Part II: The Wedding Celebration continued...

I promise this is the final "wedding" post.  
We had 4 months to plan our wedding, which only got done with the help of family -specifically our moms and dads, our brothers and sisters, my aunt, a few close family friends, and a good handful of creative friends.
We are so grateful to each and everyone of you who made our wedding day possible.  We could not have done it without you all.
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Just Married

Not only did we get married in the gardens of the Blue Dress Barn, but we also partied with all of our favorite people inside the BD Barn.  It didn't hurt that there was such beautiful surroundings so we could just hang around while we took some post ceremony photos.  What can I say, tall grasses, and rustic structures are my thing.

The Reception Decor

I did a lot of DIY-ing for our wedding.  The cathedral ceilings in this barn were already so beautiful, so all it needed was a few personal touches.  Theses are all the photos that Ian had printed from the past 3 years, which he used for the ceiling treatment at our engagement. It was fun to reuse them as a stitching together of our growing story.  The photos were all black and white, and simply clothes pinned on to twine and hung from the wooden beams.. 

I printed out a lot of photos from over our 3 years, at various sizes.  Then I went to some thrift stores and garage sales to find the different sized vintage photo frames, which are typically $1 or less.  Pretty easy, and personalized, decor!  

Table settings came with so many decisions to make.  My main goals were keeping it reasonably priced, and marking the tables with our story.  I hand painted whiskey bottles for vases as memory of my late grandfather and because it's my husband's favorite drink (these were all free - collected, and donated).  I printed smaller versions of the ceiling photos to circle around the centerpieces, and also made eucalyptus wreathes that circled around the entire center piece - I was able to get 3o done with the help of a few friends.  Note: when working with large quantities of eucalyptus prepare for your house and pretty much everything around you to smell like it..not a bad thing.  Flowers can be expensive, but my only fresh flower were our red roses - 2 at each table.  Roses have been part of my story since before I was born. The story would be a whole blog in itself, but it was a beautiful way to remember my grandmother story and how it fed into mine after she passed.

We had quite the crowd, but it truly is so much fun having all of your favorite people in one room (barn).

Our guest book piano!  I worked with my dad to design tiny guest books for each guest which also served as the table number markers.  The book guided and prompted each guest to share a story, drawing, memory, or anything really that they wanted to add to our story box.  I love have our box of fun memories and sweet momentos from our day.

First Dances

Dinner

So shortly after stumbling upon this beautiful barn, I discovered an independently owned local kitchen that sourced all their food from their own farm and garden, which is where this magnificent burger bar came from.  Note: there was bacon...

Dessert 

So we hate cake...sorry cake people!  I did a lot of dessert research, because I do know what I like.  I found a family farm about 20 minutes that makes all their own pies and doughnuts, with unlimited options...seriously, this was hard decision making work, but worth it.  If I can be honest, we ended up having WAY more desert than we needed, and I will maybe forever regret not eating way more of it - the dress and party were a little restricting on food time.  I did at one point have a sugar meltdown, in which I went behind the dessert table and start stuffing as much as I could in my mouth.  SUPER DELICIOUS.  Our other dessert were CHEESECAKES!!!!  Ian's mom, Colette, handmade a variety of beautiful cheesecakes (see more below).  I'm thinking people didn't miss the wedding cake. 

This was our "wedding cake" - piles and piles of delicious doughnuts.  This is what we fed one another in place of the cake cutting.

Cheesecakes!!!

Pies!!!

AND MORE DANCING

Around the Grounds

CLOSING THE NIGHT

We actually never had an "exit".  Now, this was not totally planned, because we had definitely set out intending to do so, but time and loved ones got the best of us.  Before we knew it we were closing the place down, and had said goodbye to almost every guest.  Nothing goes exactly as planned at a wedding, but I love that even the unplanned parts can become part of your forever story.  Luckily we had a bonfire going...an awesome spot to wind down and reflect on the whole day.

The End

If you liked our photography, then you need to check out Sabrina Nohling.  We were so happy with how much her and her soon to be hubby (partner) cared for us on this day, and truly honored and captured the vision that had for our wedding.