This may be a barn wedding but this is one glam dress (of course it’s Vera!). It’s one pleasant and pretty surprise among many within this Wisconsin wedding, captured by The McCartneys Photography. Their pics and the sunshine at this summer celebration are giving me hope as winter surrounds on all sides; join me in the Vault and let’s get over these hump day blues together.
From The McCartneys Photography… Erin and John were married on Door County’s bayside during a ceremony held at Sunset Beach Park. They were blessed with abundant sunshine and the support of all of their loved ones, along with beautiful music from local musicians Ben and Lily Larsen. After promising each other forever, Erin and John dashed down the street in Door County’s iconic trolley. John worked at the Fish Creek Marina growing up, and it was the perfect location to give him and his gorgeous new wife a moment to themselves while we photographed them in a classic Door County setting. Erin’s Vera Wang gown was an absolute show-stopper, and her bridesmaids looked lovely in Adrianna Papell dresses. We could have photographed them along the sparkling water all day long!
At About Thyme Farm, guests enjoyed cocktail hour and passed hors d’oeuvres on the lawn with more musical treats by Lily and Ben Larsen! While Erin and John made their way from hugs to laughs and smile-filled conversations, their amazing wedding planner, Chandra from Door County Event Planners, put the finishing touches on a timeless, beautiful barn celebration awaiting them just footsteps away. Erin and John put their stamp on their celebration with handmade planter boxes and a marquee “W” representing the new Mr & Mrs Woerfel. Heartfelt toasts, joyfully tear-filled eyes and sweet little moments between Erin and John as well as delicious food from Alexander’s led right into one of the most perfect Door County sunsets we have ever captured. In true Door County fashion, Erin and John treated their guests to locally made pies from Koepsel’s Farm Market and, from then on, their dance floor went from 0 to 100 in record time when the Bluewater Kings Band struck their first chords!
From the Bride… John and I just wanted people to have fun! One big party! We are both people that don’t like to be the center of attention and we didn’t want it to be all about us because so many people made the long trip! We wanted people to enjoy being with family and friends with the caveat being us getting married!
We always new Door County is where we would get married. We also new Sunset Beach was going to play a special role in some way or another. John’s dad grew up right down the street from Sunset Beach and John had so many memories playing there by the water. It just had so much meaning to John and his family! I honestly couldn’t think of any other place that would have been just as perfect! We actually didn’t want to have a “barn” wedding. I just thought it had been done one to many times. Because we only had eight months to plan a wedding we had to decide on a venue fast! Chandra showed us About Thyme and we just fell in love with it! I just wanted it to be elegant and simple and I think we accomplished that! The way the lighting hit the barn around the time of our cocktail hour and reception was just breathtaking and exactly what I had envisioned!
I knew I wanted dark greens and ivory with touches of gold. I didn’t want anything that was overbearing in color. We also knew we wanted a marquee “W” and John did a fantastic job building that piece, it will be showcased in our basement (our next project)!! Looking back, I really put John to work building things! We saved a lot of money by building our planter boxes, seating frames and welcome sign (painted a mirror with chalkboard painting for a total of $10!!) If we had more time I would have personalized more but between selling our house, working, and building our new home time was hard to come by!
Riding the trolley to the beach for our ceremony and exchanging our vows were my favorite parts and what I remember most. To see the emotion in John’s eyes was just overwhelming! The day was such a blur! We talk about it all the time that we would like to go back in time and be there as a guest to see from that perspective. We absolutely loved having live music for our ceremony and cocktail hour!
I would 100% recommend a wedding planner!! Although at the beginning it’s hard to see past the cost it’s at the very end and next day of your wedding where we looked back and said we were so thankful for Chandra at Door County Event Planners! She handled everything with such ease! Floral – Helene got our vision spot on! The flowers were exactly what I wanted it! Alexander’s hit it out of the park with the food! We still have people compliment us ALL the time on how great our wedding was and how fabulous our pictures are! We absolutely love our pictures and have special places in our new home to showcase them!!
Advice for future brides and grooms… ENJOY EVERY MOMENT! Even the planning part, it goes by way to fast! And the after wedding blues do exist after being on such a high from the planning to the day of! Also, do not sweat the small stuff! No one will even notice if something is out of place or forgotten!
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Photography: The McCartneys Photography | Event Planning: Door County Event Planners | Floral Design: Flora | Wedding Dress: Vera Wang | Invitations: Wedding Paper Divas | Ceremony Venue: Sunset Beach | Reception Venue: About Thyme Farm | Bride's Shoes: Badgley Mischka | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Adrianna Papell | Catering: Alexander's | Hair: B Rose Salon | Band: Bluewater Kings Band | Groom's Attire: Jos. A. Bank | Transportation: Door County Trolley | Bride's Ring: Steve Quick Jeweler | Groom's Ring: Zales | Pies: Koepsel's