Romance is oozing out of every nook and cranny of this beautiful wedding, but what really grabs your attention is all of the meaningful details weaved throughout the day. From the creative table names to the sweet (+ yummy) favors to the tributes to those that were loved so dearly, it’s a day that will tug at your heart strings… and that’s a good thing. See it all captured by Mirelle Carmichael right here.
From the Bride… When we started planning, we only knew a few things: we wanted an outdoor wedding, a venue that was laid-back but still elegant, and a Funfetti cake. We visited about a dozen venues and while all of them were lovely, nothing felt quite right until we visited The Gardens at Peacock Farms. The fruit stand out front, the tractor and the flat-bed truck, the rose garden and the Pinterest-in-real-life bridal suite, the baggo set, picnic tables and the cake display birdcage – everything about the property was just a dream come true. Jessica and Danica have managed to make rustic charm, garden beauty and vintage glam all somehow come together in one perfect setting. We knew within minutes that Peacock Farms was where we’d say I do, and everything after that just fell into place!
We saw some gorgeous shots Mirelle Carmichael had taken at Peacock Farms and read a few of her blog posts and quickly saw how much she loves what she does – we knew right away that she was the one we wanted to capture our big day. When we contacted Cakes by Judy to see if she could make a Funfetti wedding cake (Marchal’s one requirement in all of the wedding planning), she laughed and said “Of course, I make that for my grandkids all the time!” Becky and Mike at Chef’s Table Catering treated us and our parents like old friends from our first contact and seemed truly honored and excited to be feeding our loved ones on our wedding day. Paul’s dedication to making the wedding day stress-free for the bride and groom, The Queen’s Bees’ hair and makeup artists that were as fun and sweet as they were talented, Jessica’s amazing style and beautiful floral arrangements, Logan and his wine that more than a few of our guests left with a few bottles of – everyone we worked with was more amazing than we could have ever imagined possible! In the beginning, it felt like we were destined to settle on something that wasn’t quite right, but looking back, now we know that we were just meant to eventually find The Gardens at Peacock Farms and everyone else who made our day magical.
Everyone says your wedding day will be a blur, and it certainly was, but there are two moments that really stand out. The first came at the start of the reception, right after we made our grand entrance. We were standing in the center of the dance floor and all of our guests were standing around us when our DJ said “Marchal and Brandi, this has probably been a whirlwind of a day, but I want you to take a minute and look around you – look at the day you’ve created and the loved ones who are here to celebrate with you.” And we did… we just stopped and took it all in and things actually slowed down for a minute, sort of like a movie. Everyone was quiet and smiling and it just felt like there was nothing but love all around us. We’re so thankful to have had that moment.
Our other favorite memory was when a friend asked us if we realized that everyone was standing for our entire ceremony. We had a close friend get ordained and perform the ceremony for us, and while the three of us had talked about the ceremony flow, none of gave any thought to the “please be seated” part! The ceremony was only a few minutes long so it was really no big deal. What was so memorable about this conversation was that we looked at each other and both said “Nope, I had no idea!” One hundred people were standing instead of sitting and we had absolutely no clue – for those five minutes, we were really seeing each other and our future together and nothing more.
A few of the details that made the wedding really “us”:
The Funfetti cake: We’d only been dating a few months when Marchal said, “Just so you know, any girl I marry has to be okay with a Funfetti wedding cake.” Five years later, that’s what we had!
Table names: We run lots of races together, many with Team in Training. Marchal’s sister Marian beat lymphoma a few years ago so we run and fundraise in her honor. Everyone kept asking how we were going to incorporate running into the wedding and it was during a 10 mile run that I figured out how to do it in a creative and fun way. Rather than table numbers, each table was named after a race we had run together. Each table had a sign with the race name on it, and we strung our finisher medals around Mason jars filled with Jessica’s beautiful flowers. We also had a blurb about the race on each table for our guests to read.
Favors/signs: Marchal’s dad is known for his delicious homemade jam – at Christmas-time especially, he brings jars and jars of all different flavors to every family he visits. When we asked if he’d be willing to make over 100 jars, he said “No problem! What kind? I’ll experiment with some colors!” Our favors were truly made with love. He also surprised us with all of the hanging metal signs and the road signs – we didn’t know he was making them, and they just magically appeared on our wedding day! They went perfectly with the venue and made it really feel like it was our place, if only for a day.
My shoes: I bought her shoes about 3 weeks after the proposal. No idea what the dress would look like, no idea on the date or the venue or the colors, hadn’t asked people to be in the bridal party… but the shoes were taken care of. Jessi and Tara (MOHs) made a joke about Brandi’s “extensive” shoe collection during their toast… only they really weren’t kidding!
Harley/Something Blue: We had a lantern lit in memory of the loved ones we’ve lost, family and friends, who couldn’t be with us on our wedding day. My Grandpa Les passed away early in our relationship, before Marchal had a chance to meet him. He was a huge part of my life and it was very important to me that we incorporate bits of him into our day. Being both a daddy’s girl and a grand-daddy’s girl, the perfect way for me to honor both my dad and grandpa was to display the Harley my grandpa rode to Sturgis and that her Dad worked hard to beautifully restore after his passing. Grandpa retired from Farmall/International Harvester, and on our last site visit at Peacock Farms when we were trying to decide where to display the bike, we noticed that the tractor behind the pond was a Farmall. We knew immediately where the bike belonged and that he really was watching over us. My something blue was also a tribute to him – he used to call every Sunday and say “Hello purty lady!” when I got on the phone, so my seamstress sewed this phrase in blue thread in his handwriting onto a ribbon to attach to the hem of my dress.
Photographer: Mirelle Carmichael | Coordinator: The Gardens At Peacock Farms | Floral Design: Flowers To You By Jessica | Cake: Cakes by Judy | Invitations: Wedding Paper Divas | Bridesmaids Dresses: J.Crew | Catering: Chef's Table | Hair and Makeup: The Queens Bees | DJ: Paul Thompson | Groom's Suit: Men's Wearhouse | Groomsmen Suits: Tommy Hilfiger | Venue: The Gardens At Peacock Farms | Bridal Jewelry: Nadri | Bridal Shoes: Nine West | Bridesmaid Robes: Silk And More | Garland Decorations: Rifle Paper Co. | Wedding Rings: Shane Co.