Barn marrying is one of my favorite ways to say “I do” – especially when it’s a romantic meets organic set of nuptials like this one captured by Jillian Michelle Photography. It’s a breathtaking farm setting meets some seriously cool hanging centerpieces from Sweet Root Village meets a Watters gown that will take your breath away. See every beautiful moment in THE VAULT right this way.
From Jillian Michelle Photography… Helene and Andrew live in Washington, DC but they knew that they wanted their wedding to take place outside the city to really showcase the beauty of the Virginia countryside. Shadow Creek was the perfect backdrop for their beautiful wedding. The traditional Jewish ceremony took place outside on the patio overlooking the gorgeous rolling hills. The ceremony was followed by cocktail hour on the front porch complete with a hot apple cider station. The girls at Sweet Root Village did amazing job wowing the guests with their hanging centerpieces at the reception and the Black Tie Band kept the dance floor full the entire night!
From the Bride… Living in the heart of DC, we knew we wanted a day that was focused on our marriage, family and friends, out of the hustle bustle of the city.
Our color palette came about pretty organically through the planning process. It began as “neutral” but once we worked with our incredible florist, Sweet Root Village, we realized green would also be a focus considering we wanted a lot of greenery incorporated in our florals. The style vision was to play up the natural beauty of Shadow Creek, our beautiful barn venue. We wanted to add elegant touches to an already gorgeous venue and its Virginia horse country surroundings.
Flowers were a dream of natural looking neutral blooms and greenery. We had not planned for favors but many guests ended up hanging onto the green and white throw blankets we provided for the ceremony. The rest were donated to charity. Guests did takeaway some snacks for the bus ride back to the city including breakfast sandwich biscuits and chocolate chip cookies (two of our favorite treats). Our goal for cakes was simple and delicious. Sweets by E in Herndon made that a reality with our varied flavored, sized and frosted white buttercream cakes topped with some florals. I loved being able to cut into her play on a funfetti looking flavor! My gown experience sounds cliche, but after looking at seemingly endless shops and dresses I really did know when I finally found the one.
I love the unique hanging centerpieces the creative girls at Sweet Root Village designed for us. They added an outdoorsy feel to the space and conveniently left just enough room for a scattering of candles and simple bottles of florals alongside our family style meal. Other fun DIY details were the carrot crate for the horse Mr. Z, cinnamon stick filled mason jars for a cider bar and station for FUJI Instant camera photo filled guest book.
One of my favorite moments was being outside for our ceremony and hearing the cows in the field behind us mooing amen to the Rabbi’s prayers- definitely couldn’t have had that happen in the city! Another favorite detail was hearing the our band play the slowed down version of Beyonce’s Love on Top they learned for our first dance. It made a potentially awkward five minutes in the spotlight be so personal and fun for us!
Advice I would give to brides? Really try to be present and savor every minute of the weekend. It’s such a special time that you will want to replay in your head for the rest of your life.
Photography: Jillian Michelle Photography | Cinematography: Shaking Hands Productions | Event Planning: Ashlee Virginia Events | Floral Design: Sweet Root Village | Wedding Dress: Watters | Cake: Sweets By E | Invitations: Designers Fine Press | Catering: Main Event Caterers | Hair + Makeup: Hair & Makeup Artistry by Claudine | Calligraphy: Meant To Be Calligraphy | Band: Black Tie: Washington Talent | Groomsmen Attire: Suitsupply | Venue: Shadow Creek | Day Of Signage: Miss Merkle Design | Rentals: Classic Party Rentals | Welcome Sign: Leah Letters