Rachel and Rich @Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm ~ mkPhotography, Stroudsburg Wedding Photographer
From the Bride:
“Rich and I met Online. In my profile, I described the qualities of a Perfect Guy being similar to those of a Perfect Dog (loyal, friendly, likes to go on long hikes but is happy to snuggle on the couch doing nothing, eats whatever you feed them). Rich sent me a message first saying how he was like a dog and possessed those qualities. We met for coffee (he was sick of paying to take girls out to a full dinner and never hearing from them again). After meeting we realized we had so much in common and we really hit it off.
Fast Forward more than 2 years and Rich set up the perfect proposal! I was very involved with my High School Theatre growing up and am still very close with my former directors, including doing things like taking photos of their productions every year. Rich planned with them to have me called up on stage at the end of the 2012 Production of Oklahoma to thank me for all that I have done. Rich then appeared on stage with flowers. At that point he got down on one knee and proposed – after I shook my head yes, the orchestra started playing the love song from Oklahoma and the curtain closed (on us AND on us just being boyfriend & girlfriend). (See the YouTube video of the proposal HERE!)
I am not only a little bit of a control freak, but I am also quite crafty and love to make things myself. Rich says that he thinks I looked at the wedding as a way to show off all of the cool things I could make & do! We planned every little detail of the wedding ourselves (having a background in shooting weddings as photographers ourselves, we thought it would be easier than it was). Although planning the wedding and sorting through every little detail (including making sure we had enough silverware and arranging every flower) was quite stressful and time consuming, I would not have changed it in any way. I loved making everything on my own.”
Jewelry: The Bride’s Grandfather used to Own a Lace-Making Factory when her father was growing up. Her Grandmother was a Home Economics Teacher and a very talented seamstress – so she made the Bride’s Mom’s Dress from Lace my Grandfather had made. She wanted to be able to incorporate her mother’s dress in a very special way once she realized she didn’t want to wear it as her wedding gown. Rachel was able to cut the sleeves off of her dress and use that to have a local friend/business (AlohaMomCreations) turn her Mother’s Dress into her necklace and earrings! In addition to wearing heirloom necklace & earrings – her pearl bracelet was a present from her mother’s father (who recently passed away) to her mother, so Rachel borrowed that. The crown in a heirloom piece which was given to her Grandmother by her Great-Grand-Parents and has been worn by everyone in her family! .Additionally – the veil that Rachel wore on her wedding was her mother’s veil (made with lace from her Grandfather’s factory as well)
The Lavander farm: Since Rachel and Rich were getting married outside on a farm – she wanted Rustic, beautiful, relaxed & long-lasting flowers. Lavender fits that bill, in addition to it being a natural bug repellant! Her Flower Girl and their mothers went on a day-trip to Carousel Farms in Bucks County to purchase lavender fresh from the fields. It was absolutely beautiful and with the help of all of her Bridesmaids, they were able to make their bouquets (each girl make their own) and use lavender throughout the whole event – it looked and smelled perfect, exactly how Rachel imagined!
About the crown: When Rachel father’s Parents got married, her Great-Grandparents rented a heirloom crown from a second-hand store in Sweden for her Grandmother to use. Her grandmother thought it was a gift (not realizing it was a rental) and thanked them very much – they did not have the heart to tell her it was just a rental, so used their savings to pay for this gift (which her grandmother only found out about years later). After her Grandmother wore it in her wedding, she held onto it. Rachel’s mom and both of her aunts have worn the crown. From the time Rachel was little, she always knew she would wear it on her wedding day as well – so when she picked a dress (and a hairstyle) she picked something that would go with the crown.
Says Rachel:
“DIY Projects:
Centerpieces – We collected & stripped almost 50 wine bottles to use as our Centerpieces. The flowers were purchased through a florist and the bridesmaids and I arranged them all the day before the wedding. For the Table Numbers. I purchased the wooden hearts/numbers and then we drilled holes to attach the strings.
Program Fans – Designed with all the details of our day, those closest to us, and some history (designed by us)
CornHole Set – My dad built the cornhole sets and then it was a big group effort between Rich & I and my parents to paint and finish the boards, painting our monograms took many evenings which was all worth it for the game boards we now have for life!
Flowers – all done by us!
Rosemary Olive Oil favors/place cards – made/bottled by us
Ring Bearer Box & Flower Girl Basket – decorated/designed by us
Hangers for Girl’s Dresses – made by Rachel
Stamped Napkins with our Monogram & Tied Napkins
Cake Stand (Rich made from trees cut down from our house) & the Cake was made & decorated by a friend/co-worker of mine. We LOVE cake & the cake was the first decision we made – we knew we wanted a Chocolate Cake with a Cookie Dough filling & the Brown Sugar Buttercream just came as a natural fit with those flavors!
…. too many other things to think of – I had my hand in every single detail of the wedding and it came out exactly as I pictured it. There was not a detail of our wedding that I would have changed & we are thrilled to be able to look at how each detail was captured!
Suggestions that I would have for other brides are don’t skimp when it comes to photography – the pictures are the one way you are really going to be able to remember all of the other details! Also, remember that this is your and your future husband’s day – the two of you need to make decisions together and focus on what you (not those around you) really want. Have fun – you are only going to do this once (hopefully) so do it right! Sign up for Pinterest and sort through ideas, throwing out things and making them your own.”
The details:
Cake: friend of the family
Invitations: by the Maid of Honor
Venue: Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm
Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Bill Levkoff, style #155 in Victorian Lilac
Bride’s Shoes: Seychelles
Bride’s Gown: Mori Lee, style #4164
Flowers: wild-picked lavender from Carousel Farms
Bride’s Bouquet: Millers Flowers by Kate
DJ: Diamond Event Entertainment
Caterer: Gala Gourmet Catering
See the Photographer’s Picks Slideshow HERE
