Vintage Pennsylvania Estate Wedding

The More We See and Love n’ Fresh Flowers are quite the talented pair, so it’s little wonder we love this next wedding as much as we do. A good place to start is bride Ashley’s amazing two-piece wedding gown by Carol Hannah, which has us breathless with its blush pink billowy skirt.

From the bride, Ashley: When we thought about the day, we envisioned a celebration that was relaxed and a bit untraditional with lots of details that felt like “us” – in the end just a really great party that celebrated how much we love each other and our family and friends. We wanted everyone to feel like they were at an energetic dinner party with a few extra special touches. We looked for a venue that would provide a beautiful backdrop, had a lot of different options (including a plan B rain plan which we thankfully didn’t end up needing, even though it was close!), and that would let us add our own touches. We found that at the Inn Barley Sheaf Farm, which even had mini horses – Sean’s favorite animal!

Bouquet recipe: My bouquet had dahlias, lace hydrangea, ninebark, lisianthus, wild grasses, and fragrant herbs that were all grown organically especially for our wedding at Love n’ Fresh’s flower farm in Philadelphia. It was hand tied with fabric from my skirt, leather and a gold brooch.

Our close family and bridal party all stayed at the Inn for the entire weekend and we took advantage of all of the beautiful areas on the property for everything from the rehearsal dinner – a clam bake as a nod to Sean’s hometown at the beach with a bonfire, s’mores and lawn games – to the after party and a laid back Sunday brunch. Our celebration was intimate and relaxed with curated details that enhanced the rustic/vintage setting. The color scheme was very natural and inspired by the property and surrounding area. We started with creams, greens and blushes and accented it with pops of oxblood, wood, other natural elements, and sparkly gold (so much gold!). We had so much fun incorporating details that were things we loved or reminded us of favorite memories – like waffles in the welcome boxes because we met in the Netherlands or having homebrewed beer named after our puppy as favors.

We had a ton of DIY projects and had so much fun spending time together doing them in the months leading up to the wedding. We built the ceremony arch as well as several large wooden signs that we placed throughout the ceremony and reception (Ashley & Sean welcome sign; ‘Can I Get a Witness’ sign; bar menu; Mr. & Mrs. chair backs). For the ceremony space, we designed and made pillows to warm up the pews, and added blankets which actually came in pretty hand on the chilly October day. I surprised Sean with the sign our nephews carried that had his nickname for me. We designed and printed the programs and menus and made streamers with wedding bells for guests to wave after our kiss. For the reception space we DIY’d the escort cards and gold leaf place cards, a marquee ‘BAR’ sign, tons of votive holders, and walkway luminaries. My mom taught me to cross-stitch when I was little so the two of us sewed all the table numbers. One of our hobbies is homebrewing and we made beer for the favors and designed the labels. Last, we filled guest welcome boxes with treats from the Netherlands, New York, Philadelphia and Kentucky – all special places to us and our family.

Any advice for couples planning their weddings now? First, choose great vendors. We count ourselves incredibly lucky that we had a venue, florist, photographers, and videographers that truly got our vision and translated it even better than we imagined. Because we chose to plan ourselves, having fantastic people working with us throughout the process meant we got a stress-free day where we could concentrate on each other and our guests instead of whether flowers were in the right place. Second, choose what feels right for you and follow your instincts throughout the planning process – whether that’s traditional or something that makes your parents think you are crazy. We had three family members and friends perform our ceremony, which ended up being our very favorite part of the day, and had cheeseburgers and tater tot poutine for dinner. Last, during the wedding, slow down time as much as you can. Everyone always talks about how insanely fast it goes, and it’s true. Try to be present and take little moments to step back and soak in how much love and support is in that room for you and your partner.

View all images from this wedding in the gallery

Check out the heartwarming film from Tree of Life Films:

Wedding Music:
Groomsmen Processional: “Walk The Line,” Avila
Family Processional: “Forget Me Not,” The Civil Wars
Groom, Bridesmaids and Ring Bearers Processional: “Sea Of Love,” Cat Power
Bride’s Processional: “Can’t Help Falling In Love,” Ingrid Michaelson
Recessional: “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” Queen
Reception Entrance: “You Make My Dreams Come True,” Hall & Oates
First Dance: “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square,” Glenn Miller Band
Mother/Son Dance: “Say A Little Prayer” Aretha Franklin
Cake Cutting: “Home,” Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Last Dance: “You’re My Best Friend,” Queen
As guests were seated for the ceremony we had mellow music playing, things like Etta James, Patsy Cline; Louis Armstong, Norah Jones. For the cocktail hour we had a bluegrass band – The Highwater Preachers – which was a big hit with guests. Our amazing DJ Jon from Lovesick Inc. played everything from 70s funk, 80s rock, and 90s hip hop to current pop. He managed take our eclectic taste and requests and add things we hadn’t even thought of to make an awesome mix that kept our guests dancing all night.