How did you meet?
We met while working at a grocery while we were both in high school. We were introduced through a mutual friend, and a few days later, I went to go on my break and asked him to borrow a dollar. He said I had to give him my number first, I agreed. But he had to double-check that I gave him the right number before he would give me the dollar!
What is your proposal story?
He took me hiking in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. We were by Blue Hen Falls and he said I brought you something, and pulled out the ring box and asked me to marry him. I, of course, said yes.
Tell us about your wedding vision.
I knew I wanted a late September wedding so I wanted to have those rich fall colors. We enjoy the outdoors so I also wanted to incorporate rustic, wooden elements. I found a cute barn out towards the country, real close to where he had grown up so it all just fit with the vibe I wanted.
Tell us about your attire choices.
I knew I wanted a lace dress, but also knew I didn’t want something cookie-cutter. My dress had a very different style of lace, nothing I’d ever see before. And I loved the slight vintage flair it had with the blush underlay.
What was most important to you two? Was there anything you chose to splurge on or skip?
I think the venue was the most important thing, it set the vibe/style of the entire day, everything else was just the icing on the cake.
We chose to skip a videographer just to save some money for our honeymoon.
What were your favorite parts of the day?
Our favorite parts were doing our first look and our bridal photos before the ceremony. We had time between doing those and the ceremony starting so it just made it less stressful. We had time to breathe and take it all in.
Tell us about your wedding flowers.
I wanted to use burgundy dahlias, they are my favorite flower. I love the rich color you get from all the petals. I also wanted a lot of greenery to tie into the outdoors. We added cream-colored berries for another texture. As well as in mine we used cream ranunculus to coordinate with my dress and have my bouquet slightly different from the bridesmaids.
Tell us about your wedding cake.
In lieu of cake, we opted for donuts. We had 2 main flavors, apple pie and oreo cheesecake and some basic flavors like powdered and glazed. They were a smaller sized donut so you could easily try a few.
What did you do for favors?
We made our own homemade candles out of recycled wine bottle bottoms. We picked a fall type scent called mulled cider for the fragrance.
Did you include any family heirlooms or special traditions?
My something blue/borrowed was a handkerchief of my maternal great grandmother’s which I borrowed from my mom.
Please describe any DIY, handmade, or personal details.
My mom made our ceremony arch. She found the limbs in her backyard and cut and anchored it all together. She also made my flower hairpiece. We used similar flowers in both the arch and my hairpiece so they tied together.
