Even though this gorgeous Bride and Groom wed in her hometown in Ohio, for the 90 percent of their guests traveling from out of state, their day was a destination wedding. And with a little help from incredible vendors like Bliss Events, Jenny Yoo, Orchard Lane Flowers and Amanda Julca, their day turned out to be an absolute dream. Don’t miss any of it in The Vault!
From The Bride…Having a day with all the people you love in one space is both incredible and overwhelming. During the planning, my husband and I decided the most important aspect of our day was to have fun and be part of the wedding not to be on the sidelines. We were the couple that never left the dance floor, laughed, drank, and had a beautiful night. We wanted a classic, casual natural feel, which brought us to a soft blush, neutral palette with accents of gold.
Our worlds connected later in our 20s and early 30s, we both grew up and lived in different parts of the country. So deciding on a location proved to be a bit tricky. We decided to tie the knot in my hometown of Ohio. With 90% of our guests traveling from outside of Ohio this ended up being a “destination” wedding for most.
Our wedding day festivities began with a bus ride from downtown Columbus, where most stayed, to the quaint town of Granville, Ohio.
The wedding was hosted on a 52-acre historic estate. It’s rich history and beautiful green landscape hosted 110 of our closest friends and family. Our guests were greeted in the garden of the estate where we said “I Do” with champagne, lemonade, and fans to keep cool on the warm August day.
What made our ceremony so special were our bridesmaids and groomsmen standing by our side, our dog Chloe leading the procession, the adorable flower girls, the ring bearer running around, and a string trio playing “Somewhere over the Rainbow” followed by “Canon in D”. Most importantly, our ceremony was composed of a service both Kris and I wrote together. It was a beautiful yet simple exchange of our vows.
From the ceremony we left the garden and ventured to the front patio of the mansion. While playing classic yard games, including corn hole (which was clearly the crowd favorite), we enjoyed refreshing cocktails, delicious mini grilled cheeses and BBQ chicken. We toured the historic home filled with our family pictures.
Dinner and dancing took place in the back of a mansion underneath a white tent dripped with globe lights and evergreens. The tables were an eclectic mix of restored barn wood tables and pink and cream textured linens. We made our day a family affair by inviting kids and creating a kids table filled with crafts and activities. We gave thanks, dined, and laughed with all of our loved ones.
We definitely didn’t have a shortage of sweets to end the night. From our classic vanilla buttercream wedding cake, to our make-your-own s’mores bar. The highlight of the dessert spread was the 1,000 cookie spread my great aunts, aunts, mother, brother in law and cousins all handmade. From lady locks, to chocolate chips, to pizzelles the guests indulged and left with custom cookie bags filled with delicious homemade goodies.
Everyone told me the day would fly by and they were right. I am so blessed to have beautiful photos, funny stories and the memory of laughter and love to last forever.
A key to making this experience memorable was we truly enjoyed the process and preparation leading up to our wedding. When you spend months planning for one day, you need to have fun along the way. By selecting vendors that clearly align with your personality, values and aesthetic creativity was important to us. These creative partners made the details and our vision come to life. From our print designer, to the florist to the DJ and the photographer. The print designer created everything from the name cards, menus, signage and surprised us with a custom seating chart that she mounted and engraved our initials on a rustic piece of wood. We worked closely with our floral designer who mixed citrus accents with flowers intertwined with herbs and eucalyptus to pull together the entire look seamlessly in the various areas of the celebration, and throughout the bridal party’s arrangements and flower crowns. My husband designed a custom playlist for the cocktail hour & the reception that celebrated specific years and music of importance with our DJ. My hair and makeup was done by my sister, Mindy Thomas, who is a freelance make-up artist and hair stylist. She did a hair change between the cocktail hour and reception, to provide a new look and keep me cool on the warm summer night. The process was just as beautiful as the day.
Photography: Amanda Julca | Floral Design: Orchard Lane Flowers | Wedding Dress: Theia | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Jenny Yoo | Catering: Made From Scratch | Ceremony Music: Flute Cocktail | Venue: Bryn Du Mansion | Event Planning + Coordination: Bliss Wedding & Event Design | Invitations + Paper Goods: Darling And Pearl
