496-7772) / Bridesmaids gowns: J.Crew / Wedding Rings: Fire & Metal Goldsmiths / Ceremony Music: Elisabeth von Trapp, Marla Mitchnick & Tony Naples / Cheese board: Jasper Hill Cellars / Band: Johnny Reid & Friends