Wedding Date on Aug 23, 2014

From The Bride: Not too many newlyweds have had nine years to prepare for their wedding day, but we did. Patrick and I met in the summer of 2005 when we were 15 years old, We went to "brother-sister" high-schools and had a few mutual friends, we were accidentally introduced. We fell in love shortly after meeting, but it grew over the years from puppy-love to "this is it" love. The years presented remarkable challenges: from coping with the loss of Patrick's older brother, to enduring a long distance relationship for four years in college, we had been made it through so many obstacles. We bought a house, adopted a puppy and one day while we were hiking on a sunny June morning (which also happened to be my birthday) Patrick asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. He had a replica of our dog's name tag engraved with "Will You Marry Me?" and asked me to look down at it while we were crossing a swinging bridge over the water. The wide reaction from our family and friends was "finally!" and I couldn't help but agree. When the planning began, we both knew that our budget wouldn't allow for a lavish ballroom event, but that wasn't what was reflective of us as a couple anyhow. We truly wanted a small, romantic, ceremony followed by a night of celebrating. We had so many family members and friends who provided so much love and support to us over the years, they deserved a party! We wanted our big day to about our favorite people in the world, just as much as it was about us. We planned simplistically: we were married by one of our closest family friends on civil war grounds in a garden, and had our reception in the nearby barn. We served our favorite foods, BBQ (Patrick's) and Mac & Cheese (mine) and danced the entire night! And then I slightly complicated the planning process with my vintage vision: We didn't want a "typical barn wedding" with mason jars and bales of hay, while beautiful, it just wasn't us. We really wanted romance at our wedding, and we knew we could implement that theme, with just a little bit of work. Some examples: our guests ate off of mismatched vintage china which I started collecting just days after we were engaged. The barn decor was made up with items we had found at vintage stores and estate sales: gold antique frames, tea cups, pitchers, candles, jars, bottles. My best friend grew wildflowers in her garden to create a very specific vision for floral arrangements: whimsical, fresh, and natural. It was truly a labor of love, and I could not have imagined it turning out any more perfect than it did. To make the day truly "us" we wanted to be sure we didn't get too caught up on traditions. My bridal party included my best male friend, who we coined as my "brides-man" and our dog, Brodie, was our ring bearer. I have an extremely special bond with my mother, and I couldn't imagine anyone else walking me down the aisle on my wedding day, so she did. We included a picture of Patrick's late brother among an empty chair at the ceremony, and the groomsmen held up the picture in some of their photos as well. It wasn't "typical" but it was reflective of us: as individuals and as a couple. It ended up raining on our wedding day, pouring, actually. Our entire engagement we talked about what a bummer it would be for it to rain but it ended up being a blessing in disguise, The rain made the entire day and evening so magical and mystical, it felt like a real-life fairytale. The rain stopped just long enough for us to be married in the garden, as planned. It was truly the most romantic setting. We had so many of our guests tell us our wedding was "the best wedding they had ever been to" and that alone made the day perfect for us! We are so blissfully happy to be able to look back and know that the day was truly encompassing of not only the two of us but also all of the people we love so dearly.