Farm weddings have such an organic and homegrown feel and this permeates each and every nook and cranny of this Maine wedding so beautifully captured by Fat Orange Cat Studio. It’s the kind of day that leaves you all warm and fuzzy inside; no fluff or fuss, just a whole lot of wholesome family time, great food and maybe a draft horse or two. A farm wedding without a horse is like s’mores without the marshmallow after all. See the full affair including lots of pretty pony shots, right here.
From the Bride… Glen and I met as freshmen in college in the same dormitory. We were great friends all through school but didn’t end up dating until we both moved to Boston after graduation. We’re both fortunate to come from tight-knit groups of friends and Irish and Italian families who put a big emphasis on “showing up.” With all the DIY elements that went into this wedding, people showed up in a big way for us. We wanted a place that was special to us that we could return to together (and down the road with our children) and sit under a tree with a drink and say, “Hey, remember when we got married here?” My mom is from Maine, and my parents moved to this farm in 2010. The house is from 1799, the barn from the 1850s, and they put their heart and soul into transforming it into what it is today. Now, they grow their own alfalfa and wheat in the fields where they work their Belgian draft horses, and they added sheep and chickens to the mix right before the wedding. We also loved the vintage, country feel of a farm wedding. The spirit, scenery and love in this place made it an easy choice for us.
We wanted to have a meaningful ceremony and then a kicking party, and each of those came with their own memorable times that our photographer captured perfectly. Seeing the smiling faces of all our friends and family as we arrived at the ceremony, having my father marry us, surprising Glen with his friends from the a cappella group he founded in college, and watching fireworks that Glen’s six uncles set off in the field all added up to an amazing day. Most of all, we wanted to have fun, and we got that a hundred times over.
This wedding was a true family affair — it wouldn’t have happened without the hard work of our family and friends. We joked that we had a horse trainer and wannabe pastry chef, a fine paper expert, and a master artist, plus two doctors-in-training and a nutritionist to take care of any health needs. Glen even rode to the ceremony in a 1925 Rickenbacker because my grandfather restores vintage cars. The other car he brought to the farm was a 1906 Stanley Steemer. My mother made my veil and boutonnieres, my grandmother did the bouquets and flower arrangements in mason jars, and my father married us. Glen’s uncle built the arbor out of white cedar from his land in Maine, which he had stripped, dried and shaped. Another of Glen’s uncles and his cousin played acoustic guitars for our ceremony music. I made the cake, which my brother — a Wyoming cowboy — frosted and decorated. Our family and friends baked batches of their favorite cookies for our desserts, and my cousin did the chalkboards that detailed the menus and games. Our good friend is a bartender, and he created two custom cocktails for our cocktail hour — one with cucumber, lemon and simple syrup and the other with bourbon, peach and coffee — and served our guests. Glen cut the signs from pieces of scrap wood from the farm and one of the groomsmen, who has a master’s in sculpture from Yale, painted the signs and table numbers. Being on a farm, we wanted to showcase the horses, so the two Belgian drafts pulled the bridesmaids to the ceremony. The bridesmaids also wore horseshoe necklaces. It was also important to us to acknowledge all of our role models as we entered married life, so we had pictures of our families and friends on their wedding days placed on the tables, which ade for a lot of retro laughs. The wedding party and our families did the heavy lifting to set up the reception and ceremony decor, but our wedding coordinator was a dream and put the finishing touches on everything. She made sure the night flowed smoothly and put so much work into our wedding, making sure to incorporate our details and vision.
Wedding Photography: Li Ward of Fat Orange Cat Studio / Wedding Venue: The Family Farm of the Bride in Turner, Maine / Flowers: Shaky Barn Farm Gardens + Arranged by the Mother + Grandmother of the Bride / Wedding Day Coordination: The Purple Orchid / Officiant: The Father of the Bride / Catering: New England Brisketeers / Wedding Cake: DIY by the Bride + Her Brother / Desserts + Cocktails: Friends of the Couple / Ceremony Music: An Uncle & Cousin of the Groom / Reception Music: DJ Scott Keo / Signs: DIY by the Groom + A Friend / Chalkboards: A Cousin of the Bride / Arbor: DIY by an Uncle of the Groom / Tent Rental: One Stop Party Shoppe / Wedding Dress: Allure Bridals via Madeleine’s Daughter / Bridesmaids’ Jewelry: Fifty50Studio / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: J.Crew / Hair + Makeup: Paradise Salon and Spa / Groom’s Suit: Raymond Personal Tailor
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