Brady & I got married October 23, 2011 at Front Porch Farms in Charlotte, Tennessee. It was a small, outdoor wedding overlooking the autumn landscape.
Going into the planning, we knew the most important aspects of our wedding were the design and the atmosphere. We wanted the wedding to be laid back and fun without the stuffiness and formality that is sometimes associated with weddings. We also had to be budget conscious since we had limited funds. When you have a certain look in mind, it’s difficult to know where to cut but we made it work.
As a graphic designer, I was very conscious of all the little details and thoroughly enjoyed the craftiness of the DIY projects. Our design decisions and color choices (Seafoam, Gray, Kraft Brown, Silver and White) were made with the intent of achieving an intimate, elegant environment. I designed everything from the invitations and program to the reception details including signs for the food and the sparklers.
I loved creating our own invitations. We wanted to keep them simple, focusing the details in the kraft paper bellyband that was punched with a scrapbooking punch to give it a little extra style. My sister was a big help with a punching and assembling of the invites. Since most of the guests were coming from out of town, I also included a map of Nashville including noteworthy restaurants and attractions hand picked by Brady and me that they might want to visit during their weekend in town.
My favorite DIY project was fabric hearts. We cut out hearts out of cloth and sewed them together with polyfill in the center and put them candy sticks (thanks mom!). These were used on all the tables as centerpieces along with the succulents plants. These were favorites of the guests as well as many took them home as souvenirs.
Another noteworthy aspect of the wedding was the homebrew. Brady and his best man, Ross, brewed three separate batches of beer. The Maple Pumpkin Ale and the Vanilla Chai Saison were both seasonal picks for the fall. The Wild Card Wit was a previously beer that Brady really liked and wanted it available as well.
We spent a lot of time on our music selection. Before the ceremony we played Band of Horses and Bon Iver to set the mellow and cutesie romantic atmosphere. We began the ceremony with the bridesmaids walking down the aisle to One Minute by The Album Leaf and I walked down an instrumental version of Sigur Ros’ Hoppípolla. At the end of the ceremony, we started Sparkplug Minuet by Mark Mothersbaugh as the preacher was wrapping up and made the “you may now kiss your bride” announcement. My father daughter dance was to Emilee Mover and Brady and his mom danced to Bon Iver.
Photography: Shots by Cheyenne / Venue: Front Porch Farms / Hair & Make-up: Amy Lynn Larwig / Florist: Catherine Wilson / Officiant: Ralph Griggs / Catering: Mrs. J’s / Cake: B. Jackson’s Bakery / DJ: Aaron Domingo