Rustic chic details and bucolic Vermont scenery made for quite a dreamy day for Erin and John. They had their ceremony at a round church and the reception at The Ponds at Bolton Valley. Fittingly, these two were also engaged at Bolton Valley during a ski trip. Bright sunflowers shone from the bouquets and navy blue bridesmaid dresses complimented the pops of yellow in such an elegant way. The breathtaking Vermont venue had just the right amount of country charm for their wildflower centerpieces, hand painted cornhole boards, and hand poured maple syrup favors. All captured beautifully by Floor Three Photography. Read below for their story!
From the bride:
Before the Ring:
John and I met in February of 2011 when we were both living in Lynchburg, Virginia. We had met briefly through mutual friends and I was instantly attracted to him. One day, my roommate invited me to join her social running club. I knew that John also ran with this group so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to see him again. Unfortunately, after running about 100 yards, I tripped on a speed bump, twisted my ankle and my body bounced off of a nearby curb. It was a disaster. There was blood everywhere and my left ankle was twice as large as the right. I didn’t want the new group (specifically John) to think I was a quitter, so I finished the 3 mile run and hoped that John wouldn’t notice. He noticed and spent the rest of the evening calling me “Ms. Stitches.”
We dated for about three months before John accepted a job in Jacksonville, Florida. At that point we assumed that we would never see each other again but it didn’t take us long to realize that distance was not going to stop our feelings. John and I took turns flying between Florida and Virginia every other month. Finally, we agreed that Florida was too far away and John requested to be transferred to Raleigh, NC so that we could see each other every weekend.
Engagement:
John is horrible at keeping secrets and I was sure that he was going to propose within hours of buying the ring. He was strong though and waited until our planned trip to Vermont to visit my parents.
I have been skiing at Bolton Valley Ski Resort since I was about six years old and John knew that would be a special place to propose. We skied with my parents all day and when my mom suddenly got cold (and told my dad that he was cold too), John and I decided to ride the lift one more time on our own. When we got to the top of the Alta Vista chairlift, I stopped to look at the large map on top of the mountain to plan our route down. When I turned around to get John’s opinion, he was out of his skies and getting down on one knee!
Wedding Planning:
I have known that I wanted to get married at The Old Round Church in Richmond, Vermont since I was about eight years old, but planning a Vermont wedding while living in Virginia was not easy. I was a full-time graduate student, working on 600 hours of internship, and a working part time job. I had to rely on my family in Vermont to help me with some of the details for the wedding. I knew I wanted my wedding to have a rustic-chic theme so we looked at several barns and venues for the reception. We fell in love at The Ponds at Bolton Valley and it seemed fitting that it was also where we were engaged.
We moved to New Hampshire after I graduated and I was able to spend a lot more time at home during the summer to finish the last minute DIY projects. In the month and a half before the wedding, I painted 4 cornhole boards that my dad constructed, spray painted vases and baskets, wrote vows, picked readings, and designed programs. My dad and his brother recently started making their own maple syrup and we all agreed that it would be a perfect wedding favor. Dad poured the syrup into little bottles and I designed, printed, and attached tags.
On the wedding weekend, all of our hard work paid off! On Friday we had drinks at Splash on the Burlington waterfront with John’s family before the wedding party rushed to the church for rehearsal ( not before stopping at Al’s French Fries for a burger first, of course). Later that evening we had a lovely rehearsal dinner at Echo Lake Aquarium in Burlington. On the wedding day, everything ran smoothly and we had the most special day. The bridal party spent the morning at Bridge Street Hair Solon in Richmond and John took his boys to tour the Magic Hat Brewery.
Photography: Floor Three Photography / Ceremony: The Old Round Church / Reception: The Ponds and Bolton Valley / Flowers: Holly Chase / Rehearsal Dinner: Echo Lake Aquarium / Catering and cake: Inn at Essex Resort / Hair and Make-up: Bridge Street Hair Salon / Justice of the Peace: Greg Trulson / DJ: Super Sounds- Jeff Davis