• The sign that stood outside the pavilion was hand made by the father of the groom. 

• When guests arrived they were greeted with the sounds of sweet bluegrass, compliments of a family members band. There was also fresh lemonade served in mason jars with old timey straws. 

• The father of the groom also made a tree stump mimicking our rsvp cards. He came to us months before the wedding and said that he had this great idea. The old tree in front of their home had been struck by lightning and had been dead for years. He had been meaning to cut it down. He chopped it, carved it and mounted it beautifully. We got to see it for the first time the day of the wedding and it was a beautiful surprise. 

• Over the course of the engagement I collected all sorts of ribbon and lace with help from the mother of the groom for the photo booth backdrop. My mother and I crafted it the week of the wedding.

• All the props for the photo booth were donated from both sides of the family. The suitcase they were stuffed in is an antique from the grooms side.

• The lanterns that sat on the mantel were all part of one of the groom's uncles personal collection. He collects antique lanterns and gets them working again. He set them all up and lit them for us the day of.

• The cake table was a compilation of pound cakes made by some very special women. Christopher doesn't really care for sweets but he loves a good homemade pound cake. So the decision to not have a cake was easy.  From mothers and godmothers to past teachers and longtime family friends, we had around fifteen pound cakes made with love. 

• One of our dearest friends directed the wedding. Her gift to us was the candy bar.  We had small L monogrammed bags for people to fill with candy and take home with them. She picked out all the candy and brought in her own jars to fill them with. 

• Guests were offered hankies for their tears of joy. Not one was left behind! I gave all my bridesmaids actual vintage hankies that I hand selected at different flea markets. But 250 people calls for a ton of hankies so I found them off ebay and they were vintage replicas...still beautiful though.

• All the bottles and tins used for the centerpieces were collected by Christopher and I over our year long engagement. The night we got engaged we had a house fire. Some of my bridesmaids were visiting us that weekend so to get my mind off the fire and bring me back to the exciting engagement they took me shopping. We went to this beautiful antique store down the road and we immediately decided my color scheme and they bought us the first few pieces for our wedding collection. After that Christopher and I had so much fun visiting flea markets, yard sales and thrift stores in search of center pieces. Half of the bottles and things were from our mothers, aunts, grandmothers and my maid of honors homes. 

• The flowers were from a local nursery called Shady Grove. Christopher and I met them one Sunday at the farmers market and found out they would provide us with buckets full of seasonal wildflowers. One of my mother's best friends is a florist. He came up for the wedding and he and my mom made the most beautiful centerpieces and bouquets for us. He took my ideas and made them more beautiful than I could of ever wanted.

• The tables were covered in burlap and lavender.

• I am a graphic designer so I designed and created all the paper goods we used. From the invitations to the straw flags. The programs though, were my most favorite.

• One of my very talented bridesmaids sang the song for our first dance.

• September 11^th, our wedding date, was a special day because it is the groom's parents wedding anniversary. We are honored they were so happy to share this day with us. It made they day extra special.