When I say this winery wedding from Laura Ann Miller is beautiful, I’m not just talking about the details. Yes, the watercolored paper goods that the couple made together are gorgeous. And the bride’s gown is stunning. The most beautiful part of this wedding though is the couple’s love and the meaningful ways they let it shine on their day. The story with the gifts they gave each other seriously made me tear up a little it was so sweet (be sure to read the last paragraph).
We wanted a wedding that was meaningful and comfortable. One that would make friends and family feel at ease; like they were at a family backyard party. Being close to nature instead of in a stuffy ballroom was our number one priority when searching for a venue. The Barn has amazing views and surrounding, almost no need for extra decorations, and the food is the stuff dreams are made of! We went with soft, watercolor inspired colors with pops of gold to compliment the rustic charm of the Barn and surrounding beauty.
The most important thing for us was that everything in our wedding day have meaning to us and our relationship. We asked Daniel’s Aunt Jenny to be our officiant, and wrote our ceremony with her. We included a prayer for the family, as our one and only reading, from Daniel’s Grandfather’s prayer book in our ceremony. And it was actually the prayer his Grandfather was praying daily before he passed away. We wrote our own vows. We DIYed the majority of our decor and all of our paper goods together and with friends and family. Daniel walked our dog Penny down the aisle, who actually took the place of flower girls and ring bearers. The bride and her best friends spent weeks creating and taste testing signature cocktail recipes until they found the perfect one. Even our cookies, which we had instead of cake, were meaningful. They weren’t only our favorite cookie and dessert, but they came from the grocery store where we would buy and share cookies with each from the very beginning of our relationship 5 years ago.
Daniel and I watercolored hundreds of pieces of cardstock for all the invitation components, programs, table numbers, seating assignments, and bar menus. With the help of family and friends we printed and cut everything. We lined all the envelopes and assembled all the invitations together, along with glittering our menus. We personally designed all the paper goods, and my Maid of Honor Renee helped design our invitations. We spray painted hundreds of votive candle holders, and painted, glittered, and lettered our card crate. We glued together hundreds of wine corks for table number holders. The bride and her father stained wooden crates for the cookie jars to sit on, built, stained, and lettered the wooden welcome sign, and the wooden sign that sat behind the guestbook. The two also built, painted, and assembled the wine cork board; definitely way trickier than expected! Building a perfect frame is no easy task!
Our favorite memory was after the ceremony our photographer whisked us away to take more couple pictures. During this time I told Daniel there was a surprise in his ring. Engraved on the inside was “No, I love you more.” For years every night Daniel says “I love you more” with the hopes of hearing “No, I love you more.” But for years I wouldn’t say it, not even once. Having it engraved in his ring was the perfect way to finally say it, and say it forever. After seeing his little and total surprise Daniel pulled out his vows, because unbeknownst to me he had a hidden message in his vows just for me. His vows were broken down into four paragraphs, and each paragraph started with a very specific and bolded word. Looking down at the paper I realized his vows read vertically said I Love You More. So finally he said it and I responded.
Photography | Laura Ann Miller Photography | Venue | The Barn at Chaumette | Florist | Les Bouquets | Bakery | Schnucks Bakery | Caterer | Chaumette Winery | Gown | Liancarlo | Hair and Makeup | Style Me Beautiful | DJ | Rockstar DJs
