I’m so excited to be wrapping up the week with such a gorgeous wedding! Katie and Steve are a wedding photography team and included cute photography themed DIY details as well as yellow, gray, and blue colors throughout their day. Their outdoor celebration had a rustic yet vintage vibe perfect for a Vermont farm setting. We love the wild looking bouquet and arrangements by Stray Cat Flower Farm, the simple white cake atop a group of birch logs, and the handmade birch arbor that set the scene for the ceremony – the Green Mountains in the distance. Be sure to read below for tons of details from the bride. Thank you Colette Kulig Photography for inspiring us with these images!
From the Bride…
Before the Ring:
Even though we are both from Vermont, we didn’t meet until our mutual love of photography brought us to Rochester, New York for college. The first time we met, Stephen was a Teaching Assistant for my freshman-year photography class. A year later Stephen was my TA again, and we started spending time together outside of the classroom. After realizing we had an embarrassing amount of things in common, we decided to start dating and see where things would go. We started Floor Three Photography together shooting weddings in 2011, and got engaged on a moonlit beach in Mexico in 2013. We got married on June 21, 2014 after seven and a half years of dating, almost to the day!
Details of the Day:
We wanted rustic, vintage 50s, outside, with a nod to both our first loves, photography. We knew we wanted to include my favorite colors (gray and yellow), and make a lot of the elements ourselves. We’re both do-it-yourself hands-on people, and wanted to incorporate our love of the handmade and personalized into every aspect of our wedding. We searched high and low for the right outdoor venue, and eventually decided to have it at Steve’s family alpaca farm to make it even more personal and special. We hand painted all the tin cans on the centerpieces and made the welcome and directional signs and decor together by hand.
The Ceremony:
To start the day we did a first look at a nearby park. I think I was more nervous for that than actually getting married, as I’d never seen Stephen in a suit! After that, the boys went to the farm to start greeting guests, and the girls and I hit a nearby ice cream stand on the way to the wedding. Getting to travel around in a classic 50s limo (formerly owned by the Rockefellers and rented by my parents) made me feel like a total princess, which is not something I’m accustomed to. The ceremony started by the car pulling right up to the aisle, and I got out and walked to get married – talk about an entrance! The ceremony started a few minutes late – which was okay, because guests had programs I handmade with word puzzles on the back to keep them busy. We also had coloring books for the kids that Steve did all of the illustrations for.
Steve and I incorporated a few things into our ceremony to pay homage to our own pasts and the future. Most notably, we included a “knot tying” ceremony, where together we tied a sheet bend. The sheet bend that is specifically designed to tie two different types of rope together, and the heavier the load it bears, the tighter the knot holds. This, along with some pressed flowers from my bouquet (wrapped in a sleeve from my mother’s wedding dress), now live in a shadow box in our living room. The whole ceremony took place overlooking the Green Mountains under an arbor Steve and the groomsmen made.
Reception Details:
Immediately following the ceremony guests sipped on our two favorite his and hers cocktails – basil lemonade martinis and old fashioneds. They also enjoyed some of our favorite lawn games including cornhole (Steve and his brother made the boards), ladder golf, and croquet. They also had fun the photo booth that Steve and I set up with our personal camera.
The tent decorations are by far the part that I’m the most proud of. All of the bunting flags (all 312 feet of it) around the tent, tables, and arbors were made by me and two of my friends. The applesauce favors were made from apples grown locally (some even at my parents’ house) and the sauce itself was handmade by my mother and I last fall. All of the cameras and books came from our personal home decor, and the vintage bottles and vases filled with flowers from Stray Cat Flower farm by my lovely bridesmaids and Aunt all came from my grandparents and great grandparents, who are no longer with us. Old slide reel trays were used to hold place cards, and each of the table numbers were frames holding a photo of Stephen and I at varying ages. The water bottles, made from recycled wine bottles, were all hand stamped with a linocut block Steve made for me.
One of my favorite details was the cake topper, which I made. I had seen something similar on Etsy, and when I tried it myself, the little flags and people came out pretty great! Painting the small details on the wooden people wasn’t easy, but I was pleased with how they came out. I loved the combination of the simple white frosting with the birch stand and yellow flower detailing. The candy bar was also a HUGE hit! When my mother-in-law offered to do it, I wasn’t sure how it would work, but we had almost nothing left over.
Photography: Colette Kulig Photography / Venue: Jericho Ridge Alpacas / Wedding Dress: Fiori Bridal Designed By Essence Of Australia / Wedding Band: LotusStone / Florist: Stray Cat Flower Farm / Catering & Bar Service: BEVO / Cake + Cupcakes: Caketopia Cakes / Tent Rental: Avalon Tent Co.