July 18, 2020 was the best day! Our family & closest friends gathered on my parent’s farm in the backyard that afternoon for our wedding. We couldn’t have asked for better weather for a mid-summer wedding under a tent. It was the perfect temp with a slight breeze and it truly couldn’t have been more perfect for us!

Our vision for the wedding was to invite people into a little piece of our world … we wanted to incorporate the things that we loved and wanted people to feel the same way we feel daily at my parents farm, it’s like a breath of fresh air & peacefulness. For months, we pieced together the details one by one, all without knowing whether a wedding would be possible or not due to everything going on and the restrictions. We prayed, we cried, we dreamed, we prayed some more during those months and God answered our prayers with being able to host a small wedding and that everyone was kept healthy & safe in the process!

The week leading up to the wedding, my family had a master list of things to do to turn the backyard into a wedding venue. We truly couldn’t have done it without all of their help and it makes me cry to just think about it. Everyone jumped in and helped with whatever needed to be done, it truly takes a village! The basement was taken over by flowers and vases when our sister in law, Tanya (owner of Eventfully Flowers in Syracuse), arrived a few days before the wedding to make magic happen! We are so grateful for her talent and kindness to do what she did, while pregnant nonetheless! The tent arrived on Thursday morning while we ran last minute errands, started prepping food, Tanya worked on flowers, I made sure everything was on a list & organized for the coming days. Friday morning started with my little brother & Paul going out and gathering greens and wildflowers from the surrounding fields and woods. I went to my grandma & aunt’s garden and got some more flowers. It was a whirlwind of a day, everything was coming together!

As you’ll see in the photos, I was so emotional on the wedding day and get emotional thinking about it but one of my most treasured memories was on Friday night, the whole house was asleep except for my mom, my sister & Hunter, and myself. Having that time with each of them was so special. They are my best friends and I’m so grateful for them. I didn’t even think twice about who I wanted by my side as bridesmaids. Family is everything to me so I chose my sister Hunter as my maid of honor, my mom as my matron of honor, my Aunt Michele, and 2 of my younger sisters, Ella & Selah, as my bridesmaids. It was so fun to get to pick out dresses together and watch my younger sisters so excited about getting fancy dresses. Paul also chose all family to be his groomsman. His younger brother, Danny, was his best man and Vic & Alec, his cousins, were groomsmen.

Saturday morning we were up before the sun to finish all the preparations. We finished making the food, set the tables & decorated them, put the yard games out, and all the other little things that had to happen. Paul & his brother Danny went and picked lettuce from the garden for the salad. Hair & makeup was going on in my parent’s room while the house bustled with activity. The day was finally here and I was just trying to soak up each moment. I wanted to be a part of it all … we made the very conscious decision to be super hands on in all the set up because we envisioned all the memories that would take place in those moments. As I looked around, I saw so many loved ones helping with whatever needed to be done and I felt so loved by so many people in those moments.

Right after lunch time, Paul went upstairs to get ready and I went back to my parent’s bedroom to finish with hair & makeup and get dressed. What a special moment to be surrounded by all my favorite women as I slipped on my dress with my mom & sister’s help. A side story about the dress …. I had a dress picked out that I had bought at a sample sale and I loved it but as we got closer to the wedding, I kept looking online. It just wasn’t the one. It was beautiful but wasn’t perfect for the backyard, relaxed feel I wanted. I ordered 8 dresses in the month before the wedding and when each one came it still wasn’t it. I decided to take the original one in to be tailored as I thought that was the only option. A week before the wedding, one last package arrived from Needle & Thread London, I had completely forgotten about this dress and as soon as I opened the box and saw it I just knew it was the one. I slipped it on and it was perfect. Another detail I loved was the surprise necklace that my mom & sister’s gifted me the morning of the wedding, it was the perfect last minute addition!!

I’ve spent 10 years photographing weddings and feeling all the emotions from just watching the emotions on wedding days but there’s nothing like when it’s your wedding day. All the hugs were a little tighter & longer, the tears came harder, the joy was more joyful. I walked out the side door, down the steps that my Dad had just built as he was renovating the deck, and walked to our first look. We are both so glad we did a first look to give us the opportunity to get rid of some of the nerves before walking down the aisle. Paul knows just what to say and do to calm me down and we were able to take photos in the garden (our happy place together in the summer months) and go check on the chickens together. The whole day felt very normal in a way because we got to do our normal things but then a whole other level of special because we got to do our normal things and it was our wedding day and we looked around and saw it all coming together. That was the exact feeling we wanted, we wanted to be comfortable and I’m so glad we trusted our gut on that.

When I walked back inside from our first look, I walked down the hallway and saw my Dad for the first time all dressed up. Nothing prepares you for those moments. I look at the photos of that moment and can be transported right back. Those minutes inside the house before the ceremony were filled with excitement … the house was filled with people running around, the bridal party was all dressed up & looked so good, we could watch our family & friends arriving and finding their seat in the tent! One specific prayer I prayed was that I could be present and really soak up all the moments throughout the day. God is so good and as much as it was a blur around me, I can so clearly remember all the little things that happened throughout the day. The little things that are actually the big things now looking back!

Our ceremony was short & sweet … Paul was very excited to say “I do” before the vows were even all the way said which made me giggle and the nerves eased a little bit … my little brother read a verse for us… and then we were MARRIED!!

The ceremony & reception were in a sailcloth Sperry tent in the backyard and the tables were decorated with mismatched tablecloths and vases filled with garden roses and wildflowers. We chose to do mismatched tablecloths because it felt whimsical and more like the elegant picnic feel we were going for but we also got thinking… we would never need 18 of the same tablecloths again but 18 mismatched tablecloths could be used for years to come in our everyday life to bring our wedding day memory into our home. We would be able to use the vases for future parties or for every day bouquets from our garden. Due to the unmentionable, we had to get creative on how we served food that allowed everyone to stay safe and feel comfortable. Each table was filled with only people that had been quarantined together so we decided to do charcuterie and dessert boards for each table. We found the boards at Target and we have already gotten good use from them for holidays since the wedding! It’s so fun to have everyday items to use that have the special wedding memory attached to them! The charcuterie boards had our favorite kielbasa from the Ukrainian store in Syracuse and the dessert boards were filled with our favorite sugar cookies & cupcakes from Shores Sisters Farm Market and homemade Ukrainian desserts from Paul’s family! It was fun to be able to add those special touches that shared some of Paul’s family’s culture.

The bride & groom head table was handcrafted by our dear friend Derek Bower. Derek & his late wife, Renee, were some of my first friends in the wedding industry years ago as they had a wedding rental business. We lost Renee 2 years ago to cancer and miss her so much! Derek’s speciality for the wedding rental business was these handmade farm tables and he made one for us as a wedding gift and it means SO much to us! Just thinking about having it in our home and eating around that table every day is such a special gift!! Thank you so much Derek!!

Our wedding favors were homemade strawberry jam made from locally grown strawberries. We made the jam together the month before the wedding and used the jam as name cards as well. We had Pecos Bills BBQ and then all of the sides were made by my family. We had salad fresh from the garden, a cucumber & tomato salad with fresh veggies from the garden and used fresh mint from the garden & Paul’s dad’s honey for the mint tea. We wanted as close to farm to table as we could and it made me smile seeing all of the hard work come together & be enjoyed!

Guests enjoyed yard games such as corn hole that my sister made, 4 square and ladder toss while some enjoyed the hammock and patio while the kids played in my childhood playhouse and my little brother’s sandbox. Our neighbor, Dave Nice, was our DJ, and music that my sister & our friend Jordan put together played. Our friend, Rachel, wrote our chalkboard signs, while our friend Angel, designed our invitations! It was so special to have a little piece of everyone involved in making it unique to us!

July 18 is Paul’s birthday so it was a double celebration! After dinner, we all sang happy birthday to Paul before our cake cutting and dessert boards were served! I love that every year July 18 will be spent celebrating my favorite person and our commitment to each other! Penny from The Rosemont Inn made the sweet little dainty cake for the cake cutting! It was delicious!

We snuck off for golden hour portraits at our favorite sunset spot and soaked in the fact that we were married!! We always recommend golden hour portraits to our couples and after doing it at our own wedding, I now understand even more importance of why…it gives you the opportunity to enjoy each other’s company in the middle of the celebrations and gives you the best portraits of the day!! It’s a win, win!!

The rest of our evening was spent enjoying our loved ones! Paul loved getting to show his family around the farm while I enjoyed catching up with family we hadn’t seen in a while. We ended the night with a bonfire in the back field and lots of laughter shared by all! It was truly a perfect day!

A huge shout out & thank you to the vendors & friends who made it all happen!!

Photography: Sarah & Emi from Seneca Ryan Co.
Flowers: Eventfully Flowers, Syracuse NY
Dress: Needle & Thread London
Bridesmaids Dresses: BHLDN, JJ’s House, Ever After Bridal
Ties: BHLDN
Rings: Littman Jewelers, Syracuse
Hair: Bridal by Courtney
Makeup: Silently Colorful by Erica
BBQ: Pecos Bills BBQ
Day of Coordination: Willow Planning
Sailcloth Sperry Tent Rental: Taylor Rental Vestal
Mismatched Tablecloths: Target
Mismatched trays & vases: Shores Sisters, Target, variety of antique stores
Cookies & Cupcakes: Shores Sisters Farm Market
Seating Chart & Signage: Paper Crane Calligraphy
Glass Mason Jar Favors: The Knot Shop by Wedding Star
Wedding Invitation: Handstolearn
Wedding Chalboards: Rachel Barney Designs
DJ: Dave Nice
Servers & Day Of Help: Grosvenor & Teachout Family
Pre-Marriage Counseling & Officiant: Josh Edwards

Huge thank you to my Mom & Dad, all my brothers & sister’s, Aunt Michele, grandma, grandpa for all you did!! And a huge thank you to Paul’s mom, grandma, Edward, Tanya, Ilona, Aunt Lana, Aunt Vera, Vic, Alec, Matthew, Rosa, Michela, Danny, for all the baking & help!

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for all the love & congratulations we have received, we are forever grateful to be surrounded by such love!

Photography: Sarah & Emi from Seneca Ryan Co.
Flowers: Eventfully Flowers, Syracuse NY
Dress: Needle & Thread London
Bridesmaids Dresses: BHLDN, JJ’s House, Ever After Bridal
Ties: BHLDN
Rings: Littman Jewelers, Syracuse
Hair: Bridal by Courtney
Makeup: Silently Colorful by Erica
BBQ: Pecos Bills BBQ
Day of Coordination: Willow Planning
Sailcloth Sperry Tent Rental: Taylor Rental Vestal
Mismatched Tablecloths: Target
Mismatched trays & vases: Shores Sisters, Target, variety of antique stores
Cookies & Cupcakes: Shores Sisters Farm Market
Seating Chart & Signage: Paper Crane Calligraphy
Glass Mason Jar Favors: The Knot Shop by Wedding Star
Wedding Invitation: Handstolearn
Wedding Chalboards: Rachel Barney Designs
DJ: Dave Nice
Servers & Day Of Help: Grosvenor & Teachout Family
Pre-Marriage Counseling & Officiant: Josh Edwards