Another Wedding Wednesday is upon us, SMPers – and you know what that means. A morning, noon and night of gorgeous inspiration, all courtesy of seven amazing fêtes that are guaranteed to make your hearts sing. So, grab that cup of morning coffee, cozy on up and prepare for an entire day of swooning in the gallery. You can’t afford to miss one second of pretty.
Up first in our day of lovely is a South Carolina soiree that puts the fab in fab.u.lous. (Literally.) I’m talking a seriously amazing farm setting, two adorable college sweethearts and a carnival-inspired soiree that is all about the sweet DIY details and bundles upon bundles of happy. Nathan Abplanalp Photography snapped up every vibrant moment and, believe me when I tell you, this is the PERFECT way to start the day. Click here for even more pretty and then stay tuned for a heartwarming film from Aaron Barnett below!
From the Bride… Shurn met me when he was a pledge in his fraternity, Sigma Nu, at Florida State. The pledges took turns as designated drivers for the brothers and their female friends, and he remembers picking me up and driving me from one party to another. Months later, after Shurn had become a brother, I had fallen asleep in my roommate’s room after a party when I woke up to someone playing with the music on the computer. It was Shurn. We talked all night, and then he drove me to class in the morning. The rest, as they say, is history.
I would say the first thing that made our wedding unique was the fact that my father actually built the barn where we held our reception for the sole purpose of both my sister and I to use for our weddings. The farm is very sentimental for my family and holds so many wonderful memories from our childhood. I was so thankful that we could get married there because my parents were also married on the farm 27 years ago. My father had the arbor hand-built for us, and it will stay on the farm in the same place — it is so wonderful to me that we will always be able to go back to the place we got married, and I secretly hope our future children will choose to marry there, too. The carnival theme was also unique and allowed us to do so many fun things. We had popcorn, cotton candy and snow cone machines. We had a high-striker and corn holes that a family friend gifted us with. We had a kissing booth and an “American Gothic” styled prop for photos that my aunt hand-painted and my uncle constructed. We had a 1940’s skee ball machine that my father purchased. Early on, I decided that I wanted the wedding to be as handmade as possible, and there was very little décor that I actually purchased and didn’t alter in some way. It was definitely more work, but it was so worth it when I got to see everything come together. I wanted the centerpieces to be unique and fun, so about a year before the wedding, I started making paper flowers of all shapes and sizes. All in all, I made around 500 individual flowers with help from some of my family. They were definitely my favorite decorations in the wedding because we spent so much time on them, and I was able to have as many flowers as I wanted without worrying about the cost! The vases were a mixture of milk glass and clear vases that I collected through numerous trips to Goodwill and spray painted white. The signs were made from pieces of scrap wood, and I used different paint techniques to age them. The cake toppers were a surprise from my sister (she made them out of clay and hand painted them) and represented our four dogs and my husband’s favorite baseball team. My bouquet was very sentimental to me because it was made out of brooches that my family and friends had given me. Some were pieces that people who are no longer with us had given me over the years, and it meant a lot to me to be able to have a piece of them with me as I walked down the aisle.
When I look back at our wedding day, I am so so grateful that we were able to have a wedding that completely suit our personalities and allowed us to do what we wanted. We knew early on that a sit-down dinner and a wedding in a more regal setting wasn’t going to work for us. We wanted everyone to feel comfortable and be in the mood to celebrate. We also wanted people to be up and moving around and have things to do. We didn’t want to be sitting around at a table by ourselves eating dinner for an hour — we wanted to be up and interacting with our guests the entire time! The wedding wasn’t just about us — it was about our families and friends coming together, and we really wanted them to enjoy each others company. Having it at the farm and having the theme allowed everyone to be relaxed and just have fun. It also allowed us to not stop the party until we were ready, which was very important to us!
Wedding Photography: Nathan Abplanalp Photography / Wedding Venue: The Bride’s Family Farm in Van Wyck, South Carolina / Flowers: Harris Teeter + Arranged by the Bride & Bridesmaids / Wedding Coordination: Erin Dennis / Wedding Cinematography: Aaron Barnett / Catering: Something Classic Catering / Wedding Cake: Ella Art / Wedding Invitations + Stationery: Beth Cote Designs / Music: ATG Entertainment / Rentals: Pinnacle Events + Something Classic Catering / Accommodations: The Ballantyne / Paper Signs, Mad Libs, Table Numbers + Seating Cards: Paper and Pigtails / Peanut Bags: Hey YoYo / Wedding Dress: Alfred Angelo / Bride’s Shoes: Marie Alexander / Bride’s Hair Clip: Vintage via Sleepy Poet Antique Mall / Hair: Amy Finley of Salon 160 (803-802-0044) / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Their Choice in Red / Men’s Attire: Their Choice / Bow Ties: Learned Stitchworks / Engagement Ring: An Estate Piece / Wedding Rings: Tower Place Jewelry (704-529-5511)