South Bend Wedding by Melissa Hayes Photography
Up next is this gorgeous Indiana outdoor fete filled to the brim with gorgeous mercury glass, amazing floral displays, and loads of unique, personal touches. We’re loving that the couple created a guest book out of rocks collected from Lake Michigan, one of their favorite places. Each and every element was captured perfectly by Melissa Hayes Photography and there’s an entire gallery full of even more gorgeous images just waiting to inspire you.
Click here to see the entire gallery of images!
From the Bride…Justin and I knew that we wanted a wedding that was elegant and romantic but also laid back and tied to our love of the outdoors. And since one of our favorite things to do together is to cook (and then eat), we wanted the food to be outstanding. The Carriage House in South Bend, Indiana, where we were both born and raised, provided the perfect mix of beautiful gardens and excellent food. The restaurant itself is housed in a historic church built in 1851 and is surrounded by a backyard garden containing organic herbs, fruits, vegetables, and flowers that were used extensively in preparing our menu. As luck would have it, even the garden arches covered in bridal veil clematis began blooming the week of our wedding, making a spectacular backdrop for our outdoor ceremony.
More than anything, we wanted our wedding to be a joyful celebration. With the vision of a great party in mind, we greeted our guests with a blueberry cocktail as they entered the gardens. Keeping the ceremony simple and intimate was very important to us, so we chose my sister and Justin’s brother to make up our small wedding party and had one of my oldest and dearest friends open the day with a poem by Robert Frost. After the ceremony, our guests enjoyed wine and pizza straight from a wood-fired oven served on two long, tables on the alfresco patio. They were then lead into a tent where we served more delicious food, wedding cake, and some amazing blueberry crisps. Our fabulous band, featuring local musician Darryl Buchanan, kept everyone on the dance floor all night with Motown and R&B favorites.
We wanted our décor to compliment and not overshadow the natural beauty of the gardens, so we chose flowers in shades of white and cream and succulents to line the tables. We also used as much mercury glass as I could get my hands on to create a warm glow both inside and outside of the tent. Our fabulous florist, Polly McCarthy – a creative genius and the mother of one of our good friends – even placed real oak trees covered in hanging candles inside the tent to create a magical outdoor vibe. We added a personal touch to our programs and napkins by using the monogram of our names and “9.10.11” wedding date designed by the lovely Maggie Campbell of Campbell Raw Press in Brooklyn, New York for our invitations. In lieu of a guest book, our friends and family signed rocks that Justin and I collected from Lake Michigan, one of favorite places. For favors, we created custom tote bags to greet out-of-town guests and handed out ribbon-tied bags of Garrett’s caramel corn – a family favorite from Chicago where I used to live.
Finally, we ended a perfect evening by exiting through rows of sparklers. We owe a special thanks to all of the talented people we had an opportunity to work with in creating an unforgettable evening! It was an absolute joy to work with our photographer Melissa Hayes and her husband, Casey. Melissa’s images capture how every element of the wedding reflected Justin and me as a couple. Above all else, we are truly blessed by the love and support of our families and friends who traveled from across the country to celebrate with us. There are no words to describe how much that meant to us.
Wedding Photography: Melissa Hayes Photography / Venue: The Carriage House / Officiant: Kerri Hoffman / Floral Design: Polly McCarthy of Poppie’s / Lighting + Sound: ProShowDJ / Band: Darryl Buchanan / Wedding Cake: Cakewalk / Invitations: Campbell Raw Press
17 Comments about “South Bend Wedding by Melissa Hayes Photography”
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Such a lovely and intimate garden wedding! I'm a sucker for mercury glass (and shiny things in general).
Gorgeous decorations.
Such dreamy decor! Love the mercury glass.
Gorgeous! I love the simple elegance of this... and always love Melissa's work!
What a clean bright wedding. Love the Daisies and the Dahlias.
I love the simplicity of this wedding. Really well done.
Love all the details! I love the bags that say "love, laughter, happily ever after". Wish I had those for my wedding:)
so pretty! we LOVE that the couple used our welcome totes. (:
I live on the street of The Carriage House. It is an absolute beautiful venue! Love all the details of this wedding! Lovely South Bend :)
Such a beautiful wedding, right down to every detail. Where is the wedding dress by/from? It's perfect. Thanks for sharing!
LOVE this wedding. What a nice rustic touch wtih such elegance. Well done!
How lovely! I would love to know where they got the tote bags.
Where are the "love,laughter adn happily ever after". So cute!!! love them
Absolutely gorgeous images of this lovely wedding. Every tiny detail is just so thoughtfully rendered. Too many things to mention. Just beautiful.
Wow! The photos of this event are just beautiful! Not only are they beautiful - they truly reflect "the nature" of Erin & Justin. Excellent photography work Melissa! Also to Polly your floral designs were perfect and to Alexis the cake was lovely.
As the Owner of The Carriage House, I want to express how great it was to work with Erin & Justin and the Bride's parents. It is a pleasure to work with clients who have great ideas, firm decision making abilities and high standards for quality and attention to detail along with a sense of humor and sophistication. We wish them all the best in their lives together!
Thank you everyone for your incredibly kind comments! The dress is Vera Wang (Spring 2011), and the bags are from weddingchicks.com. You can custom make your design and colors- very cool. Thanks again to everyone who made this day so special. We loved having our wedding at a place we can come back to for years to come!
I LOVE those canvas bags! Where did you have them printed?