Photography: Lovern Photography | Venue: Becker Farms | Flowers: Flourish | Hair and Make Up: Groom Service | Videographer: Elegant Event Video | Favors: Sweet Fields Honey | Dress and Veil: Something Blue by Leeandi’s | Stationary: Hoopla House Creative | DJ: Mike McSparron | Photobooth: Snap Shack
The Beginning My husband, Shawn and I met at our local church back in May of 2012, though we have a funny feeling our paths crossed well before that. It happens that his father and my uncle were the best of friends years ago, Shawn’s sister and my cousin have the same God parents, and even our parents traveled in the same circles over the years. It’s like we were destined to find each other again in our adult life. The Engagement We got engaged under a blue moon, on Friday July 31st, 2015. We took a local getaway weekend trip to the R&R Dude Ranch. We packed up our four wheeler and headed to the ranch. We rode horses all day and settled in near the bonfire. After a short while it began to rain, so we headed back to our cabin. Shawn embraced me like no other time and held me so tight, and I could tell he was fumbling with his pocket and I had a feeling this was finally happening! He asked me if I loved him, and then got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Now, Shawn is one of those naturally charismatic, energetic, loves life kind of men, and in that moment he was so quiet, sweet and nervous. It is one of my most favorite memories of him to date and it was all mine.
The Details We knew we wanted something different for our wedding. We got married on Friday June 16, 2017 at Becker Farms. We picked this date because it is my parent’s 38th wedding anniversary. We chose Becker Farms because when we got there, a feeling came over us and we just knew it was perfect! It was outdoors, but a beautiful pavilion for our reception space, had the original barn with amazing old barn equipment still hanging on the walls. We also loved that it needed little decorating. Our color palette was mint, creamsicle orange and dark grey. The Dress I fell in love with my 10 layer tulle ball gown in blush pink with lost and lots of sparkle and a hint of lace. I had these awesome sparkly smiley faced shoes for the bonfire, and they matched the dress really well. Mandi, and Something Blue cut the top portion off to make it strapless and added a hot pink crinoline. She also added a part of my mom’s wedding gown underneath mine. With the top portion off, Mandi then made me my veil of my dreams. She used the lace appliques and made me a 15 foot veil with blusher. All of the appliques were at the tail end of the veil and the extras draped more around my waist. The Party We figured not every gusts enjoys dancing, so some games could keep those guests, as well as the little ones busy! We built our own corn hole boards with custom made bags, yardzee and hula hoops. To add some additional color to the reception space, my mom and I made utensil holders. Each table had a certain color. As place cards and favors, we had jars of local honey with “Take a treat and find your seat” tags! We opted for pies as dessert with a small cake to cut, as I love that tradition. Allowing our guests to celebrate and have a good time without the awkward “formalities” of a wedding was important to us, so we skipped the toasts and speeches, the bouquet and garter toss. We made our first dance a bit less traditional by combining the father and mother into it . To end our night we had a bonfire with late night snacks like s’mores that lasted until the wee early hours of the morning. Favorite Moments Some of my favorite moments from the big day were definitely walking down the aisle with my father, seeing my husband wipe his tears as I walked to him. Having our friends and family there celebrating with us and having as many kiddos running around being awesome. Another moment was when just my husband and I went across the street to the active barn where some animals live, with the Loverns and our videographer. There was something special about having your pictures taken with trusted talent and just being ourselves by laughing a lot. I also loved taking those 5 minutes away from everyone just after the sun went down, and Shawn and I sat in our ceremony rows and just reflected how blessed we are.
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