The Celebration Farm Wedding by Emily Crall Photography

"Abi & Harrison put so many details into their wedding day! I adored every minute of it. For the past while, they have been collecting all kind of china plates to use at their reception from auctions, flea markets, and garage sales. No two were the same and it was so fun to see all of the variations of patterns and styles throughout the hall. They also used unique floral centerpieces for each table, incorporating everything from old tins to ceramic jars. They used Mason jars for drink glasses and personalized them with little alphabet tiles. Abi wore a Maggie Sottero gown for the ceremony, then changed into her mother's handmade gown that Abi's grandmother had sewn nearly 30 years ago. It was a surprise for everyone, but particularly for Grandma! Abi is holding a photo of her mother in the dress on her wedding day. Other special pieces were the guest book, which was a calendar created using Abi & Harrison's engagement photos and they asked that the guests each sign their names on their birthdate. They had their dog, Kobe, who was listed in the program as "Harrison's very best friend", as their ring bearer. As a surprise at the reception, the couple's parents had brought in Kalona Ice Cream Bars, a favorite of the couple, in addition to the cake. And, by the welcome table, the couple had their florist (Violets & Pearls) incorporate a saxophone since they first met in high school both playing tenor saxophone in the marching band. How cute are they?!" ~ Emily Crall (photographer)

From the couple: We had a few unique wedding day traditions. First, we had Kobi, our lab-collie mix, serve as our ring bearer. He had on an orange and white bow tie and wore the ring bearer pillow that Abi's mom and dad used for their wedding. During the ceremony, Harrison also wore his dad's Naval Academy cuff links. His dad attended West Point Military Academy and when he was in school it was tradition to exchange cuff links with a Naval Academy student. We have also been dating since high school (6 1/2 years ago), and we met in band after Abi moved into the school district as a sophomore. Harrison says he was so terrible that Abi had to be moved from the alto sax section to help him follow along with the sheet music. The rest is history. :-) To represent this story, the couple used an antique saxophone case as their card holder and had the saxophone standing next to it with a flower arrangement in it. Last (but not least), Abi surprised her Grandma by quickly changing dresses between the wedding ceremony and reception. Abi changed into her mom's wedding dress that her Grandma had sewed for her, and (luckily) it fit like a glove! Abi and her mom called out Grandma and she was SO surprised and couldn't believe how good it looked. Her mom brought along a picture of her in the dress from her wedding day, and she, Grandma, and her mom took photos with Abi holding the photo of her mom in the dress. It was such a cool moment, and everyone loved the story behind the second dress.

Vendors:

Photography: Emily Crall Photography

Venue: The Celebration Farm

Catering: Jerry & Margie's Catering

Cake: Yummy's Gourmet Cakes

Wedding dress (first one): Maggie Sottero via Sarah's Bridal Gallery

Shoes & Veil: David's Bridal

Invitations: Hello! Lucky