Rustic + Vintage - Inspired Pennsylvania Farm Wedding
Rustic + Vintage - Inspired Pennsylvania Farm Wedding
Rustic + Vintage - Inspired Pennsylvania Farm Wedding
Rustic + Vintage - Inspired Pennsylvania Farm Wedding

Rustic + Vintage - Inspired Pennsylvania Farm Wedding

From The Bride...I envisioned our wedding to be a farm-style wedding with rustic and vintage elements, set out in the Pennsylvania farm country. I wanted it to be an intimate and relaxed day for our guests, where they would get to experience a day in our relationship. Erich and I are both creatives, I design a collection of printed goods called Toddy and Jude, and Erich is a craft brewer. Therefore, it was important to us to be able to personalize our wedding by having a little more freedom with choosing our vendors. One of the reasons we went with Lauxmont farms was because they allowed us that freedom. Also, the view of the Susquehanna river and the farmland from the top of the hill when you pull up to the Rotunda not only took our breath away, but reminded us of Sonoma, CA. We booked our venue right before we moved to California, and liked that we could share the feel of the place we were going to live with our family and friends.

The palette I focused on was a broad range of soft earthy tones. For my bridesmaids dresses, I had them wear a dusty rose color to sit back with the vintage theme. For the floral design, I chose wild flowers that are more subtle in color, such as lavender, and sage colored greens to pair with peach and blush toned flowers.

Since we moved to the west coast soon after we began planning, we ended up directing a lot of DIY projects, while our east coast friends and family executed them. A special shout out goes to my mother-in-law, a crafting genius. I gave her project after project, and she executed every one of them perfectly! She made the trellis Erich and I were married under out of vintage doors she had found years earlier. She also made us a moss covered frame that we put our guests' table numbers on. I designed our invitations, and Erich and I screen printed each one in California. I also did the illustration for the menu header and the 'thank you' gifts. Erich, who is now the Brewmaster at Magnify Brewing Co in Fairfield, NJ, made all of the beer for the wedding. I also did all of the coordinating, and my bridesmaids helped decorate and style the tables the day of.

It's hard to choose one moment. One of my favorite moments during our ceremony happened when we were exchanging our vows, and a flock of birds flew above us. It was like someone had released them at the perfect time, and of course Lindsay got the shot! My second favorite moment was when everyone came together and helped move our beautifully set farm tables inside due to some inclement weather. I feel like at most weddings people tend to stick within certain crowds, and this was the perfect way for people to work together and meet. Also, Erich's best man who is a comedian in NYC, wrote an amazing speech that had everyone crying with laughter.
I wanted the flowers to be a mix of wildflowers to pair with our rustic farm theme. I chose white bouquets for my ladies to contrast with their dusty rose dresses. For my bouquet, I wanted a mix of soft blush colors, sage colored greens, and some lavender. Erich and his men wore lavender and rosemary, knotted with twine. Laura at Lauxmont did an amazing job of curating the flowers in vintage bottles for the tables, and I loved all of our bouquets.

I found my dress in a little shop called Bijou near my hometown of Havertown, PA. The dress had arrived in June (the day before I tried it on!) and was part of the fall 2014 line. I had gotten there just in the nick of time, because the lead time was 10 months, and I had a year left. I thought I was going to wear a more casual dress, but once I tried this dress on, I knew I had to have it. I felt like royalty, and I barely had to accessorize because it had a built in necklace around the collar and a lot of embellished hand work.

Erich and I are foodies. Cooking is our favorite past time by far, so the food served at the wedding was one of the most important things to us. Before we moved to San Francisco, we lived in Brooklyn, and met our caterer Ashley at a home brew event Erich was serving beer at. We chose Fat Beagle because they specialize in upscale Southern comfort food, and BBQ is one of our favorite things to eat. For our cake, we went with Wendi from Eat Sweet Treats. She made us a three tiered cake with both carrot cake and coconut cake tiers. For the cake, we wanted a rustic texture and a simple adornment of blush colored flowers, topped off with some miniature gold horses I spray painted gold.

For our favors, Erich wrote a recipe for a pork meat rub. His mom made the rub, and put them in little mason jars with my illustration on top that read, "This little piggy says thanks!"

Do what feels right for you and your fiancé. It is really challenging to please everyone, and at the end of they day, the people who attend your wedding will love whatever you pull together because they love you!