Lest everyone think I've become a wedding designer in all of my spare time, I should share that I really don't "do" weddings. A few months ago, a dear friend of mine called to tell me her daughter (and former youth student in our ministry) was engaged. This led to her asking if I would decorate for the wedding they would be hosting at their farm. There was no way I could say no. Her wedding was scheduled for the weekend right after the Lucketts Antique Market, so I knew May would be insane for me, but it was all worth it.
I have a long history with their property. When they first bought it, my husband was working on his degree, so we were living in his parent's basement. (It was actually a really nice set-up and not as bad as it sounds!)To prevent cabin fever, I spent most Saturdays at their new farm...cleaning out the junk-filled barns, painting rooms, mudding dry wall, cleaning windows, anything and everything. My husband and I also "farm-sat" for them often and even spent one Christmas there. This place was the ultimate fixer-upper and this was the best family to do it. Engineering-minded guys, creative girls and the entire family of six had a sense of adventure and a work ethic to make it all happen, so their home has been a very literal labor of love. The wedding of their oldest daughter became a good excuse to fully clean out the "long barn", which was formerly a "grease pit" and remodel the exterior of the 1908 homestead. The tired brick facade added sometime around the 1960's was replaced with new windows and beautiful stonework. They did all of the work themselves and their children even designed and built the portico over the front door. The front of the house became the perfect backdrop for the ceremony.
In a corner of the driveway, we set up a gift table labeled by one of my hand painted banners strung between two plant hangers. We filled mason jars with wild flowers and lavender and put out a chippy farm table, French caned piano bench and a vintage child's chair to place gifts on and around. An antique birdcage was later added to hold cards.
Family and friends had been working for months to clean out the long barn and make it usable for the reception. Large-bulbed lights and mismatched chandeliers were hung, Christmas tree lights were bundled in tulle and swagged around the roof line. The rugged concrete floor was power-washed and the sagging ceiling was reinforced. (This barn was filled with junk cars, bug eaten boxes, upholstered furniture ruined by animals and the elements and leftovers from an abandoned mechanic's garage when they bought the place, so it was pretty amazing to see how pretty it could be.) Here's what the "head table" area looked like Saturday morning when I arrived...
...and here's what it looked like just before the wedding.
The entire wall behind the "sweetheart table" was covered in vintage sheet music. Several people took turns stapling it in rows on the wall. This provided a beautiful backdrop for photos and made their space extra special. An antique dresser mirror was hung and draped with German glass glitter letter banners with the couple's names and wedding date. I also brought in my new dining chairs and a couple of silver chargers to make their table even prettier. I didn't want to build up a large arrangement in front of the couple, so I stacked antique suitcases on the floor in front of them and created a focal point that way. Her bouquet became the floral arrangement when the ceremony was over.
Here's the left side of the barn Saturday morning...
...and just before the wedding.
Sheet music and antique book pages were strung on bailing twine and hung from the rafters. There were some doubts on this one, but the crew of volunteers pulled it off and everyone loved it in the end.
And the right side...
...and right before the wedding.
The groom came in the barn when we were hanging all of the sheet music.
One of the volunteers asked him, "Are you worth all of this?"
"Not one bit, but she is."
Good answer.
The centerpieces were made using ironstone, silver and china from my home and theirs. I mixed and matched it on each table to have one large, one medium and one small piece. For example...I would have a large silver champagne bucket, an ironstone creamer on a stone pedestal and a teacup. The florist arranged flowers in the largest piece on each table and the others were filled with wild flowers and loose blooms at the last minute. The flower arrangements were a mix of "store bought" flowers and hand-picked "weeds." Small green apples, votive candles and a sheet music "doily" visually filled out each centerpiece. The overall look was pretty, but had the home-spun quality the bride wanted.
We used teapots, teacups, cloches, pitchers, antique scales, cake plates, stone pedestals, creamers, gravy boats, casseroles, bowls...just about anything that would look pretty.
The guests were served dinner on mismatched china gathered over several months and borrowed from friends. A piece of antique sheet music served as a place mat at each seat. I was jokingly going to put a song entitled "I Wish I Was Single Again" under the groom's plate, but I resisted. Instead, I opted for the sentimental over the humorous and put songs about love at the couple's table.
My gold leaf chalk board was rested at the entrance of the long barn. (A tutorial on how to make this chalk board will be posted on HGTV.com in the 2011 holiday season.)
I filled a large container with green apples and some artificial berries. A church birdhouse (bird sanctuary...get it?) sits next to it.
In front of the long barn/reception hall was a drink table with self-serve lemonade, tea and water. I printed the banner letters on white card stock, cut out the shape I wanted, backed them with antique sheet music and hung them on twine.
Drink tags were made for each guest and hung with clothes pins on twine. A rubber band would hold the name tag on a mason jar, which was to be used the entire night, and also assigned table numbers for the dinner.
The couple loves children, so it was important to them to make their wedding a place where little ones were welcome to play and have fun. A "play place" was set up with a "corn box" (a sand box filled with dried corn kernels instead of sand...it's cleaner), some yard games, checkers, toys, bubbles, coloring books and wipes/hand sanitizer. As a mom of preschoolers, I really appreciated this space!
The rest of the farm yard was filled with seating areas and vignettes. Farm tables, chippy wood chairs, hay bales and benches were used to create those areas. Neutral gazebo tents were added for shade. A little tulle around the supports made them pretty.
I finished all of the decorating just in time to rush to the front of the house to see the vows.
The farm dog was unconcerned with all of the hub-bub.
To say this is a happy couple would be a gross understatement.
While the wedding party escaped for pictures, the guests were invited to enjoy refreshments and an evening on the farm.
The guests were soon called into the reception hall to welcome the wedding party and newlyweds and enjoy dinner that included fresh beef from their farm.
The cake was cut and the guests mingled in the yard as the sun was setting. Apparently there was dancing, the couple exited through a lane of sparklers and hand-made goat milk soap was offered as a favor for guests...
...but I missed all of that. My kids, who had been at the farm since that morning, had finally been pushed to the limit and were in melt-down-mode.
On the walk to our van, I couldn't help but snap one final picture of the vintage car used to bring the bride to the aisle.
It was a beautiful evening and I was so honored to be a part of it and add the "icing" to an already amazing setting. So many people worked so hard for months to bring it all together and make this wedding one that could rival Will and Kate's any day of the week.
