I know it’s a little…early in the year to be playing favorites, but aside from the general beauty that is gushing out of this lovely couple, the stationery and paper pieces in today’s real wedding could be my favorite yet! Completely amazing! Well that AND the scenery, the flowers, the pashminas, and the batman cufflinks… Shot by Alternative Life Photography, the colors are beautiful and beg to poured over in the gallery (don’t miss it)!
Can you give us an overview of the event? Our fall wedding was held in the beautiful Dahlonega mountains at Neverland Farms. Nels and I are both outdoorsy people and wanted to get married outside in a beautiful setting with a casual rustic feel to it. We spent the evening under a barn – enjoying the outdoors, food, friends, music, and being newlyweds.
Tell us how you met. Was it love at first sight, blind date, friends forever? We want to know the particular! Nels and I have an interesting story. We “met” in High School. We went to different schools, so it was a very brief meeting, but we kept in contact throughout the years. After college, years after our initial introduction, Nels and I met up for dinner in Atlanta. While we flirted over chips and salsa, he told me that he was joining the Air Force and moving to Kansas. What started out as a possibility seemed to instantly vanish with that news, but we kept in touch after his move, and then started seriously talking with each other after he settled down in Kansas. It’s funny how life works out – it took eight years of knowing each other and moving half-way across the country for us to start dating – but we after a single trip to see each other we knew that we had something special.
Was there a specific theme or style? The theme for the wedding was casual and rustic. I tried to pick out things that I liked, not things that fit a particular theme. Our wedding invitations really set the tone for the event with the material we had them printed on: wood! I chose the fabric and color for my ladies’ bridesmaid dresses, but I let them choose which dress they wore. The flowers were a variety of colors and types, which added to the casual hand-picked look I was going for. Jill from the Flower Post took my direction of “I want my bouquet to look rustic, bright, and like they were gathered from a field” and created beautiful bouquets. In terms of decorating I did not feel the need to do much more than make the flowers for the aisle and create burlap table runners for the reception – the Neverland Farms staff keeps flowers and plants set up year round in the reception hall, and bring in their own fresh cut flowers from around the farm to match the theme I had going.
What inspired the theme or style? The location really set the tone for the wedding. Neverland was the perfect place for us for several reasons. It’s an absolutely stunning property in the mountains, a full service venue with a great team and amazing food, and it had the casual rustic theme we were looking for. What really sold me on Neverland was how open the reception hall was. It is a large open barn-like building that really lets you enjoy the mountains without being totally exposed to the elements. Our October wedding ended up being a little more chilly than we expected, and the staff was ready with heaters and fire-pits inside the reception hall. I had planned on giving blankets to our guests as wedding favors months before we realized what the temperature would be like (last year around that time it was WARM), and they ended up being the perfect gift to keep everyone warm and partying into the night.
What were your playful twists that made the event unique? I think the location and services that Neverland Farms offered made the event unique to most of our guests. My bridesmaids and I arrived at the ceremony in a carriage, and after the ceremony they offered carriage rides to all of the guests, which was fun for children and the adults. What made the wedding unique for Nels and I were the personal touches that our family members offered. We had an uncle read ‘Litany’ by Billy Collins at the ceremony – a fun and lighthearted poem. Another uncle played the guitar and sang “I Wanna Grow Old With You” by Adam Sandler for our first dance song. I also added some personal touches like the handmade flowers, blankets for our guests, and a polaroid guest book.
Did you DIY any of the details? For our aisle runners I made the flowers myself out of pages from old books and had them arranged them with some live greenery in mason jars. Making my own aisle decorations really saved on the overall cost of the flowers, and delighted the guests when they sat down and noticed that the flowers were made out of paper.
Tell us about the food and desserts! The food was EXCELLENT. Suzy, the owner of Neverland Farms, has a staff that cooks the food on location the day of the wedding. For appetizers we chose Roasted Pumpkin Soup with chipotle cream and cinnamon croutons. The soup was delicious and it was the perfect thing to warm people up after sitting outside for the ceremony. Neverland Farms specializes in barbeque and southern comfort food, so for the main course we had BBQ brisket and smoked chicken, with mac ‘n cheese, pecan crusted squash casserole, and waldorf salad. For the wedding cake we chose a classic vanilla cake with buttercream frosting, and a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting for the Groom’s cake. Both cakes were great and we ended up giving a lot away to our guests to take home.
What was the most memorable moment? The most memorable moment for me leaving the alter with Nels and taking a private ride together in the carriage before we came back to the reception. It was nice to be able to spend a little bit of time alone together and just enjoy the fact that we were married, it was a great feeling and a wonderful moment after a year of planning and waiting.
If there was one thing you could change, what would it be? I would have gotten my photographers a shots list! That is the one detail that I was not able to get completed in time. Our photographers did an amazing job, but they aren’t mind readers and after the wedding and honeymoon were over, I remembered some friends that I would have liked to have had photographs with. With that lesson learned, I would advise future brides to try to get all those details figured out well in advance of the wedding, so the week of you don’t have
Wedding Venue: Neverland Farms | Wedding Photographer: Alternative Life Photography & Design | DJ: Brett Leggitt from Black Tie Events Atlanta | Florist: Jill Chatham from The Flower Post | Cake: Memorable Creations Cake Shop | Cake Topper: http://www.etsy.com/shop/atcompanyb
Callie | January 5th, 2012 | See all posts by Callie
Gorgeous and so romantic! My family lives near Dahlonega – it’s so enchanting! And reading about the menu makes me wish I was a guest of this wedding!
I got married at Neverland Farms, and it is without a doubt the most beautiful place I have ever been (and I’ve traveled all over the world)! Suzi, the owner, is a dear and the food is exquisite. I heartily recommend this place.
Would love instructions on how to make these paper flowers!