A perfect ‘backyard’ wedding is all this bride wanted when planning her wedding and The Hidden Meadow and Barn was exactly what she was looking for. Rolling hills, beautiful views, and all of the green you could ask for from the Birdy Grey bridesmaid dresses to the bouquet and centerpieces by E.L. Design makeup for this gorgeous day, all photographed by Kelly Grace Photography. Take a look below to see all of the details including the signage the bride did herself!
From the Bride…
What did you envision your wedding being prior to planning?
I always imagined a big wedding with all my friends and family celebrating the day I would say I do. Being a simple kind of gal, I wanted something unique that spoke for itself and I feel that we accomplished that with Hidden Meadow and Barn. I found Hidden Meadow and Barn accidentally. I was shopping for groceries and casually picked up a Wisconsin Bride Magazine and flipped through a few pages. I saw a beautiful bride and groom sharing a kiss in the sunset of the most beautiful rolling hills we call Wisconsin. I went home that night, requested a showing and we immediately fell in love with the venue the moment we saw it. One of our favorite things about the venue was that we could have everything all in one place (our guests also appreciated this) – our ceremony, reception, and even could stay the night at the Farmhouse on site. A perfect “backyard” wedding.
What was your color palette and your style vision?
My favorite color is green, so I knew I wanted to get married in the summer and to have lots of greenery. I went with mixed greens, white, and gold accents for a color palette.
What unique elements or DIY details did you include?
Some DIY details I included were all of the signage I hand wrote myself. It took me many hours of practice teaching myself modern calligraphy, but I love looking back at my photos and knowing that I did it. It has now turned into a hobby and a little of a side hustle – I will be doing my sister’s wedding as well as one of my bridesmaids who just got engaged.
What was your favorite moment? Your favorite crafted detail?
My favorite moment (other than saying I do), was at the very end of the night. Everyone had left after a full night of dancing and a few of us from our wedding party stayed at the farmhouse on site. We had a campfire with a full moon, overlooking the venue.
My favorite crafted detail is our guestbook globe and our ring box. Brad and I love to travel and wanted to incorporate that somehow into our wedding. The jewelry box that held our rings was hand-made and hand-painted in India where we got engaged.
Flowers
Flowers by E.L. Floral and Design: Another great thing about Hidden Meadow and Barn – especially in the summer- we didn’t need many flowers due to the natural beauty of the property. I kept flowers quite simple and it turned out to be just right for my tastes – simple greenery to run down the center of the tables, mixed greenery with accents of baby’s breath for
the bridesmaids, and of course had to splurge on my bridal bouquet – mixed greenery, white roses, and baby’s breath.
The Dress
The dress I ended up with was not what I thought I would go with. I got the “Veda” by Maggie Sottero. When I first tried it on, I didn’t really like it, but my mom was tearing up she thought it was so beautiful. It wasn’t until later that day we sat down for lunch I saw a picture of me in it and I went back to get it. I loved the detailing on the back of the dress and the waterfall-like train.
Favors and Desert
For our favors/desert: The inspiration came from the fact that we LOVE coffee and donuts. So that’s what we did. We picked out coffee mugs at goodwill’s and other consignment shops – some random and some that made us think of one of our guests. We had a display of all these coffee mugs for our guests to pick one to take home. I still get snap chats and texts whenever anyone uses the mug they chose and got lots of compliments on the idea. The donuts were from a local bakery in Madison where we live (Greenbush Bakery). They were such a hit that I didn’t even get to have one.
Advice
One piece of advice I would give to any bride is not to worry about trying to please everyone. I especially learned this by trying to plan a wedding during a Pandemic. I knew that I could not arrange to make every guest happy/comfortable and worried about the judgments of friends and family about having our wedding. At the end of the day, we feel so blessed that we could still have our wedding and celebrate our love for each other.
Photography: Kelly Grace Photography | Floral Design: E.L. Design | Wedding Dress: Bella Bridal Boutique | Cake: Greenbush Bakery | Invitations: Minted | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Birdy Grey | Catering: Billy's Bar and Grill | DJ: Will Nye the DJ Guy | Groom's Attire: The Black Tux | Groomsmen's Attire: The Black Tux | Wedding Venue: Hidden Meadow and Barn | Beauty: Spa Beauty