Justine and Aaron’s love story is set among the trees and many full moons…and even a supermoon and lunar eclipse. Have a read down below for all the romantic details as told by the bride! These two outdoorsy souls celebrated their wedding day with many DIY folksy details. I’ve completely fallen in love with the bouquets that feature purple, yellow, orange, and red flowers, including gorgeous fuchsia dahlias, and sprigs of rustic feathers. Justine grew the flowers and arranged them herself. She also designed their wedding stationery and made their rings! Walker Farm’s Elysian Hills Tree Farm in Vermont was the perfect place for this creative couple to say ‘I do’. The The Light + Color is behind the lens.
From the Bride…
It all started with an accidental instant message, back when AIM was a big deal. It was late September 2009 and we were both in college. For the life of me, I cannot remember the exact first words, but I think it had to have been a question about one of my assignments meant for a classmate. I can’t say it was a total glitch, after all Aaron was on my “Buddy List,” but prior to that point neither of us had ever really spoken to the other outside of a small hello.
Aaron and I went through junior high and senior high school together in rural eastern Pennsylvania. We even had some classes together. Aaron’s best friend happened to be my neighbor and happened to work with Aaron’s neighbors. We were constantly around each other outside of school, especially in the summer when both of our respective neighbors would organize mass games of manhunt and capture the flag. It was as if we were just ghosts to each other, never acknowledging the other. Once we left for college, I only saw my old co-workers during semester breaks. I was down in Baltimore when I learned later that Aaron was in Williamsport, PA. Until the accidental message, we had spent almost 10 years together without knowing anything about the other. The connection was instant. We both are shy, quiet, introverted people but small talk was never awkward. Over and over we’d both exclaim, “ME TOO” as the list of similar interests and thoughts piled up. It was baffling, exhilarating, and so comforting. Above all, our passion for being outdoors seemed to always be the topic of conversation.
Our first date was in November 2009, when we were home for Thanksgiving. I went to Aaron’s house, a place very familiar, but now very new. We went out for a walk once it was dark to the Christmas tree farm that abutted his parent’s land. There was snow on the ground, and the full moonlight just made it through the fog to light our way. I remember us sitting on a pile of harvested trees, in silence, and I was just looking anywhere but at him. Aaron and I had been following the super moons. It was one of the things we could both see while we were apart. Aaron was finished college, and working close to home in PA, while I was finishing up my last year in Baltimore. At that point I lived on the 15th floor of an apartment building looking East. It seemed the moonrises were what kept us going.
In April of 2012, I drove home to see the largest super moon of the year with him. We hiked all around that same Christmas tree farm as our first date, waiting for the moon to come up. Aaron proposed to me that night. I never saw it coming. The entire night I spent talking about my thesis and course load, completely pre-occupied, and Aaron was just egging me on. We were engaged for 3.5 years. Right after I graduated, I convinced Aaron to move to Vermont with me. I had been to Vermont for an internship and fell in love with the state. We talked a lot about setting a date, but we knew we had a small budget and we really wanted an outdoor wedding on a farm – ideally one we lived at. It seemed so fitting when we were offered an opportunity to live on and manage a Christmas tree farm in 2014. Both of us really wanted an autumn wedding. It’s our favorite season. We chose September 27th, 2015 to say, “I do.” It was a full moon, a super moon, and there was to be a total lunar eclipse. And to top it off, we’d be getting married on a Christmas tree farm. There were big expectations for the weather all around. In Vermont, late September weather is completely unpredictable. We were so lucky to have had a perfect day – clear skies, warm weather, and most of all, a perfect view of the total lunar eclipse. Trees and moons. It couldn’t have been more perfect for our outdoor souls.
Photographer: The Light + Color / Dress Designer: Free People with added lace and embroidery done by the bride / Caterer: Lazy Farmer / Bridesmaid Dresses: ModCloth / Flowers: All grown on site (at tree farm) by bride and arranged by bride and maid of honor / Invitation Suite: Designed by bride – hand painted watercolor background, hand drawn lettering, and then printed through Wedding Paper Divas / Decorations: a mix of new and found objects, almost all handmade by bride and groom, bride’s family, and wedding party / Event Venue: Walker Farm‘s Elysian Hills Tree Farm / Submitted via Two Bright Lights